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Death at Devil's Bridge: A Victorian Mystery

Death at Devil's Bridge: A Victorian Mystery

List Price: $6.50
Your Price: $6.50
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not as good as the others in the series
Review: I really enjoy Robin Paige and his Victorian series, but I found that this book wasn't as good as the previous ones in the series. We get a good look at ballooning and automotive enthusiasts from the late Victorian era, and that part is fun. The way Mr. Paige mixes historical with fiction is a treat. I just found that the mystery wasn't very gripping. Kate and Charles are an engaging couple. We get a good look at early forensics, and some of the problems that were encountered when trying to introduce this fledging science into a court room. But I found the ending kind of left me hanging. There was no clear resolution. Hoping for better things with the next book in the series.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not as good as the others in the series
Review: I really enjoy Robin Paige and his Victorian series, but I found that this book wasn't as good as the previous ones in the series. We get a good look at ballooning and automotive enthusiasts from the late Victorian era, and that part is fun. The way Mr. Paige mixes historical with fiction is a treat. I just found that the mystery wasn't very gripping. Kate and Charles are an engaging couple. We get a good look at early forensics, and some of the problems that were encountered when trying to introduce this fledging science into a court room. But I found the ending kind of left me hanging. There was no clear resolution. Hoping for better things with the next book in the series.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Step back into the England of the 1890's
Review: Lady Kathryn and her husband team up to solve a mysterious death during an autocar and balloon race that began on their estate. While Sir Charles experiments with the novel theory of fingerprints to help determine the culprit, Lady Kathryn uses her observations of human nature and knowledge of the local village people to help solve the crime. This is an interesting step back into a supposedly simpler time; we are even in on the meeting of Mr. Rolls and Mr. Royce, who later team up so well to market the motorcar which combined their two names. A murder in a historical setting is still a murder, and the truth is exposed cleverly by Lady Kathryn and her very scientific husband. The story is also enlivened by Sir Charles' experience as a balloonist and Lady Kathryn's wild drive in an early model of a Peugeot. And, of course, there is also a local village woman, descendant of a witch who supposedly could fly, who develops her own flying ointment which is part of the resolution to this engaging mystery.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is one of the best historical series on the market
Review: The advent of the motorcar in Victorian England did not easily gain acceptance, especially in the small towns where the people warily suspect dramatic change. In Dedham Vale, tempers flare between the two opposing groups when Kate and Sir Charles Sheridan agree to host an automobile exhibit and a car race combined with a hot air balloon chase. One of the locals recently died on the road when a motorcar sped by, apparently frightening him to death. The local squire leads many of the townsfolk in an attempt to stop the event.

Although the balloon lands safely in an irate farmer's plot, none of the four motorcars arrive at the landing site. One of the drivers who was in a fatal crash, says, with his last breath, that this was no accident but an act of deliberate sabotage. Kate and Charles, who met, courted, and wed during different shared investigations, seek the murdering saboteur before anyone else loses their life.

Robin Paige's Victorian mystery series is a very good, well researched novel that allows readers to glimpse a page out of history. DEATH AT DEVIL'S BRIDGE captures the atmosphere of tension and fear of the unknown due to a major technological advancement. The sense of romance blended into the fascinating who-done-it enables readers to be charmed by the married couple, who adoringly love each other even as they and the audience are challenged by a very difficult mystery. This novel, as well as the rest of the collection, will be enjoyed by anyone who loves a detailed historical mystery filled with action and intrigue.

Harriet Klausner


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