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 Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Oscar Wilde and
the Candlelight Murders
Not published in the US
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)
Omnimystery keywords for Oscar Wilde and a Game Called
Murder ...
Location(s) referenced: London, England.
