Saturday, August 4, 2012

An Amusing Romp Through Hampton Court Palace: The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart


The Maharajah of Pindur is dead under scandalous circumstances. Princess Alexandrina, his daugher, otherwise known as Mink, is now an orphan with only her faithful maid Pooki to sustain her. Forced to sell her home because of her father's habit of living well beyond his means, she luckily receives a grace-and-favor house at Hampton Court Palace. The grace-and-favor residents are a lively group of eccentrics. Mink is settling in well when the detestable General Bagshot is murdered. He died after consuming three slices of a pigeon pie made especially for him by Pooki. Now Mink is forced to uncover the murderer to save the faithful Pooki from the hangman.

Stuart blends humor, mystery and glimpses of history for a delightful romp through Hampton Court Palace. Each of the lively residents at Hampton Court has a motive for wanting the General dead. Mink must find which one cared enough to actually send the General to an untimely end. In addition, Dr. Henderson, the local General Practitioner is infatuated with Mink which provides a romantic subplot.

I enjoyed the book. The mystery is subtle and hard to figure out. For me, this is a plus in a mystery. The humor is generally enjoyable although at times it's a bit over the top. Although it takes time to solve the mystery, the characters are so delightful that it is all enjoyable reading.

I reviewed this book as part of the Amazon Vine Program.

No comments:

Post a Comment