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Praise for the Lord Powerscourt series: "Excellent."-Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Dickinson textures his canvas with historical detail as thick as the oil paint on one of his favorite paintings by Turner."-Kirkus Reviews 1905. A pilgrim is killed in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, and Lord Francis Powerscourt is summoned to investigate. More deaths plague pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, before Powerscourt solves the murders. David Dickinson has an honors degree in classics from Cambridge. He is a BBC editor and the author of eight mysteries in the Lord Powerscourt series. He lives in Barnes, West London, United Kingdom. ...
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The recent theft of family portraits seems to be nothing more than a prank after the artwork is returned, painted over with the faces of locals. But then a body is discovered, and Lord Francis Powerscourt risks everything to find the killer. ...
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"Excellent. . . . Dickinson's knowledge of the arts, history and literature is nothing if not exhaustive, and adds enormously."-Publishers Weekly "Fine prose, high society and a complex plot recommend this series."-Library Journal Original or fake, masterpiece or forgery: misadventure or murder? England 1899, and the Salisbury Galleries in London announce the biggest exhibition of "Old Master" paintings ever seen in Europe. Excitement is intense, but before the exhibition opens, one of Britain's leading art experts, Christopher Montague, is found dead in his study. When Lord Francis Powerscourt is called in to investigate, he finds that every book, notepad, and scrap of paper has been removed from the scene of the crime. Montague had been working on something that would have rocked the art world. Did the article that claimed a number of the "Old Masters" had been painted recently by a single hand have anything to do with his death? Powerscourt embarks on an odyssey through a treacherous world of art dealers and picture restorers in pursuit of a master forger. He travels to Sicily where the trail grows cold, but, after the thrills and dangers of that lawless island, it is in a remote corner of the English countryside where the truth is finally revealed. ...
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Lord Francis Powerscourt must save the life of Queen-Empress Victoria. England, 1897. London is preparing for Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, the celebration to mark her sixtieth year as Queen and Empress of a quarter of the surface of the globe. The immense importance of the occasion inevitably brings danger in its wake. The troubles begin when a body is found floating in the Thames. Lord Francis Powerscourt, a private investigator trusted by the court, is called in. His research leads him to a mysterious mansion in Oxfordshire, with ancient temples in its gardens and more recent secrets in the house. There a second corpse is found, burnt to death, the door of the victim's room locked from the outside. Following the deaths by water and fire, Francis is led into the arcane world of bonds and futures in the City of London, which in turn takes him back to his native Ireland and a terrifying night encounter deep in the Wicklow Mountains. As the investigation proceeds, Powerscourt realizes that more is at stake than murder, and his mission is far greater than simply to find a killer-upon his success or failure lies the success of the Imperial Jubilee. Powerscourt's own life, and that of his family, will also stand in terrible danger before he can solve this mystery. Will Victoria's loyal subjects be able to salute their monarch in safety? Only if Powerscourt can crack the riddle of Death and the Jubilee. ...
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"A kind of locked bedroom mystery. . . . Dickinson's view of the royals is edgy and of course shaped by our times."-The Poisoned Pen "Fine prose, high society and complex plot recommend this series."-Library Journal A sinister secret at the heart of Compton Cathedral leads to murder. England, 1901. The cathedral in the town of Compton in the west of England is preparing to celebrate a very special anniversary: one thousand years of Christian worship. But a few weeks before the main ceremonies at Easter, the chancellor of the cathedral dies under mysterious circumstances. No one, except the doctor and the undertaker, is allowed to view the corpse. It turns out that the chancellor was one of the richest men in England. His sister suspects foul play, so the discreet and well-bred investigator Lord Francis Powerscourt is called in. He begins to suspect that a terrible secret lies hidden in the cathedral. Then there is a truly dreadful incident: the dead body of one of the choristers is discovered, turning on the great spit in the Vicars Hall kitchen. Both Powerscourt and his wife, Lady Lucy, are at risk of their lives before he uncovers the astonishing secret of Compton Minster and unmasks a brutal killer. ...
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"In this excellent novel, Dickinson weaves a tale of blackmail and murder among the royals late in Victoria's reign. . . . [His] knowledge of the arts, history and literature is nothing if not exhaustive, and adds enormously to the overall background. . . . One hopes to see more of Lord Powerscourt and his friends in the near future."-Publishers Weekly "This is detective fiction in the grand style. Powerscourt's debut in this intoxicating book is the start of a gilded life in the archives of crime fiction. He's going to be a star."-James Naughtie The debut of aristocrat-investigator Lord Francis Powerscourt, who takes on investigations too delicate for the police. Prince Eddy is a notorious wastrel. But when he is found in his bedroom at Sandringham with his throat cut, his father, King George V, decides that the crime must be concealed. The prince is said to have died of influenza. Lord Francis Powerscourt is secretly commissioned to find the killer, but there are so many who have reason to hate the debauched and vicious prince that the task is a hard one. It leads him across Europe, to Venice, where amidst scandal and suicide, Powerscourt finally unravels the mystery. David Dickinson was born in Dublin. After reading classics at Cambridge, he joined the BBC. Goodnight Sweet Prince is the first in the Lord Powerscourt series. ...
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Someone is killing eminent lawyers; Lord Francis Powerscourt is summoned to investigate discreetly. Queen's Inn is London's youngest and most fashionable Inn of Court. During a feast on February 29, 1902, senior barrister Alexander Dauntsey collapses into his soup and dies. He has been poisoned. Soon after, his friend Woodford Stewart is shot dead, and Lord Francis Powerscourt is summoned to discreetly investigate the matter of the murdered barristers. His inquiries take him into the heart of legal London where the wills of the dead can reveal the crimes of the living. It takes him to the center of a troubled marriage where lack of children imperils everything. And it takes him to Calne, a mysterious house in the country where the glorious past is boarded up and the treasures of generations hide beneath the dustsheets. There are many suspects: a jealous wife, a mistress fearful of being jilted, a work colleague beaten to the senior role in the Inn, and a cuckolded husband who writes books about poisons. Powerscourt himself is put in grave danger before he finally solves the mystery of Death Called to the Bar. ...
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"Dickinson textures his canvas with historical detail as thick as the oil paint on one of his favorite paintings by Turner."-Kirkus Reviews "Lovers of British historical mysteries will enjoy Powerscourt's latest adventures."-Booklist "Splendid entertainment."-Publishers Weekly In 1904, Powerscourt comes out of retirement to go to Russia in one of the strangest cases of his career. A British diplomat has been discovered, his throat cut, on one of the bridges spanning the Nevskii Prospekt in St Petersburg. It transpires that the diplomat knew a secret-and that secret killed him. As Powerscourt strides through the halls of the Winter Palace and falls foul of the Okhrana, the Russian secret police, he has to attend to other matters. Russia is on the verge of revolution, and he must solve the crime and escape to England before time runs out. ...
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