CompleteMartialArts.com - The Price of Murder: A Sir John Fielding Mystery

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Binding: Audio Cassette EAN: 9780736695763 ISBN: 0736695761 Label: Books on Tape Manufacturer: Books on Tape Number Of Items: 7 Publication Date: 2003-10 Publisher: Books on Tape Studio: Books on Tape
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Editorial Reviews: Blind eighteenth-century London judge Sir John Fielding returns in the tenth novel of Bruce Alexander's critically acclaimed mystery series. In The Price of Murder, Sir John and Jeremy are drawn deep into the notorious Seven Dials section of London, where they must contend with the most sordid inclinations of both the working class and the aristocracy. When the body of a young girl is pulled from the Thames, Sir John and Jeremy begin to investigate; but the girl's mother is nowhere to be found, until Jeremy's search for clues leads him to the racetrack. There, he discovers just how dangerous the high-stakes battle is that he has gotten himself into-and, when an acquaintance of his own suddenly disappears, just how terribly steep the odds.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Moving Toward a Series Finish with a Moderately Secure Stride Comment: After the misstep that was "An Experiment in Treason", this is a return to the safe grounds on which the Sir John Fielding series established its success. A young female murder victim is found floating in the Thames. Another young woman goes missing. And the 18th century English racing scene takes a key role. Jeremy Proctor, befitting his approach to manhood, takes a greater responsibility than ever in sorting out the pieces. Tried and true grounds for Alexander, and he covers it well. It's not an exemplary effort, but it is a worthy complement to the first books in the series. But that's not to say that the work is without flaws. The resolution of a false accusation is left hanging. The death of the perpetrator is far-fetched. And charade by which Lady Katherine is informed of the pending nuptials is truly unworthy of the author. This was the last book in the series that Alexander completed before his death. Perhaps he was in an understandable rush to complete. But someone should have stepped in to smooth the rough edges. Customer Rating: Summary: Wonderful writing, but not as much suspense as previous books Comment: I am a huge fan of Bruce Alexander's Sir John Fielding series. I have enjoyed watching young Jeremy grow up, and also watching the sharp mind of Sir John himself. The writing in this book is elegant as always, and the characters that I love are still there, but there isn't much suspense. Having said that, I think Alexander is trying to point out a sickness that has been in society for at least as long as this (the late 18th century to now). Child abandonment and child endangerement are age-old problems, and it was interesting to see how Alexander handles this from the vantage point of his era. We also get an insider's look at the world of horse racing from this era as well. As always Alexander stays true to the era he writes of. This is a very worthy series. Customer Rating: Summary: Fantastic Historical details Comment: I've read the entire Sir John series and am a strong admirer. I think Alexander is highly talented in his abilities to bring to life the gritty, dirty,and often violent streets of old London. I find Sir John to be a terrific character - with the gift of "seeing" into the hearts of men better than most blessed with perfect vision. Customer Rating: Summary: An enjoyable, lightweight historical mystery! Comment: The novel opens on a shocking, dark and deeply tragic note with a waterman's unsettling discovery of five year old Maggie Plummer's naked body floating in the Thames. That she has been brutally sexually molested outrages and appals the brilliant, blind magistrate, Sir John Fielding, who institutes an immediate, urgent investigation with the assistance of his protégé, Jeremy Proctor, and Jeremy's fiancée, Clarissa Roundtree. Jeremy and Clarissa, the intrepid and stalwart Constable Patley and Maggie's uncle, the celebrated jockey Deuteronomy Plummer (who is heart-broken at his niece's death), determine that Maggie's mother, a gin-soaked doxy from Seven Dials, sold her daughter and promptly disappeared to parts unknown. Subsequent investigation reveals that Maggie's mother, thinking she was giving up her daughter to a better life through adoption to a wealthy family, had been tricked into selling her into prostitution and slavery. The plot thickens as key witnesses are murdered and the evidence begins to point to London's upper class. The Price of Murder is a delicious, eminently readable potpourri of styles - first person narration of the tale by Jeremy Proctor in the style of Conan Doyle's Watson; a finely crafted,immensely satisfying mystery plot reminiscent of Agatha Christie's efforts; and a darker, earthier, much more candid representation of Georgian England's working and criminal class that might have been penned by the likes of Anne Perry. I personally would have preferred a deeper exploration into the criminal class and a story that probed prostitution, slavery and trafficking in children as opposed to the less controversial exploration of the horse-racing class in England which the reader was given. That particular disappointment was perhaps a little more profound than it otherwise might have been had Alexander not whetted my appetite so strongly with such a cruel, hard opening to his story! The sub-plot of the disappearance of Clarissa's erstwhile friend, Elizabeth Hooker, effectively wove in and out of the main narrative and was used to provide a very cute, clever ending which it would be quite unfair to disclose. You'll have to read the story yourself for that! The atmosphere and ambience that many other writers of historical fiction would have chosen to provide through the use of extensive descriptive passages or exposition of surrounding historical facts and details was, in a word, absent! Nevertheless, the reader is granted a pleasing feel for the period by Proctor's first person narrative that provided period appropriate conversations, motives, characteristics and actions, for example, appropriate to the stimuli that would have driven a resident of 18th century Georgian England. Equal parts historical fiction, police procedural and mystery with just the tiniest dash of "Upstairs, Downstairs" tossed in for good measure, The Price of Murder is a thoroughly enjoyable, light, fast-paced read. You won't regret taking a copy to the cottage or the beach! Customer Rating: Summary: Elegant writing, wonderful history Comment: Sadly, Bruce Alexander passed on shortly after the release of this book, but has left us one more book after this. What this book may have lacked in suspense and plot twists, it more than made up for interesting, fully-developed characters and providing a picture of the period and, being a huge fan of Dick Francis, the racing world turning that time. I've always thought of his books as somewhat elegant reads. I do highly recommend this series for those who love elegant writing and period history. More Reviews