The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin

 

The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin

#2 Jacqueline Kirby

Historical Mystery

Publisher:  Blackstone Audio

Published:  10.1.95

Time: 6 hours 52 minutes

Rating: 3.5 stars

Format: Audio

Source:  Purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

 

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a remote English country mansion, modern devotees of the infamous King Richard III, immortally villainized by Shakespeare, have gathered for a grand weekend of role-playing and Ricardian scholarship. Jacqueline Kirby, an attractive American librarian attending the festivities, anticipates only one mystery to be the five-hundred-year-old question of whether Richard truly killed the little princess in the Tower of London. Jacqueline is amused at the group's eccentricities--until history begins to repeat itself. A dangerous practical joker recreates famous fifteenth-century murder beheading, poisoning, smothering, and even drowning in a butt of malmsey. As the jokes become more and more macabre, one at last proves fatal. Racing to untangle the murderous puzzle, Jacqueline puts all her observations together for a dazzling solution that will surprise even the most attentive listener.

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

A country house party, quirky Richard the III Society gathering, and someone has a malicious bag of tricks playing out against all the guests.  Elizabeth Peters has a fun blend of cozy mystery and historical element with an enigmatic, clever middle-aged heroine in Jacqueline Kirby.

 

This is the second book in the Jacqueline Kirby series.  Both the first book, The Seventh Sinner and this one, The Murders of Richard III work perfectly fine as standalones.

 

Jacqueline is on summer holiday from her university librarian job visiting a scholarly friend in England.  Thomas is hoping for a light summer fling, but Jacqueline is more interested in the tea cakes and historical sites.  He manages to talk her into attending a country house party hosted by one of the members of his Ricardian society.  His group are pro- Richard and feel dogmatic about his innocence in killing the princes and any other dastardly deeds the Tudors leveled at him.  Jacquline thinks it will be fun even after she meets the quirky group.  There are reports, poems, dress-up and the promise of a mysterious document sent to the group that, if authentic, will provide further proof of Richard’s innocence.

 

Told from Thomas’ point of view, the book takes a bit for the plot to get moving, but then the malicious tricks and pranks start happening.  Each member of the society is role-playing and each fall foul of the prankster.  Most think the jokes against the society are irritating and brush it off, but not Jacqueline.  She thinks its dangerous and there is a malicious secret intent behind it all.

 

The Murders of Richard the III was one that was entertaining, but didn’t have a big payoff though I did appreciate being surprised by the who and the why.  I enjoyed the speculation about Richard III and that historical period, the characters were quirky as a group, and Jacqueline was a background player much of the time until a catalyst was needed to take all the loose pieces and bring them into a cohesive whole.  Thomas was a good pick as the level-headed observer who isn’t as clever and sharp as Jacqueline when it comes to the mystery, but he is reliable and manages to see a great deal.

 

Grace Conlin continues to narrate and I enjoyed her voicing Jacqueline and the variety of cast, particularly the society members.

 

This has been a fun revisit to the series in audio edition and I look forward to pressing on to the next Jacqueline Kirby series installment.  Those who enjoy light, gently-paced cozy historical mysteries should check these out.

 

Author’s Bio:

Elizabeth Peters is a pen name of Barbara Mertz. She also wrote as Barbara Michaels as well as her own name. Born and brought up in Illinois, she earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago. Mertz was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar Awards in 1998. She lived in a historic farmhouse in Frederick, western Maryland until her death.

Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

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