From Publishers Weekly
Among the charms of Trow's Lestrade novels (Lestrade and the Ripper, Forecasts, July 5) are tight historical detail, an unusual mix of slapstick and literate humor, and unpredictable plots. In this fifth of the series, it is 1908, and against a backdrop of European imperialism, the Olympic games are coming to London and the suffragist movement is upsetting the status quo. When Lestrade investigates the possible suicide of Anstruther Fitzgibbon, the son of the Marquess of Bolsover, he sees at once that the death was, in fact, murder. Soon he is plunged into stopping a series of killings that seems aimed at British athletes, who are being done to death by shooting, stabbing and poison. Complicating matters are an American Pinkerton agent, officers of the French S?ret? and German Politzei, and British and American newspaper reporters. Trow, having appropriated Conan Doyle's ferret-faced inspector to good advantage, has created a delightful series. Any mystery fan, whether partial to locked rooms, serial killers, period novels or humorous ones, could happily read any of the LestradesAand this latest is a fine place to start. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This popular 16-volume Edwardian series featuring the Conan Doyle character Inspector Sholto Lestrade of Scotland Yard was first published in Britain. In his fifth adventure, Lestrade investigates a series of murders that threaten the London Olympics of 1908. Then, in September, he takes on the ripper.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.