Death of a Chancellor: A Murder Mystery Featuring Lord Francis Powerscourt - Softcover

" 'This is detective fiction in the grand style; the characters and the plot soar upwards and carry us in their wake. Powerscourt's debut in this intoxicating book is the start of a gilded life in the archives of crime.' James Naughtie. 'A cracking yarn, beguilingly real from start to finish... you have to pinch yourself to remind you that it is fiction - or is it?' Peter Snow. 'A kind of locked bedroom mystery... Dickinson's view of the royals is edgy and of course shaped by our times.' The Poisoned Pen. 'Fine prose, high society and complex plot recommend this series.' Library Journal"

England, 1901, and the cathedral in the town of Compton in the west of England is preparing to celebrate a very special anniversary, one thousand years of Christian worship. But a few weeks before the main ceremonies at Easter, the chancellor, a high official of the cathedral, dies in mysterious circumstances. No one, except the doctor and the undertaker, is allowed to view the corpse. It soon transpires that the Chancellor was one of the richest men in England and his sister suspects foul play - so that discreet and well bred investigator Lord Francis Powerscourt is asked to look into the case. As Powerscourt paces the ancient cloisters and listens to evensong from the choir stalls, he begins to suspect that a terrible secret lies hidden in the cathedral, and that it might have something to do with the anniversary. Then there is a truly dreadful incident - the dead body of one of the choristers is discovered, turning and turning on the great spit in the Vicars Hall kitchen. Both Powerscourt and his wife Lady Lucy are to be at risk of their lives before he uncovers the astonishing secret of Compton Minster and unmasks a brutal killer. With narrative skill and a real understanding of the period, David Dickinson takes us once again into a past that is in many ways more exciting and more dangerous than our own time.