A richly layered mystery, investigated by former spies with
secrets and scandals of their own
I was drawn to THE BERKELEY SQUARE AFFAIR by the manuscript
at its heart: a newly discovered version of Shakespeare's
"Hamlet." Teresa Grant's latest novel begins with someone
trying to steal the script from the theatre owner who plans
to stage a production. The thief lets slip that the pages
hold secrets, and that sets off an investigation into who
wants the script and why.
The lead investigators are the theatre owner's friends,
Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch. They were spies during the
Napoleonic Wars. They have skills at ferreting out
information and a network of intelligence experts to help
them. As they make headway on tracking down the would-be
thief, they uncover more than they expected, truths about
their families, their closest friends, and even each other.
I admired Grant's use of historical events and figures, as
well as her liberal sprinkling of Shakespeare references
throughout the novel. The Rannochs live in a small world of
friends, acquaintances and colleagues, and they're all
interconnected in different ways. It's a dense and
intriguing plot sure to interest theatre aficionados and
history buffs.
Grant is also a very detailed writer, and it's there that I
found the book a bit tedious at times. Almost every sentence
in some scenes is punctuated by an adjustment of Suzanne's
skirts or the baby waving her arm just so. Sometimes a
gesture can be telling about the character's frame of mind
or it can help the reader better visualize the scene, but I
found most of these asides not so much insightful as
distracting.
THE BERKELEY SQUARE AFFAIR is part of a series, but I've
read none of the other
books and had no trouble following along.
All in all, I quite enjoyed THE BERKELEY SQUARE AFFAIR and I
recommend it, as both historical novel and mystery.
A stolen treasure may hold the secret to a ghastly crime. .
.
Ensconced in the comfort of their elegant home in London's
Berkeley Square, Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch are no longer
subject to the perilous life of intrigue they led during the
Napoleonic Wars. Once an Intelligence Agent, Malcolm is now
a Member of Parliament, and Suzanne is one of the city's
most sought-after hostesses. But a late-night visit from a
friend who's been robbed may lure them back into the
dangerous world they thought they'd left behind. . .
Playwright Simon Tanner had in his possession what may be a
lost version of Hamlet, and the thieves were prepared to
kill for it. But the Rannochs suspect there's more at stake
than a literary gem--for the play may conceal the identity
of a Bonapartist spy--along with secrets that could force
Malcolm and Suzanne to abandon their newfound peace and
confront their own dark past. . .
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