Welcome Back! G. A. Chase (husband of author, Deanna Chase) is the author of The Malveaux Curse Mystery series. Dogs Days of Voodoo (Kindle version currently on sale for $.99) and You, Me and the Voodoo Queen are the two books in this series. They are humorous, paranormal mystery novels. They are the type that my mother just loves. Take a look and see if these books are for you!
A Knightsbridge Scandal by Anita Davison is the third book in The Flora Maguire Mystery series. We are swept back to the Edwardian era (1903)
in this novel. Flora Harrington is
visiting her biological father in London.
Flora discovered William Osborne was her birth father only a year ago. Flora and her maid, Sally are staying with
William in his apartment at the Prince Albert Mansions. The first evening they have dinner and attend
the theater. They return home to find
the police in the alley next to the apartment building. A woman had been killed near The Grenadier (a
pub). The victim turns out to be
Evangeline Lange, who was involved in the suffrage movement. Flora’s curiosity is aroused because she had
witnessed a scene between Ms. Lange and a resident of Prince Albert
Mansions. While William is away at work
each day (secretary to the foreign office), Flora (along with her outspoken maid,
Sally) starts nosing into Ms. Lange’s life.
Flora tries to share her findings with Detective Inspector Maddox, the
lead investigator, but he does not appreciate her help (mostly because she is a
woman). Clues lead toward the foreign office and
issues abroad. What was Ms. Lange
involved in? Flora is determined to
unveil the killer, but what happens when she finds herself in a sticky
situation?
A Knightsbridge Scandal is
written during one of my favorite eras—The Edwardian. That is my favorite part of the book. The author did a wonderful job at portraying
the scenery of London, the clothing, conveyances, and people’s attitudes. I found the pace of the story to be slow (plodding)
and the dialogue stilted (awkward). I
wish the author had provided all the background on Flora in this book. I have not had the opportunity to read the
first two books in The Flora Maguire Mystery series (nor will I), and I was missing
some details. I was especially curious
as to why Flora’s husband is called Bunny and why Flora was attracted to him
(and why would she marry Bunny after meeting his mother). The missing information did not affect the
story or my view of the book. The novel
would have been better without Flora’s husband and mother-in-law (especially
her). If those people were in my life, I
would want to escape to London (I probably would never go back home). The only reason Flora was investigating the
crime is curiosity and boredom (I could understand being bored in that time
period). I give A Knightsbridge Scandal
3 out of 5 stars (it was okay). Flora
was not a character I enjoyed. I like
her curiosity, but not her acerbic comments (some of which did not help her
relationship with her birth father) or her recklessness. Detective Inspector Maddox was a pompous,
blowhard. His attitude, unfortunately,
was in line with the time period. Most
men would not appreciate a women’s interference (thankfully, some men were more
enlightened). The mystery seemed
complicated, but I could identify the killer long before the reveal. A Knightsbridge Scandal was not the right
historical, mystery for me. Flora's Secret and Betrayal at Cleeve Abbey are the first two books in the series.
Murder on the Minneapolis is the next book in The Flora Maguire Mystery series and will be published on June 19. Thank you for visiting today. I am off to work on my plumbing (I have been to the hardware store three times so far). Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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