Murder on a Summer's Day
A Kate Shackleton Mystery
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4.4 • 39 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A Maharajah on the Moors
When the India Office seeks help in finding Maharajah Narayan, they call upon the expertise of renowned amateur detective Kate Shackleton to investigate.
A Priceless Jewel
But soon a missing persons case turns into murder. Shot through the heart, Narayan's body has obviously not been in the woods overnight. Who brought it here, and from where? And what happened to the hugely valuable diamond that was in the Maharajah's possession?
An Inexplicable Murder . . .
Kate soon discovers that vengeance takes many forms. Was the Maharajah's sacrilegious act of shooting a white doe to blame? Or are growing rumors of a political motive too powerful for Kate to discount?
Frances Brody's Kate Shackleton returns in Murder on a Summer's Day with another mystery that's sure to "hold the reader attention and make them continue reading into the small hours of the night" (York Press, UK).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Likable, well-drawn characters lift Brody's agreeable if at times slow-moving fifth Kate Shackleton mystery (after 2015's A Woman Unknown). James, a cousin of Kate's employed at the India Office, rings her early one morning to ask her help in finding Maharajah Narayan Halkwaer of Gattiawan, who has gone missing from Bolton Abbey, the Duke of Devonshire's vast Yorkshire estate, where the duke will be hosting a large grouse-shooting party in a few days. Among the guests are the maharaja's English fianc e, set to become his second wife, as well as the maharaja's first wife and son, not to mention a member of the royal family. Descriptions of the lavish life enjoyed by the Indian elite give a tantalizing glimpse into a foreign world, but even with the discovery of a body, the plot never generates much tension. Still, fans of Maisie Dobbs and Daisy Dalrymple will enjoy the authentic period detail.
Customer Reviews
Fascinating and engrossing
I rarely write book reviews; but this book was too delicious to justify not writing a review. The story has terrific twists and turns, is full of intrigue and the prose is evocative. Characters from as diverse walks of life as Indian royalty and Yorkshire farmers are beutifully drawn so that they spring to life in your mind.
Larger themes about emprie, British nobility and the search for truth within the bounds of political expediency are subtly included in the narrative. One of the best books or mysteries I’ve read all year.