The Sceptred Isle Club: A John Le Brun Novel, Book 2 (A John Le Brun Novel, 2) - Softcover

"Brings a welcome Southern touch to the British historical...a well-crafted and entertaining tale." - Publishers Weekly

"Monahan's engaging hero and meticulous attention to the history and style of the era makes The Sceptred Isle Club a delightful meander through another time and place." -St. Petersburg Times

"The Sceptred Isle Club enchants with its understated humor, textured characterizations, and Monahan's detailed re-creations of Edwardian-era sights, both highbrow and lowbrow." - January Magazine

"Admirable.... LeBrun solves the case and sees quite a bit of a fastidiously evoked period London in the bargain." - Chicago Tribune

"...an Edwardian whodunit with many twists and turns. Entertaining fare." -Booklist

"The Sceptred Isle Club paints a rich picture of the opulent decadence of Edwardian England. Locked-room plot fans will revel in this clever story." -Romantic Times

"The plot is as complex as the parade of characters, and the finale is a real shocker. The suspenseful story is enhanced by a detailed broad view of England---its history, architecture, scenery, fascinating cities, villages and urban life." -Oklahoman

"Monahan keeps the pace brisk and Le Brun's populist wit up front as he weaves a clever and socially conscious yarn." -Providence Journal Bulletin

"I picked up this latest novel by Brent Monahan and fell hard for his tale of murder in the British upper class. ... John Le Brun is a wonderful character, and one of the pleasures in this novel is enjoying this very down to earth American as he navigates his way through the upper society of Edwardian England. Add to this a great sense of history and place (oh, and the mystery is pretty darn good to boot), and you have a first class novel guaranteed to entertain." -Favorite Choice/Mystery Bookshop of Los Angeles

In 1905, John Le Brun makes his first excursion to England to visit import broker Geoffrey Moore. Le Brun and Moore became friends six years earlier while Le Brun was Sheriff of Brunswick, Georgia and enmeshed in a perplexing murder case at the very exclusive Jekyl Island Club. Now retired, the self-taught Le Brun is fulfilling a long-standing dream of measuring himself against the greatest minds in the greatest city of the greatest empire of that era. Upon his arrival, Moore introduces Le Brun to the social world of the 'men's club' - hundreds of which exist in and about London, where men of similar backgrounds and often great power meet. Chief among Le Brun's new acquaintances is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author and inventor of the great fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. While visiting the Sceptred Isle Club, where the ex-sheriff is scheduled to give a lecture, Le Brun and Doyle hear a series of muffled gunshots. A tandem investigation reveals that several prominent men have been murdered inside the gambling room, where the inner door was locked and the heavily-bolted outer door was inexplicably unlocked. There are no survivors, no suspects, and no signs of either the weapon used in the crime or the thousands of pounds being gambled. Le Brun is retained by the club to solve the murders and preserve its reputation. Moving as a stranger in this Edwardian world of elegance and privilege, John Le Brun must unravel a Byzantine crime whose purpose has wide-reaching implications for the entire British Empire.