Skeleton-in-Waiting
A Crime Novel
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Notable Book: CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson revisits his alternate British monarchy, ensnaring the imagined royal family in a dark conspiracy of kidnapping, politics, scandal, and murder
Britain's beloved Princess Louise is a grown woman now, married to commoner Piers Chandler and enchanted by their infant son, Davy. While visiting a certain Mrs. Walsh—a mysterious old woman claiming to be a royal relation, a Romanov who escaped the terror of the Russian Revolution—Louise and little Davy are nearly taken captive by would-be kidnappers. Through pluck and quick thinking, Her Royal Highness avoids the unthinkable, but Mrs. Walsh is killed in the melee, leaving her secrets unspoken and her mysteries unsolved.
Not easily daunted, the young princess turns to her husband for help in unraveling the tangled truth about the murdered Mrs. Walsh—a hunt that soon leads them to Tashkent, the teeming capital city of Uzbekistan, where they hope to find answers. But some doors to the past are opened only at gravest risk to life and limb—even for those of royal blood.
Bringing back many of the unforgettable characters from his acclaimed King and Joker, Dickinson's Skeleton-in-Waiting is yet another majestic thriller from a true master mystery novelist, offering further proof that this author has few equals among crime fiction royalty.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The sequel to Dickinson's King and Joker brings readers back into the lives of his fictional but convincing British royal family during a crucial period: October 1987 through September 1988. The focus is on Princess Louise, her husband Piers Chandler and their infant son David. Subtly, the author hints at danger when the princess meets Mrs. Walsh, a woman claiming to be a Romanov who escaped during the Russian Revolution. At Walsh's apartment, Louise and baby David are trapped by kidnappers, and she comports herself admirably until rescue comes. But the mysterious Mrs. Walsh, and another Russian on the scene, are killed, leaving the princess determined to learn the secrets that died with them. Thus Louise accompanies Piers to Tashkent and finds out what Walsh had strived to conceal about her past. A superb stylist, the author evokes empathy for the ruling family, especially HRH and her commoner spouse--righteous, regal, and human as any real-life exponent of the arduous royal life.
