I’ve been absolutely devouring the mystery titles being rediscovered from the Library of Congress and the British Library. There are so many amazing tales that deserve new generation of readers. Though short, this one was an absolute charmer.
On a rainy, late Victorian evening in London, a group of men sit in their club. They are bemoaning the fact that a bill they oppose will pass in Parliament before the session closes that night. As they sit there in defeat, they notice Sir Andrew, the bill’s main supporter, is across the room. They hatch a Scheherazade plan to tell him intriguing tales and distract him until the vote is over.
The American ambassador begins the distraction. He tells a harrowing story of being lost in the London fog at night. He quite literally has to feel his way along the fence line of front gardens to avoid falling off the curb. The gas lamps do nothing to dispel the gloom. And just when he decides it’s hopeless, a bright light spills out from an opening front door. He decides he will throw himself on the mercy of its inhabitants and starts to fumble at the gate when an unseen figure rushes past him. The figure doesn’t help him but he crawls up the stoop to the interior of the home. Entering the parlor in search of residents whom he can beg sanctuary, he finds a surprise: two dead bodies and a sleeping servant. He learns it is home to Princess Zichy, a Russian aristocrat, now deceased. But was she really a princess, or simply a talented scammer?
In his haste he left the door of the house open, entered it he had handed his card to the servant. That piece of paper may yet send him gallows. In the mean time he has disappeared completely, and somewhere, in one of the millions of streets in this great capital, in a locked and empty house, likes the body of his brother, and of the woman his brother loved, undiscovered, unburied, and with their murder unavenged. ~Pg. 34
The men have got Sir Andrew hooked, as well as the readers, and they continue to keep us all enraptured with stories of diamonds, intrigue, and murder.
This book is terribly fun. The ‘mystery’ itself is an entertaining one but it is the framing of the story that makes it such a delight. Knowing that these characters are making up the convoluted tale and adding to one another’s entries makes it all the more funny for the reader.
My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press / Sourcebooks for the review copy.
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (March 5, 2024)
Language: English
Paperback: 144 pages
ISBN-10: 1728296234
Remind me please to read it!