The Murders of Richard III

Jacqueline Kirby and her friend, Thomas Carter, are invited to attend an English house party. There will be several days of masquerades and lectures from the Ricardians, a group who believe Richard the III innocent of the libelous crimes that have been associated with him since the 5th century. A letter, sent to one of the members, will be revealed that proves his innocence in the infamous deaths of the two princes in the Tower of London. This setting, complete with a baronial mansion and Edwardian costumes, is perfect for the series of accidents that befall the guests.

As always, I enjoyed Elizabeth Peters wit and style but this story is a little too long and somewhat contrived. I lost track of the many characters as they not only used their real names but also the names of the characters they were portraying. There were so many scenes of Jacqueline and Thomas rushing from one floor to another that even I felt exhausted from all those stairs.

Elizabeth Peters is one of my favorite authors for good light reading, unfortunately, this book is just not one of her best.

Librarian Jacqueline Kirby is invited by her friend Thomas to attend a special meeting of a society dedicated to proving that Richard III did not kill his nephews in order to gain the throne of England. Thomas is a member of this society, and the meeting is to discuss a recently discovered letter that supposedly proves that the princes were alive after the time when Richard III supposedly murdered them. Thomas asks Jacqueline to attend because she has some skill with authenticating old documents. The members of the society are spending the weekend at the country house of their leader, coincidentally named Sir Richard. Part of the festivities include a costume party in which the guests dress up as historical figures associated with Richard III. However, the party soon takes a disastrous turn as someone begins playing cruel jokes on the guests, putting them into situations that duplicate the way in which their characters died. But what is the motive behind these cruel jokes? Is someone trying to ruin the image of the society, or do the jokes serve a much more sinister purpose?

I like most of Elizabeth Peters's books, but I found myself kind of annoyed with this one. I loved the historical background of the story, but the heroine was getting on my nerves. Being a feminist is one thing, but being insulting and obnoxious is another. Here is a quote to demonstrate what I mean. In this scene, the characters are discussing their theories about the crime. Jacqueline is reluctant to state hers, but she loves mocking everyone else's:

"'Well?' He turned to Jacqueline. 'What do you think?'

'I think,' Jacqueline said calmly, 'that your theory has so many holes, it leaks like a colander.'

Strangways's face darkened. Thomas watched with interest. He had never seen the man so angry ...

'Oh,' said Strangways in a stifled voice. 'So you're one of those.'

'One of what?'

'Liberated women. You have to degrade men to make yourselves feel superior. ...'

'Oh, what a shame,' she said in a voice of saccharine sweetness. 'I've hurt your feelings. I've dared to imply you might be wrong about something. Forgive me. I will accept your admonition. I will not offend you by presenting my weak, female attempts at reason.'"

What does she mean 'imply'? She was being deliberately insulting! She didn't really make any attempts at 'reason' either. Insults do not equal reasonable debate. It doesn't matter that she states it 'calmly' either; that's just a form of passive aggression. If she had pointed out why she didn't agree with his theory, that would be different. However, she just throws out a insult and gets snippy when he calls her on it. As a woman, I am personally embarrassed by this. But apart from the fact that I was deeply disappointed when no one hit her over the head with something, the mystery itself wasn't bad. Come prepared with your own theories regarding who really killed the princes in the tower!

I had feared there would be too much about the mystery in modern times and not enough about Richard III, but there was enough discussion of the past (and love for the long-dead man) to suit my tastes. As for the more modern goings-on, they were certainly amusing enough to hold my interest. And since there was more than one mystery, while I solved one of them well before the reveal, the other one snuck up on me.

Elizabeth Peters is one of my favorite writers, and so far none of her books have disappointed me. This one excited me more than usual, however, because of my keen interest in Richard III, and I had hoped it would prove to be her best work (or at least my personal favorite). My hopes were too high, unfortunately, but the book is utterly readable and enjoyable.

This is a fun standalone mystery in which someone begins to re-create the murders that Richard III supposedly committed. There are many twists in this tale, some rather improbable. Many readers might not pick up on all the references, but it is great fun, with a wonderfully creepy atmosphere.

The many character of this story has a biting, critical pampas toward every one in the house. but who also happens to be extremely intelligent seeing clues that others miss. The story is a rather dry, Victorian who-done-it. I group of people gather at a castle for a weekend, each playing the part as though they are living it at the moment of the murders of Richard III. The book introduces characters and theories, by the later part the story line begins to pick up with some previous comic jokes toward others. The irritating intelligence of Jacqueline Kirby creates within me a desire to follow further books in this series

Good story

Librarian Jacqueline Kirby is acquainted with more subjects than the average person, because she reads everything. Or as close to everything as one person can manage, anyway. On a vacation in England, she joins her friend (or more than friend?) Thomas Carter for a weekend at a country manor - a weekend dedicated to the Ricardians, a group whose reason for existing is to exonerate King Richard III of the murders of his two young nephews. Mind you, Richard III lived long ago; and historians offer differing views of his life, including whether or not he committed (or ordered) those murders. But the Ricardians are passionate about their cause, and on this weekend they hope to find proof at last as their host unveils a recently discovered letter from King Richard's time. Meanwhile, they enjoy dressing in period costumes and taking on the roles of real historical figures.

Of course, since this is an Elizabeth Peters mystery, someone winds up dead. That doesn't happen, though, until several guests have been subjected to rather violent practical jokes that re-enact murders of which Richard III stands accused by history. Jacqueline Kirby dives into solving the mystery (or should that be mysteries?) with enthusiasm. Thomas Carter, from whose viewpoint the book is written, aids her when he can and often finds her baffling despite his smitten state.

I did not find Jacqueline Kirby anywhere near as interesting a character as the same author's Victorian archaeologist heroine, Amelia Peabody. Nor did I care very much about the story's lesser players. On the whole, the characters (including Jacqueline) annoyed me just as often as they engaged me. However, the story itself is well told and the plot has no major problems. A decent mystery, although I won't be seeking out more books in this series.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of "Granite Island"

The second novel in the Jacqueline Kirby series, The Murders of Richard III, finds Jacqueline in England at a country house party dedicated to a Ricardian society. The problem is....there a joker among them who is ready to recreate Richard's supposed murders. Jacqueline needs to figure out who the culprit is before he actually kills someone.

This is a great story, not only for Elizabeth Peters fans, but also for Ricardian enthusiasts. I definitely recommend it!