- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Constable (Jan 24 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1845296036
- ISBN-13: 978-1845296032
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.2 x 3.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 540 g
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Dickinson's witty, highly literate seventh Lord Francis Powerscourt novel (after 2007's Death on the Nevskii Prospekt) provides a lively portrait of turn-of-the-last-century Ireland, where the English investigator and his wife, Lady Lucy, track down missing ancestral paintings of Anglo-Irish overlords, rescue kidnapped noblewomen from Irish nationalists and unmask murderers defiling the sacred Croagh Patrick pilgrimage. Large dollops of Ireland's long bloody struggle for independence counterpoint snatches of the country's famed song and poetry as Powerscourt thrashes out his inner dilemma against the labor pains of modern nationhood, torn between his aristocratic English heritage and the Ireland of his youth that he still loves deeply. Meanwhile, Ireland's religious and political leaders juggle fanaticism against practicality and Celtic voodoo against political expediency. Though Lady Lucy's role here is subordinated to Dickinson's evident relish in historical settings, architecture, art and poetry, this novel provides splendid entertainment and a wealth of insights into still-smoldering resentments and conflicts. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Review
"* 'This is detective fiction in the grand style; the characters and the plot soar upwards and carry us in their wake. Powerscourt's debut in this intoxicating book is the start of a gilded life in the archives of crime.' - James Naughtie * 'Dickinson textures his canvas with historical detail as thick as the oil paint on one of his favourite paintings by Turner.' - Kirkus Reviews * 'A cracking yarn, beguilingly real from start to finish... you have to pinch yourself to remind you that it is fiction - or is it?' - Peter Snow"
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Powerscourt in Ireland, Jun 3 2009
By L. J. Roberts - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Death on the Holy Mountain (Hardcover)
First Sentence: The box was brown and tightly bund with string.
Someone is stealing ancestral portraits, and a few old masters, from the homes of the landed Protestant gentry in Ireland. Being of that descent, yet having given up his Irish family home, Lord Francis Powerscourt is asked to find the culprit. The question is whether it is a case of traditional theft, or an attempt to force the land-owner Protestant's out of Ireland. When theft turns to murder, the stakes are raised.
I always enjoy Dickinson's writing but this was dryer and more focused on history than murder than his books I've read so far.
Dickinson's wonderful wry humor is still there, as is his perceptiveness. There is a wonderful comparison of two clergymen; the Catholic priest and the Protestant minister. His introspection is there as well; Powercourt's dilemma as to whether he is for or against the Irish struggle.
The descriptiveness of his writing always appeals to me. He involves all the senses and allows you to see, hear, smell and taste the elements of the story. I particularly liked that he included songs of the period. His characters are well defined and alive. Powerscourt, Lady Lucy and, particularly Johnny Fitzgerald are always a pleasure to rediscover.
The plot, in this particular book, was a bit heavy-handed with Irish history. It was fascinating and I did learn a lot, but it also rather overshadowed the suspense of the story. It was a shame as Dickinson can do suspense very well.
Even so, this was a pleasure to read, kept me involved and certainly anxious to read the next book in the series.
DEATH ON THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (Hist/Enq. Agent (PI)-Lord Francis Powerscourt-Ireland-1905) - G+
Dickinson, David - 7th in series
Constable, 2008, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 9781845296032
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mysterious, Entertaining & Captures the Imagination, Jun 1 2009
By C. Ruedinger - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Death on the Holy Mountain (Paperback)
It's just been in the last couple of years that I found David Dickinson's "Lord Frances Powerscourt" mystery series. With every book there is more things to learn about Great Britain and with this book, Ireland. That's the "Easter Egg" of his books - learning historical facts about Great Britain as a back drop to a wonderfully written mystery. No wasting your money here!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Disappointment, May 10 2008
By Porkchop T. - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Death on the Holy Mountain (Hardcover)
Anxiously awaiting the next installment of the Lord Francis Powerscourt series, I pre-ordered this book. I'm sorry to say it was a disappointment. I WAS hoping this book would have less of the grizzly murder and torture scenes David Dickinson seemed to delight in in his previous books like Death of a Chancellor and Death on the Nevskii Prospekt. However, in Murder On The Holy Mountain there is only one murder, briefly described. At the very end of the book, almost as an afterthought, Dickinson mentions that, yes, the victim was horribly tortured. Oh. This book was SO tame it seemed like it was written by a different author.
The book is short on story and long on filler. There is a sub-story about donkeys that goes nowhere. There are songs, poetry and even parts of the Latin Mass quoted liberally. If you're looking for a mini-course in the woeful political history of Ireland, this book is for you. I found it distractingly didactic.
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