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Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor

by Stephanie Barron

Shinju

by Laura Joh Rowland

The Murders of Richard III

by Elizabeth Peters

The Devil’s Hunt

by P.C. Doherty

The Flanders Panel

by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Margaret Jull Costa, trans.

Aspiring authors looking for an entrée into publishability and as yet unencumbered with genre might consider writing a historical mystery. Readers, no longer satisfied with the pure entertainment value of a thriller, are craving a little elucidation with their whodunit. Though the genre has its superstars (including Stephen Sailor, Nancy Davis, Michael Jecks, and Ellis Peters), Marian Misters, co-owner of Toronto’s Sleuth of Baker Street, says that the dearth of authors (relative to mysteries) makes most of the books hot properties.

“We sell anything historical that we can get our hands on,” Misters says, and adds that “absolutely, without a doubt,” historical mysteries are gaining in popularity. “People learn something about another era. It’s not the run-of-the-mill kill ’em and find ’em. There’s the historical element and the political element of the time.”

Laura Joh Rowland’s debut novel, Shinju, is a mystery set in 17th-century Japan. Two bodies bound together are discovered in Edo Bay. All appearances suggest that the lovers decided to end their lives with a ritual double suicide – or shinju. However when Sano the newly appointed police chief suspects foul play, he decides to investigate further. Although Sano received his appointment through connections rather than merit, his training as a samurai and his inquisitive nature send him on a quest for the truth. But the more he finds out, the more he is encouraged by his superiors to close the investigation. It’s a cover-up.

From describing the rigidity of the class system to the clothes worn by samurai warriors, Rowland evokes the richness of Japanese life 300 years ago. We are given an enlightening (but never pedantic) primer of Edo society. Though Rowland is not averse to writing melodramatic prose (“His disapproval gripped Lady Niu’s heart like a physical pain,”) or forgoing subtlety for some in-your-face earnestness (“Honour must return to him as a result of following his own path, or not at all”) Sano’s quest and the adversity he must overcome to succeed make for an entertaining read.

With the recent wave of Austenmania in the movies (and subsequently a return by readers to the source), it’s no wonder Stephanie Barron decided to pen a mystery with Jane Austen as the sleuth. Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor is the Victorian equivalent of Jessica Fletcher where sense and sensibility make up for any deficit of formal training in the forensic sciences. Set up as a series of journal entries by the wry maiden herself, Barron ups the cute premise with editors’ footnotes (“Because these manuscripts were intended as private journals, occasional passages exist where Jane is clearly “talking to herself”) and stuffy syntax (“my hands being engaged in supporting myself upon the saddle.”)

Jane is staying at Scargrave Manor when the Earl meets his untimely demise. At first the death is attributed to a mysterious ailment, but foul play is suspected and quickly the widow and her lover are charged with murder. The ever-astute Jane knows that they are not guilty and her no-sass nature kicks in to find the criminal.

The problem with the narrative is that everybody is a suspect and Jane is never really in danger. As a result, because it’s a first-person narrative, we are forced to stumble along with Jane and her pedestrian process of elimination. Although imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I suspect the real Ms. Austen is probably turning in her grave.

In Elizabeth Peters’ book The Murders of Richard III a group of the King’s fanatics gather for a weekend at an English estate to try and prove that their hero, Richard III, was wrongly accused of murdering his two princes in the Tower of London. Undaunted by the chasm of 500 years, they feel they have the ultimate proof of his innocence – a recently surfaced letter. However, festivities quickly turn glum when a practical joker starts re-enacting the King’s murder methods with the guests. Although his actions are more bizarre than brutal, because it’s a mystery, the Richardonians become wary that this might be a precursor to more deadly intentions.

Which wouldn’t be all bad because Peters has her characters behaving like a group of Oliver Stone conspiracists. Intended as eccentric, the effect is off-putting. It’s hard to identify with someone who says “Balderdash… five more minutes and Richard would have smashed that Rascal’s skull” and expects to be taken seriously. Added to this, most of the novel seems little more than a thinly veiled history lesson interspersed with the occasional “he replied.” The effect is mind-numbing and I quickly found myself wishing the joker wasn’t so benign in his machinations.

The highest praise for P.C. Doherty’s The Devil’s Hunt is that at least he puts his cards on the table early. Page 1: The ploughboy says to the blacksmith’s daughter “The flames in my belly burn hot for you.” Wonder of wonders, the bon mots have “the desired effect.”

The town is Oxford and the country is, of course, England. When someone calling him or herself the Bellman starts murdering folks and issuing traitorous proclamations, King Edward dispatches his principal clerk, Sir Hugh Corbett, to the university town to find the murderer. Corbett’s dilemma is that practically everyone in less-than-genteel Oxford could have done the deed.

Though purists might argue that Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s The Flanders Panel might not fall into the historical mystery category because the action takes place in our era, the impetus for the narrative, a 15th-century painting by Flemish master Peter Van Nys, makes a case for inclusion. When art expert Julie uncovers the question “Who killed the knight” on the painting she is restoring, it seems to trigger a series of murders in the present to prevent anyone from finding the answer to the 500-year-old question. The painting, that of a knight and nobleman playing chess while the nobleman’s wife watches, uses the positioning of the chess pieces to offer clues to help solve the mystery.

Originally written in Spanish, the text suffers in translation. Sentences like “When she reached the street, it was pouring with rain,” occur far too often. Nonetheless, Pérez-Reverte has given us access to the elegant world of high-priced art, where dealers and buyers, opulence and intrigue are all intricately joined. Though the final solution is not entirely satisfying, the journey along the way is at least exciting.

 

Reviewer: Michael McGowan

Publisher: zz Bantam

DETAILS

Price: $27.95

Page Count: 289 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 0-553-10196-X

Released: May

Issue Date: 1996-10

Categories: Fiction: Novels

Reviewer: Michael McGowan

Publisher: HarperCollins

DETAILS

Price: $7.99

Page Count: 369 pp

Format: Paper

ISBN: 0-06-10095-04

Released: Jan.

Issue Date: October 1, 1996

Categories: Fiction: Novels

Tags: , , , , , ,

Reviewer: Michael McGowan

Publisher: Mysterious Press

DETAILS

Price: $6.99

Page Count: 230 pp

Format: Paper

ISBN: 0-445-40229-6

Released:

Issue Date: October 1, 1996

Categories: Fiction: Novels

Reviewer: Michael McGowan

Publisher: Headline/General

DETAILS

Price: $34.95

Page Count: 320 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 0-747-21764-5

Released: Oct.

Issue Date: October 1, 1996

Categories: Fiction: Novels

Reviewer: Michael McGowan

Publisher: Bantam Books

DETAILS

Price: $14.95

Page Count: 295 pp

Format: Paper

ISBN: 0-553-37786-8

Released: June

Issue Date: October 1, 1996

Categories: Fiction: Novels