Death at Dartmoor

Rating:
Summary: A Treasure for Arthur Conan Doyle Fans
Review: Having presented a review of the book, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," I was totally fasinated by the way the Alberts wove his life and beliefs into the Dartmoor mystery. A lot of fun to read and an entertaining way to learn more about the history and mores of the time.

Rating:
Summary: A Treasure for Arthur Conan Doyle Fans
Review: Having presented a review of the book, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," I was totally fasinated by the way the Alberts wove his life and beliefs into the Dartmoor mystery. A lot of fun to read and an entertaining way to learn more about the history and mores of the time.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I really enjoy this series because I like the two main characters. I find the characters to be intelligent but fun at the same time. I also like the way that Bill & Susan Albert (Robin Paige) weave real-life people into the plots. I realize that the people may not have acted the way that they are written, but it is fun to imagine that they would.
I did find this mystery a little too easy to solve and that usually makes me rate a book only 3 stars rather than 4, but I found the locale descriptions and the mystery itself to be well-written enough to deserve the 4th star.
In this episode, Charles & Kate are in Dartmoor - Charles to begin the process of fingerprinting prisoners at the local prison, Kate to get background information for a new book. While there, the local lord is killed and an escaped prisoner is initially blamed. Charles & Kate think that that is not the case and set out to find the real murderer(s). Their main help comes from another fictional character from a previous entry in this series, Patsy Marsden, and from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
An interesting read and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I really enjoy this series because I like the two main characters. I find the characters to be intelligent but fun at the same time. I also like the way that Bill & Susan Albert (Robin Paige) weave real-life people into the plots. I realize that the people may not have acted the way that they are written, but it is fun to imagine that they would.
I did find this mystery a little too easy to solve and that usually makes me rate a book only 3 stars rather than 4, but I found the locale descriptions and the mystery itself to be well-written enough to deserve the 4th star.
In this episode, Charles & Kate are in Dartmoor - Charles to begin the process of fingerprinting prisoners at the local prison, Kate to get background information for a new book. While there, the local lord is killed and an escaped prisoner is initially blamed. Charles & Kate think that that is not the case and set out to find the real murderer(s). Their main help comes from another fictional character from a previous entry in this series, Patsy Marsden, and from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
An interesting read and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Rating:
Summary: So, Dr. Doyle--how was your vacation
Review: Lord Charles Sheridan, his wife Kate, and Arthur Conan Doyle are visiting the Dartmoor moors when and invited to a seance. A mystic foretells that the host's wife will be betrayed. When the host is found dead after leaving a letter claiming that he was leaving with another woman, the mystic's bone fides appear perfect, especially when confirmed by Doyle. A recently escaped prisoner seems the most likely suspect, but Charles and Kate believe that there is more to the case than the obvious.

Author Robin Paige (the pen name for Susan Wittig Albert and Bill Albert) combines an exciting mystery with a possible explanation of Doyle's great Sherlock Holmes mystery THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. Paige provides a convincing view of turn-of-the century England, a properly Dr. Watson version of Doyle, and expertly weaves the mystery events with hints at the HOUND. I especially enjoyed Paige's female characters. While Charles appeared too good to be true, Kate, Patsy, and Ellie are delightful.

Mystery readers are unlikely to be fooled by the mystery but the combination of historical mystery, historical characters placed in a fictional setting, and Paige's fine style make DEATH AT DARTMOOR a fully enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: An Easy Mystery to Figure out but a Charming Tale anyway.
Review: The mystery in this book is very easy to figure out, but the storyline is still entertaining. The scene of the novel is also wonderful. Dartmoor is where Conan Doyle situated his famous Hound of the Baskerville story. This almost mythical spot in England is one I would love to visit one day. What I didn't enjoy about this book and why I gave it only 3 stars, is the short shrift the authors gave to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There are a lot of people, including me, who hold this man's detective fiction in almost mythical esteem. The Alberts seemed to portray him as a blundering buffoon when it came to solving this "real" crime.
This story is set around the Dartmoor Prison that was in this country in the early 1900's. It focuses around a prison escape, and when a local lord is found dead, it is automatically assumed by everyone except Charles that the escaped prisoner murdered the man. Katherine and Charles dig deeper and find a number of skeletons in the family closet, and then, when these are brought to the light of day, the murder is solved.

Rating:
Summary: Very Boring
Review: This is the first time I've read a book by this author and will probably be my last. I am an avid reader but I had to force myself through this book. It didn't hold my attention. The plot was very weak and there just wasn't much to the storyline. I found the book very boring.