Murder Richard 3 (Mass Market Paperback)

Jacqueline Kirby is visiting England, she mets an old friend and former colleague, Thomas, who invites her to join him at a country house party/seminar. The purpose of the group is the study of Richard III, particularly establishing his innocence. The usual eccentric cast of characters is assembled and the requisite series of attacks begins. Naturally Jacqueline solves the crime before anyone else.

On the plus side we get to see more of Ms Kirby in action, learn a bit more about her life (is there a MR Kirby?) and see her solve another interesting mystery. One the negative side we meet a bewildering array of characters who are sometimes referred to by their first names, other times by their last or by the character they are portraying at a costume party. The plot development is a bit ragged and the descriptions of the characters is not always consistent. I found myself backing up and re-reading some sections in order to follow the story which is a bit more work than this type of story warrents.

If you are a Jacqueline Kirby fan you will want to read this one but if you are filling time until your next Amelia Peabody fix you might want to try something else.

In this entry, Kirby is invited to a weekend in an English manor house to look at a letter that is supposed to be sufficient evidence to prove King Richard III of being innocent of killing his two nephews. The members of a Ricardian society are meeting and are playing the roles of someone that played a part in that history. Once there, several members of the party are treated to practical jokes. It was, for me, not too confusing to keep the characters straight; I basically just remembered the characters' real names as opposed to their role-playing character.

Jacqueline is able to figure out the culprit behind the practical jokes before it goes too far but, of course, not before the reader is led to believe that something serious has happened.

While this series does not live up to the Peabody books, and this book is nowhere in the league of "Daughter of Time" by Josephine Tey, it is quite an enjoyable read and I do really like the main character.