Product Description

Kate and Charles Sheridan are attending the new king's coronation ceremony when an anarchist accidentally blows himself up-with a bomb meant for the royals. Now, it's up to Kate and Charles to discover who is threatening the crown-and whether or not American author Jack London is involved...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1586602 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-02
• Released on: 2004-03-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In the 10th entry in this historical husband-and-wife amateur sleuth series (after 2003's Death at Glamis Castle), the pseudonymous Paige makes a less than successful attempt to comment on post–9/11 America. Once again, the powers-that-be ask liberal aristocrat Lord Charles Sheridan to investigate a crime, here the detonation of a bomb in Hyde Park that kills a suspected anarchist seemingly en route to Buckingham Palace shortly after the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902. The explosion raises fear of further outrages, and the king's equerry delivers a royal request that Sheridan determine the extent of the terrorist threat. The lord's independent wife, Kate, slips into her usual role as unofficial helper, conducting a parallel inquiry. Atypically, there's no actual mystery to unravel, while the legitimate parallels between Edwardian England's fears of terror attacks and today's U.S. get lost amid heavy-handed touches such as naming the lead Scotland Yarder charged with protecting the British homeland "Ashcraft." Sheridan's speculation about the future invention of something very much like a cellphone is jarringly improbable. Finally, Jack London fans may be dismayed to see London commit a brutal crime that's totally out of character for the real-life adventure writer and socialist.
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About the Author
Robin Paige is the pseudonym of husband-and-wife writing team Susan Wittig Albert and Bill Albert. Susan Wittig Albert is also the author of the China Bayles mysteries. Bill Albert is the co-author, with his wife, of more than sixty novels for young adults. They live in the Texas hill country.

Customer Reviews

Turn of the century (20th) terrorist plots.
This tenth book in the Kate and Charles Sheridan series deals with the problem of terrorists (or anarchists as they were called then) in England. Apparently in 1902, during the reign of Edward VII, there was fear of this type of violent action. England has just retreated from the Boer War, and they find that their "Jolly Old" is full of foreigners, and surely some of those foreigners must be dangerous! This book is not a mystery story at all. The only death is an accident when a bomb actually blows up the person who was carrying it. It appeared that the bomb was meant for the King and Queen on his Coronation Day. Charles is asked by his King to find out if there is a real anarchist threat, or whether or not this was an isolated incident. The characters are pretty good, and Kate and Charles are delightful as always. Also the writing team of Bill and Susan Albert (pseudonymously knows as Robin Paige) have done their homework. They do a good job of providing enough historical detail, and actual historical people (in this case the American author Jack London), to make the story interesting. This wasn't a bad effort in my mind.

Every one in series better than last.
This is an engaging series in which the history of the period and real personalities from the period are woven into complex, satisfying plots. The books are very readable and I am sorry I am now on the next to last. This one is about the bombing attempt against King Edward and Queen Alexander.

really good!
I really like Robin Paige's Victorian mysteries. This book is always electrifying and you just can't put the book down!