Rating: 
Summary: Music and Murder On Lake Como
Review: This is a superb mystery. I just recently became acquainted with the books of Kate Ross, who recently died. Readers will enjoy the dramatic atmosphere of a villa on Lake Como and the welldrawn characters. Music lovers will also get a thrill out of this, because the plot focuses on opera singers and an unsolved murder. Julian Kestrel, a delightful aristocrat with an unusual past, and Dipper, his valet, travel to Italy to solve the mysterious death of a nobleman, who was a passionate lover of the opera. They are looking for the vanished tenor, Orpheo, who is suspected of the murder. Kestrel reminds me quite a bit of the Scarlet Pimpernel character.He is charming and a true gentleman, accompanied by his valet, of course. He becomes entranced with the lovely widow of the murdered nobleman and this romantic theme runs throughout the book. This combines plenty of melodrama and action. The reader will feel as they had gone back in time. This was one of the best historical mysteries I have read in a long time. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: This is one of the very best historical mysteries I have ever read, and I am a great fan of the genre. Both the historical aspect and the mystery aspect are expertly handled with complex characterization, complicated plotting, wonderful twists, and elegant language. It's an amazingly good book and I am only deeply sorry that there won't be any more Julian Kestrel mysteries due to Kate Ross's death. I looked up the opera references in this book, in case anyone is interested: "Un'aura amorosa" is from Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte. "She brings peace upon me," which is "Dalla sua pace" in Italian, is from Mozart's Don Giovanni. "Che invenzione" is from Rossini's Barber of Seville. It's fascinating to listen to these arias with the context of Ross's book in mind. This is a remarkably good book, possibly the best of all Kate Ross's excellent mysteries. I recommend starting with the first one first, however ("Cut to the Quick"). You'll have a better idea of Kestrel's developing character and background, and will enjoy the series more in order, I think.
Rating:
Summary: The Mysterious Julian Kestrel
Review: This is the best book in Julian Kestrel Mystery, as we were brought to the beautiful Italy in 1820's. We have also been given a glimpse of Julian's life before he went to England. It was such unfortunate that we will never know more about Julian Kestrel, that he will always remain a mystery since Kate Ross died before she wrote another book of Julian Kestrel. But don't make this stop you from reading this great literature.
Rating:
Summary: The Last and Best of the Kestrel Series
Review: This was a fantastic book. You get to learn so much more about Julian Kestrel in this outing. The book keeps you guessing till the end. I'm just sorry that there will be no more Kestrel books after this one.
Rating:
Summary: Involving
Review: While I generally avoid books in excess of 400 pages, I decided to try this one based on all the positive comments from other readers. I was not disappointed! Multiple suspects, great characters, a wonderful atmosphere, and of course, revelations and many twists. All of the characters are wonderfully developed, so much that I could attach faces to the descriptions. The setting made me think of Dumas and the Three Musketeers, and the relationship between the detective and his travelling partner brought to mind Sherlock Holes and Dr. Watson. The twists, turns, and revelations actually seemed plausible and in case somewhat foreshadowed. However, the ending completely caught me off guard (which was a good thing). There are so many characters and so many possible motives that the reader will be kept guessing. A long book, but very involving and well written. I am going to try another by the author.
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