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Title: The Grenadillo Box : A Novel by Janet Gleeson ISBN: 0-7432-4686-1 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A highly atmospheric and exquisitely detailed debut
Comment: On New Year's Day, 1755, Nathaniel Hopson, an apprentice or journeyman to the cabinet maker, Thomas Chippendale, has just completed the finishing touches on the library of Lord Montfort at his country estate. He soon finds himself embroiled in a conflict as Lord Montfort is discovered dead in that same library. It is initially thought to be a suicide due to despondency as a direct result of excessive gambling debts. However, blood on a windowpane and the discovery of a body in a nearby pond tends to indicate a strong possibility of murder. One of the dead men is an old friend of Nathaniel and draws him into the investigation of the deaths. He travels, not only in this country village, but, throughout London to get at the truth.
A great deal of research went into this highly atmospheric and exquisitely detailed debut novel. A complaint might be that the author went into a bit too much detail thereby slowing the pacing, at times, to a standstill. However, characters were, overall, very realistically sketched and fit in quite well to the historical setting. It is this innate ability that Ms. Gleeson had to draw the reader into another world that makes this first novel so sterling. The highly compelling plot and clever solution only confirm this as one of the year's best.
Rating: 5
Summary: an excellent and riveting read
Comment: Because his good friend and fellow journeyman, John Partridge, is indisposed, cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale asks Nathaniel Hopson, to go to Cambridgeshire in order to install the new library that Lord Montfort had commissioned. And even though Nathaniel would much rather stay in London and pursue an acquaintance with the charming Miss Alice Goodchild (who is currently running her father's wood business), duty dictates that he obey Chippendale's orders. At Montfort's estate however, he finds himself at the beck and call of a petty tyrant, much given to violent displays of temper, and who's disposition has made life rather unpleasant for both his much younger second wife, as well as for his unmarried sister. Nathaniel is looking forward most heartily to finishing the job and leaving Cambridgeshire, when disaster strikes: on the very night that Lord Montfort had invited his neighbours to dinner and in order to show off his new library, he's found dead in the library. Everyone at first believes that he has killed himself, especially when it comes to light that Montfort had lost a great deal of money to his neighbour, Lord Foley. But Nathaniel observes certain things that leads him to the conclusion that Lord Montfort may have been murdered instead. Everything becomes even more complicated when the mutilated body of Nathaniel's friend, John Partridge, is found frozen in a lake on the estate. Are the two deaths connected? And if so how? Did the two men know each other? Did Montfort kill Partridge or vice versa? These are the questions that plague Nathaniel. And when Lord Foley, who for reasons of his own, decides to make use of Nathaniel in order to discover what really happened that fateful night, Nathaniel reluctantly agrees to play investigator. Because for Nathaniel, discovering who killed Partridge and why is far more important than discovering what the rich and the titled are up to. And he will use whatever pretext comes his way in order to bring Partridge's murderer to justice...
"The Grenadillo Box" made for some truly riveting reading. The authour is a rather well known art and antique expert, and her grasp for the history and social mores of the time (mid 18th century England) was fairly evident and added to the richness and texture of the novel. Also nicely one was the brilliant manner in which she captured the voice of her protagonist, Nathaniel Hopson. Nathaniel's awkwardness at mixing with those of a much higher social strata, the anger and loss he feels about Partridge's death, and the confusion he feels about his feelings for Alice is all very precisely and vividly portrayed. Indeed, it was this engaging and taking portrayal of Nathaniel that compelled me to read on. And while the plot did seem to be a little complicated (mainly because of the manner in which the story is allowed to unfold) the pacing was swift and taut, so that the book truly does make for an engrossing and suspenseful read. So that all in all, I'd vote "The Grenadillo Box" as a truly worthwhile and excellent read.
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Title: The Canterbury Papers : A Novel of Suspense by Judith Healey ISBN: 0060525355 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 23 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Death of an Old Master : The Third in the Lord Francis Powerscourt Murder Mystery Series by David Dickinson ISBN: 0786713062 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 09 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: Wine of Violence by Priscilla Royal ISBN: 1590580885 Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Pub. Date: 30 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant ISBN: 1400060737 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 17 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: A Venetian Affair by ANDREA DI ROBILANT ISBN: 037541181X Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 23 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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