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Title details for Death and the Visitors by Heather Redmond - Available

Death and the Visitors

#2 in series

by Heather Redmond
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Stepsisters Mary and Jane find themselves caught up in a mystery involving a drowned Russian and missing diamonds, while falling for the charms of poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron—in this gripping historical mystery from the acclaimed author of the A Dickens of a Crime series.
1814: Foreign diplomats are descending on London in advance of the Congress of Vienna meetings to formulate a new peace plan for Europe following Napoleon's downfall. Mary and Jane's father, political philosopher William Godwin, is hosting a gathering with an advance party of Russian royal staff. The Russians are enthusiastic followers of Mary's late mother, philosopher and women's rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, which leads to a lively dinner discussion.
Following their visit, Jane overhears her father reassuring his pushiest creditor that the Russians have pledged diamonds to support his publishing venture, the Juvenile Library, relieving his financial burden. But when Godwin is told the man who promised the diamonds was pulled from the River Thames, his dire financial problems are further complicated by the suspicion that the family may have been involved in the murder.
Stepsisters Mary and Jane resolve to find the real killer to clear the family name. Coming to their aid is Godwin's disciple, the dashing poet Percy Shelley, who seems increasingly devoted to Mary, despite the fact that he is married. And a young woman Jane befriends turns out to be the mistress of the celebrated poet—and infamous lover—Lord Byron.
As both sisters find themselves perhaps dangerously captivated by the poets, their proximity to the truth of the Russian's murder puts them in far greater peril . . .

  • Creators

  • Series

    Mary Shelley Mystery

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 20, 2024

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781496749055

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781496749055
      • File size: 986 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      August 1, 2024
      The Congress of Vienna brings a host of foreign dignitaries but precious little prosperity to the Godwin family in 1814 London. In the run-up to the congress, the Godwins host Polish Princess Maria and her Russian husband, Dmitry Naryshkin, in their damp, creaking house on Skinner Street in hopes that the pair will support their literary efforts. Although Mary Godwin finds it wonderful that her late mother Mary Wollstonecraft'sA Vindication of the Rights of Woman "has made it all the way to Russia," the practical value of this literary achievement is virtually nil. The Naryshkins' promise to support the Godwins' library evaporates when Dmitry is killed. In this rambling and episodic sequel toDeath and the Sisters (2023), the feckless William and Mary Jane Godwin remain incapable of running a household. After having her French maid thrown in jail for allegedly stealing a dress, brutal Mary Jane forces her stepdaughter, Mary, to become the family cook. The ingenuity with which the future author ofFrankenstein conjures up meals without money is truly a marvel, but her herculean domestic efforts leave the story stuck in the waiting room. Percy Bysshe Shelley, who's still married to Harriet Westbrook, makes vague promises to deliver some diamonds to the impoverished Godwins, but his main service to the family is taking Mary and her stepsister, Jane, out for fresh air. Interest in Dmitry's murder is fleeting and its solution perfunctory. The most romantic figure is Lord Byron, who appears in a brief cameo at the house of his mistress. Readers who know how the Shelley-Godwin tale ends will wonder how it will ever get there.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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