No More Dying
A
Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne Mystery
David Roberts
Soho Constable (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-539-3 (1569475393)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-539-3 (9781569475393)
Publication Date: February 2009
List Price: $25.00
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Lord Edward Corinth embarks on his most important
investigation. It is 1939 and it is clear that Britain will soon be at
war and MI5 has learnt that an enemy agent has been dispatched to
England to assassinate Winston Churchill. The assassin’s
identity is unknown and Lord Edward, pursuing one line of enquiry, goes
to Cliveden, the Astors' country house in Buckinghamshire.
Verity Browne is also at Cliveden, much as she despises the "Cliveden
Set". She has been ordered by her superiors in the Communist Party to
get as close as possible to one of the Astor’s guests, Joesph
Kennedy, the American Ambassador in the UK. And when the
ambassador’s sons Joe and Jack Kennedy discover the body of a
man in Cliveden’s grounds, Verity is dismayed to recognize
the dead man as a former journalistic colleague from the civil war
which still rages in Spain.
The race against time to identify Churchill’s would-be
assassin and the murderer of Verity’s friend takes the
intrepid duo to Switzerland and a nail-biting climax on St
Moritz’s icy Cresta Run.
Review:
Lord Edward Corinth investigates a pre-war assassination plot in No More Dying, the
ninth mystery in this series by David Roberts.
The year is 1939. Hitler's Germany is advancing on all fronts, and the
threat of world war seems imminent. British intelligence learns of a
secret plot to kill its Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, because he
believes that, with the help of the United States, England can defeat
Germany. The US Ambassador to England, Joseph Kennedy, however, has
said America will not get involved. Lord Edward Corinth is asked to
stay close to Churchill. Separately, Verity Browne, a reporter and
card-carrying member of the Communist Party, has ordered her to do
whatever necessary to make a connection with the Ambassador, even if it
means using her fiancé, Lord Edward.
Verity and Lord Edward are an odd couple, to be sure. Verity doesn't
believe in "anything that makes a woman less than a man" but she's in
love with Lord Edward, her polar opposite. She is convinced their love
for each other will withstand all obstacles brought forth by their
contrasting beliefs and diverse backgrounds, and from both their
families and friends.
The couple is invited to the Astor estate where Ambassador Kennedy and
his sons, Joe Jr. and Jack, are staying. Verity despises the
environment she finds herself in, but when a fellow reporter, also a
Communist, is found dead, she cannot leave. The next day, another man
is found murdered in a similar manner. Lord Edward, who
fancies himself an amateur sleuth, always wonders why dead bodies turn
up where they ought not. Are these deaths related, or somehow connected
to the plot the kill Churchill? Verity is facing problems of a
different sort. Members of her party are acting in a manner contrary to
her strongly held views. Does she look the other way for the sake of
the party or confront them for the sake of her beliefs?
Lord Edward and Verity realize they have a better chance working
together with Scotland Yard to solve these murders and identify the
threat facing the Prime Minister.
No More Dying
is a multi-faceted story that will resonate with readers. Real life
historical figures mingle with richly drawn fictional characters, and
are set within an electrifying murder mystery. This bleak time in world
history provides a striking backdrop to the plot, and the complex but
deeply satisfying love story between Lord Edward and Verity make the
book not only fully developed but complete.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of No More Dying and to Soho Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Have you read No More Dying? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Sweet Poison
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), February 2000
ISBN-10: 0-7867-0819-0 (0786708190)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-0819-2 (9780786708192)
The Bones of the
Buried
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), October 2001
ISBN-10: 0-7867-0908-1 (0786709081)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-0908-3 (9780786709083)
Hollow Crown
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), November 2002
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1052-7 (0786710527)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1052-2 (9780786710522)
Dangerous Sea
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), December 2003
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1215-5 (0786712155)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1215-1 (9780786712151)
The More Deceived
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), October 2004
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1418-2 (0786714182)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1418-6 (9780786714186)
A Grave Man
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), October 2005
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1596-0 (0786715960)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1596-1 (9780786715961)
The Quality of
Mercy
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), November 2006
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1840-4 (0786718404)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1840-5 (9780786718405)
Something Wicked
Carroll & Graf (Hardcover), October 2007
ISBN-10: 0-7867-2048-4 (0786720484)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-2048-4 (9780786720484)
No More Dying
Soho Constable (Hardcover), February 2009
ISBN-10: 1-56947-539-3 (1569475393)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-539-3 (9781569475393)
Omnimystery keywords for No More Dying ...
Location(s) referenced: London, England, Switzerland.
