The Price of Murder - Softcover

Alexander, Bruce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425198073 ISBN 13: 9780425198070

Publisher: Berkley, 2004

Synopsis

Experience the dangerous intrigue of Georgian England in this novel in Bruce Alexander's acclaimed historical mystery series featuring Sir John Fielding.

When the body of a young girl is pulled from the Thames, blind magistrate Sir John Fielding’s investigation leads his protégé, Jeremy Proctor, into the notorious Seven Dials section of London. There the sordid inclinations of both the working class and aristocracy may be found—and there, Jeremy learns that the girl’s mother has disappeared near the racetrack. As he delves further into the mystery, he will begin to realize just how high the stakes are, and—when an acquaintance of his own suddenly vanishes—just how terribly steep the odds really are.

About this title

About the Author:

Bruce Alexander is the pseudonym for a well-known journalist and author of fiction and nonfiction. He was the author of the Sir John Fielding historical mysteries, including Murder in Grub Street, which was named a notable book by the New York Times Book Review in 1995.

From Publishers Weekly:

In Alexander's 10th enjoyable Sir John Fielding novel set in Georgian England (after 2002's An Experiment in Treason), the brilliant blind magistrate and his young apprentice Jeremy Proctor investigate the brutal murder of a little girl whose mother had sold her into slavery. The trail leads Jeremy into a new world, the racetrack, as he joins forces with the victim's uncle, legendary jockey Deuteronomy Plummer. The challenges of the inquiry mount, as crucial witnesses turn up dead and evidence suggests that a member of the upper class is involved. The assistance of Jeremy's almost-fiancee, Clarissa Roundtree, proves vital when her childhood friend Elizabeth Hooker disappears only to resurface after a melodramatic escape from a brothel-a subplot borrowed from a celebrated real-life unsolved mystery. As with other recent entries in this fine series, the once-dominant Sir John plays a largely supporting role. His sage advice and struggle to serve justice in a corrupt milieu guide his assistant's growth and maturation. This shift also mirrors a trend to underplay the whodunit aspect. Routine police procedure has largely supplanted Holmesian deductive pyrotechnics. Restoring the old balance by adding to Jeremy's sleuthing skills in future entries might win more classic mystery fans. FYI: The subplot, based on the unexplained disappearance of a young woman named Elizabeth Canning, takes center stage in Josephine Tey's The Franchise Affair (1948) and is "solved" in Lillian De La Torre's Elizabeth Is Missing (1945). Arthur Machen's The Canning Wonder (1926) provides the definitive nonfiction account.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Berkley
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0425198073
• ISBN 13: 9780425198070
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320