Oscar
Wilde and a Game Called Murder
An
Oscar Wilde Mystery
Gyles
Brandreth
Touchstone
(Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-4165-7579-0 (1416575790)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-7579-5 (9781416575795)
Publication Date: September 2008
List Price: $24.00
Synopsis (from
the publisher): It's 1892, and Oscar Wilde is the toast of London,
riding high on the success of his play Lady Windemere's Fan. While
celebrating with friends at a dinner party he conjures up a game called
"murder" that poses the question: Who would you most like to kill?
Wilde and friends -- including Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, and
poet Robert Sherard (the novel's narrator) -- write the names of their
"victims" on pieces of paper and choose them one by one. After leaving
the party, Wilde scoffs at the suggestion that he may have instigated a
very dangerous game indeed.
The very next day, the game takes an all-too-sinister turn when the
first "victim" turns up dead. Soon Wilde and his band of amateur
detectives must travel through the realms of politics, theatre, and
even boxing to unearth whose misguided passions have the potential to
become deadly poisons...not only for the perpetrator of the seemingly
perfect crimes but also for the trio of detectives investigating them.
Review:
Playwright Oscar Wilde again takes on the role of amateur sleuth in Oscar Wilde and a Game
Called Murder by Gyles
Brandreth. This time he may be investigating the unintended
consequences of an innocuous game of his own devising.
Oscar Wilde's Socrates Club meets every month at the Cadogen Hotel. Its
members include some of the most celebrated men of the time: Wilde, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, (narrator) Robert Sherard, Walter
Sickert, and Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas. On this particular first of
May, 1892, Wilde asks that each member bring a guest to dinner. As part
of the entertainment, he has come up with a game called "Murder". Each
member and guest is given pen and paper and asked to write the name of
someone they would like to kill, if, indeed, they could get away with
the crime. Several people protest that the game is preposterous, but in
the end, all write down a name. The pieces of paper with the names are
put into a bag and pulled out, one by one, and announced to the
audience. Little did anyone know, especially Wilde, that this simple
game would soon become a reality.
The very next day the burned body of Miss Elizabeth Scott-Rivers is
found in her home. It so happens it was her name that was first drawn
the previous night. Though the authorities rule her death an accident,
Wilde is suspicious. When other people whose names were drawn begin
disappearing or found dead, Wilde begins an investigation into the
secrets that the game participants may be hiding, one of whom is
undoubtedly a killer. And he has an incentive: his name was the 13th
drawn.
Oscar
Wilde and a Game Called Murder
is a witty, colorful mystery that is a joy to read. Brandreth has
cleverly blended real and fictional people into real and fictional
situations with the result being an engaging mystery. Wilde's nonstop
witticisms (which, by the way, fellow club member Bosie takes full
credit for the best ones) are a particular delight. Of course Wilde
feels responsible for some of Doyle's ideas later incorporated into
Sherlock Holmes stories. Though historical records have provided
somewhat matter-of-fact depictions of the real people mentioned in this
book (with the possible exception of Oscar Wilde himself), it's a real
pleasure to view them in a different context.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder and to Touchstone for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Oscar
Wilde
and
a Death of No Importance
Touchstone (Hardcover), January 2008
ISBN-10: 1-4165-5174-3 (1416551743)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-5174-4 (9781416551744)
Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder
Touchstone (Hardcover), September 2008
ISBN-10: 1-4165-7579-0 (1416575790)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-7579-5 (9781416575795)
Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile
Touchstone (Hardcover), September 2009
ISBN-10: 1-4391-3728-5 (1439137285)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-3728-4 (9781439137284)
Omnimystery
keywords for Oscar Wilde and a Game
Called Murder ...
Location(s) referenced: London, England.
