Death at Blenheim Palace [Mass Market Paperback]

Something very foul is afoot at Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of the Churchill clan and Charles and Kate, sometimes known as Lord and Lady Sheridan arrive just in time to try and sort out the various mysteries that are floating about. The fun thing about this entry in the Robin Paige series is that there are so many threads that our amateur sleuths must follow and they do so quite nicely with the assistance of Winston Churchill and young Ned Lawrence who will later gain fame as Lawrence of Arabia.

The first part of the mystery involves a maid who disappeared even before the Sheridan's arrival at Blenheim Palace. This in itself did not stir much alarm but then two of the guests also disappear leaving the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough in a tizzy. The Duke is especially upset because one of the missing guests is his mistress Gladys Deacon. Obviously the Duke and Duchess are not getting along all that well and it is made quite clear that the penny pinching foul tempered Duke only married the Duchess in order to get his hands on her money. The Duke and Duchess, along with Miss Deacon are quite real historical figures and the Duchess' maiden name was Vanderbilt so there was indeed a great deal of money involved in the marriage.

As Charles and Kate begin to sniff around in an effort to find the missing guests they also turn their attention to the AWOL maid. In following her trail they stumble onto a very troubling scenario. It seems that this maid and one of the footmen have also been employed in two other homes that have been burgled during weekend festivities. These festivities involve several guests who wear all of their finery, including some very valuable jewelry. It just so happens that the king and queen will be visiting Blenheim Palace in the very near future and Charles suspects that another burglary is in the works. His investigation leads him to believe that there is a huge criminal syndicate at work, one headed by a man known only as Mr. N., short for "The Napoleon of Crime." This Mr. N. is also a very real character whose real name was Adam Worth and one gets the feeling that the next several entries in this series will involve this arch criminal.

After uncovering this plot, the Sheridan's have to look for answers to several questions. How many of the servants are involved? Who are the servants who are involved reporting to? Is Gladys Deacon involved in the plot and just where is she? And finally, what happened to the maid who left without her pay or her clothes? Some of these questions are fully answered but some issues are left hanging thanks in part to the rash actions of Winston Churchill.

The last few books of this series have been somewhat of a letdown with the authors working overtime to make political points or simply grasping at historical straws that were just too far-fetched to be believable. This book however is a return to the style of the older books produced by this husband and wife team and I enjoyed this book much more than the last two in particular. The atmosphere of the gloomy old palace is portrayed in a very vivid manner and the personalities involved make the whole story a delight. One will feel nothing but pity for the Duchess while at the same time loathing Miss Deacon and the Duke. I found myself to be quite overjoyed when Charles curtly informed the Duke that he didn't intend to take orders from the old miser, Duke or not. It made me want to jump up and shout, "You tell the old buzzard Charles!"

King Henry II built Blenheim Palace for his mistress Rosamund to keep her far away from the jealousies of his wife Queen Eleanor. The present owner, the ninth Duke of Marlborough, married Consuelo Vanderbilt for her money so he can return his palace to its former glory. The pair shares an unhappy marriage though Consuelo does her best to run the palace.

Sleuth Lord Charles Sheldon and his wife Kate visit the Duke and Duchess. However, before they arrive, a servant vanishes without taking her possessions or asking for a reference. Charles believes that she was part of a band of thieves that are stealing valuables from the homes of nobles. He plants a mole inside the servants' quarters to learn if anyone else belongs to the gang. The spy uncovers the identity of another conspirator planning to rob valuables from Blenheim Palace when King Edward and Queen Alexandra visit. Charles and Kate try to ferret out the criminals before His Highness arrives, but the mastermind realizes that and alters the plan.

Meticulous research has gone into this extraordinary historical mystery to the point that readers will recognize Blenheim Palace on sight without a guide. Even with that depth of vividness, the investigation is clever as Kate and Charles play major roles in trying to unravel a conspiracy. Consuelo also is a critical participant coping with an unfaithful spouse who is rude to her even in public while preparing her home for the regal visit. Robin Paige continues to provide some of the best historical mysteries on the market today with this novel proof positive of that assertion.

Harriet Klausner

I have been reading this series for some time, and I enjoy it very much, but this book is far and away the best of the bunch. The best thing about these books is the way that the writing duo of Susan and Bill Albert mix real historical figures and actual historical happenings into a plot for their books. I also enjoy Kate and Charles Sheridan very much. The books are written with enough detail and with enough of an interesting plot to keep readers involved. In this book Kate and Charles are unravelling a series of mysteries at Blenheim Palace. We also are treated to a really good characterization of Winston Churchill as a young man. Blenheim Palace is his historical home as he was also a Marlborough (although never the Duke of Marlborough). Wonderful book.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars