- Hardcover
- Publisher: Touchstone Books
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1416579753
- ISBN-13: 978-1416579755
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,353,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In British author Brandreth's impressive second Oscar Wilde mystery (after 2007's Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance), the aesthete and playwright proves himself a brilliant and insightful sleuth. At a May 1892 meeting of the Socrates Club, a group founded by Wilde and including such luminaries as Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker, the members play murder, a game that involves writing the name of a victim on a piece of paper and trying to guess who chose whom and why. The amusement sours in the face of certain selections in poor taste, like Mrs. Oscar Wilde. Real murders follow, starting with the horrific death by fire of the ex-fiancée of one of the participants, a disgraced minister. As in Nicholas Meyer's second Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The West End Horror, such real-life figures as Doyle or Stoker can be easily eliminated as the killer, but there are enough other suspects to keep the reader guessing at the solution of this intricate whodunit. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Product Description
Herschel Walker is widely regarded as one of football's greatest running backs. He led the University of Georgia to victory in the Sugar Bowl on the way to an NCAA Championship and he capped a sensational college career by earning the 1982 Heisman Trophy. Herschel spent twelve years in the NFL, where he rushed for more than eight thousand yards and scored sixty-one rushing touchdowns.
But despite the acclaim he won as a football legend, track star, Olympic competitor, and later a successful businessman, Herschel realized that his life, at times, was simply out of control. He often felt angry, self-destructive, and unable to connect meaningfully with friends and family. Drawing on his deep faith, Herschel turned to professionals for help and was ultimately diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder.
While some might have taken this diagnosis as a setback, Herschel approached his mental health with the same indomitable spirit he brought to the playing field. It also gave him, for the first time, insight into his life's unexplained passages, stretches of time that seemed forever lost. Herschel came to understand that during those times, his "alters," or alternate personalities, were in control.
Born into a poor, but loving family in the South, Herschel was an overweight child with a stutter who suffered terrible bullying at school. He now understands that he created "alters" who could withstand abuse. But beyond simply enduring, other "alters" came forward to help Herschel overcome numerous obstacles and, by the time he graduated high school, become an athlete recognized on a national level.
In Breaking Free, Herschel tells his story -- from the joys and hardships of childhood to his explosive impact on college football to his remarkable professional career. And he gives voice and hope to those suffering from DID. Herschel shows how this disorder played an integral role in his accomplishments and how he has learned to live with it today. His compelling account testifies to the strength of the human spirit and its ability to overcome any challenge.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
mystery at its best,
This review is from: Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder: A Mystery (Paperback)
This entertaining mystery is one in a series and the series is amazingly good. Oscar Wilde solving murder mysteries! And so we have the sparkling banter of that witty, charming man as well as a good puzzle. I've read the whole series thus far and can't wait to see what Brandreth writes next!
5.0 out of 5 stars
OSCAR WILDE LIVES AGAIN!,
By
This review is from: Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder: A Mystery (Paperback)
It' is hard to believe that this author wasn''t writing his autobiography ... this story rang so true. Oscar Wilde comes to life with a Sherlock-Holmes-like penchant for sleuthing. Speaking of Holmes, by the way: Arthur Conan Doyle breathes again in these pages. AND Bram Stoker.
But making the period come alive isn''t this book''s only A+ recommendation. It''s a first-rate murder mystery. For those who love this genre, you cannot miss this book. It keeps you guessing throughout but not with phoney clues thrown in helter-skelter just to fool you. Brandreth has created a complex plot with the best of clues smoothly woven into it at the right places (but you don't know that until the end). Mind you, there is enough there to keep you entertained, guessing back and forth who the murderer is. In the end, there is a vintage mystery denouement (a la Christie''s Poirot) that fulfills all the questions Brandreth dangled in front of you. Though you are in for a surprise at the end, you are not left exasperated because the clues had been impossible to detect. You are left instead like all the wisest couch-detectives saying "'Aaaah, yes. Of course".' All through the book I promised myself that I''d google the other interesting characters in the book, because ALL of them came across so real. I didn''t have to google them. In a touching postscript, Brandreth clears up these questions, and more. You are left deeply moved (well, I was), and totally in the grips of what he reveals of the characters. I won''t ruin that for you here. The book is sprinkled with Oscar Wilde irreverent quotes which make you smile, if not laugh. To my ghoulish delight (it is fiction, after all) there IS more than one murder. Not knowing who or if someone will be done away with next kept me enthralled. I quickly ordered another book of Brandreth''s Oscar Wilde series so I wouldn''t be left waiting for another excursion into Wilde times. After that there is one more to read. I can only PRAY that Brandreth is working on a fourth and fifth. He cannot write fast enough to satisfy my hunger for more.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews) 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Four and a half stars,
By W. Carter - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder: A Mystery (Paperback)
This is the second in Mr. Brandreth's Oscar Wilde mystery series and it proves to be a most impressive follow-up. Having read OSCAR WILDE AND A DEATH OF NO IMPORTANCE, I must admit to having high expectations. I was not disappointed.
It takes place in 1892 London. Oscar Wilde, bon vivant extraordinaire, is at the top of his game professionally as LADY WINDEMERE'S FAN has opened and a huge hit. In his personal life, he spends time with other literary luminaries such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker. The three of them, along with others, are members of the Socrates Club--basically a supper club which meets on Sunday evenings. As the book begins, Mr. Wilde throws out the question to the other 13 men present at the meeting: "what person or persons would each of you most like to murder?" Bizarre? Definitely. But it is intended to be only a game....until the next day when one of the named victims indeed meets a tragic end. Oscar Wilde (as Sherlock Holmes), is not only brilliant and cunning in his deductive reasoning but "wildely" entertaining. Oscar's dear friend, Robert Sherard, is again along for the ride and plays his role as Dr. Watson (as well as narrator of the book) very admirably. One comes away from these forays into Victorian England feeling as though time has been spent with the inimitable Mr. Wilde. Tres amusant! More importantly, however, the author's ability to construct a tightly woven mystery is exquisite. The reading is fast and furious. Enjoy! 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oscar Wilde, Master Sleuth,
By W. Oliver - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder: A Mystery (Paperback)
The Oscar Wilde Mysteries continues with this second installment and it is as much fun as the original (Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance: A Mystery). Oscar and his fellow chums Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, and other notables gather together for their annual Socrates Club dinner in which Wilde proposes that they play a game in which they write down a person they would like to see dead. The "game" turns deadly when the people on the list begin to turn up dead. Time is running out and Oscar himself as well as his wife Constance is on the list! The book, like the first, is told from the viewpoint of Robert Sherard, Oscar's good friend and confidante. Author Brandreth writes in an engaging style that flows smoothly and keeps you turning the pages. In addition to the sprinkling of notable names, the book is filled with fascinating tidbits about events of the day (such as the invention of chewing gum!). The series is witty, clever, and totally entertaining. Fortunately for us, the author says that there are more books on the way!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Murder He Suggested,
By Ted Feit - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder: A Mystery (Paperback)
Apparently casting Oscar Wilde as a protagonist served well in the introductory volume of what seems to be a burgeoning series. And the technique serves well in this second in the mystery series. Set in 1892, Wilde is surrounded by friends such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker (author of Dracula), and the flavor of London of the era is delicious.
Wilde chairs what he calls the Socrates Club, where his friends and their guests enjoy dinner and a game. This time, Wilde invents one called "murder," in which each participant is asked to write down the name of someone they would most desire to kill if there was no danger of being caught. When each slip of paper is read, the names vary from the supercilious (a parrot, Sherlock Holmes, Eros and Father Time) to the much more serious: Wilde and his wife, Constance, among others. The very next day, the first victim falls, followed on three succeeding days by more victims on a daily basis. Are Wilde and his wife next? Read on and find out. Step by step, we learn more about Oscar Wilde, his erudition and analytical ability. It becomes his task to solve the mystery of the four deaths and who has perpetrated the acts. Written in the style of a 19th Century novel, some readers may be put off in the reading. But rest assured, it is well worth the effort. For the most part, it's a lot of fun and some of the observations quite charming. Recommendned. |
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