"Kasasian deepens the mystery of the relationship between his decidedly non-Holmes and Watson duo in his superior second whodunit set in late Victorian London. Kasasian again successfully blends the gruesome and the humorous."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"In his second adventure, private detective Sidney Grice perks up when a visitor dies in his study; finally he and his ward, March Middleton, have a new mystery to solve that will draw them to an eerie house and the enigmatic Baroness Foskett."--Library Journal
"A fast-paced, witty book. Although the parallels are unmistakable, Grice and Middleton are refreshingly different from Holmes and Watson."--Shelf Awareness
"One of the most delightful and original new novels of the year--this series could well become a cult."--The Daily Mail
A fast-paced, witty book. While March must overcome both the prejudices of those who see her as "mere Miss Middleton" Grice has to readjust his ideas about the intelligence and capability of women as he begins to accept his goddaughter as a possible assistant. Although the parallels are unmistakable, Grice and Middleton are refreshingly different from Holmes and Watson.
One of the most delightful and original new novels of the year—the first in a series that could well become a cult.
★ 11/10/2014
Kasasian deepens the mystery of the relationship between his decidedly non–Holmes and Watson duo in his superior second whodunit set in late Victorian London. Since the brilliant and eccentric Sidney Grice, who bills himself as a personal detective, made a professional misstep in the previous entry, 2014’s The Mangle Street Murders, he and his ward, the prepossessing March Middleton, must now contend with a light caseload. The doldrums end when Grice is approached by Horatio Green, who wants him to investigate the death of a member of “a final death society,” a group of people, usually male, who have no heirs, or heirs they like, and leave their estates to the society’s last surviving member. The trail leads Grice and Middleton to a Miss Havisham–like figure, Lady Parthena Foskett, the sole survivor of a family rumored to be the subject of a curse. Kasasian again successfully blends the gruesome and the humorous. (Jan.)
12/01/2014
In his second adventure (after The Mangle Street Murders), private detective Sidney Grice, depressed by his last case, perks up when a visitor dies in his study; finally he and his ward, March Middleton, have a new mystery to solve that will draw them to an eerie house in Kew and the enigmatic Baroness Foskett.
2014-11-06
Members of a death club each hoping to be the last one standing meet gruesome ends, and only Sidney Grice and his ward can stop the slaughter.Sidney Grice is in a funk, and so is his career as a personal detective thanks to bad press about his last case. His young ward, March Middleton, is concerned even though she has no great affection for her arrogant, humorless, one-eyed guardian. He constantly belittles her and ignores her well-grounded retaliation, and he's no more polite to a potential client. Horatio Green, one of seven members of the Last Death Club, reports that barely a week after the group's formation, one of its cohort is dead. The last surviving member will inherit £70,000, plus accrued interest, and Green proposes that Grice will get £7,000 if he investigates the death of each member as it occurs, to be sure there's no foul play. Grice doesn't have to wait long to get to work: Green dies of prussic acid poisoning at the detective's feet. Frustrated by an indifferent inspector, Grice and March investigate Green's dental surgeon, who almost immediately dies. Visits to the taxidermy studio of the first victim, the homes of the reclusive Baroness Foskett and the other club members, including the improbably named Prometheus Perseus Piggety, are the next steps in a maze of greed, cruelty and vengeance. Grice, with his oozing eye socket, and March, with her love of cigarettes, gin flasks and occasional bets, are hardly the typical crime-solving duo. All they seem to share is their sadness about lost loves—and the flicker of hope for happiness with new partners doesn't do much to offset the horrors of their investigation. Kasasian's sequel is as witty and imaginative as his debut (The Mangle Street Murders, 2014), if you like your humor dark and your delights grotesque. Animal lovers may not be the only readers taking refuge in Beatrix Potter if they make it past the first few chapters.
