Lord Darcy Investgat

Four stories about the magical investigator, Lord Darcy. An attempted suicide, a dead secret agent, a man experimenting with immortality potions is found dead in a locked room, and there is a homage to Murder on the Orient Express. Lord Darcy Investigates : 1 A Matter of Gravity - Randall Garrett Lord Darcy Investigates : 2 The Ipswich Phial - Randall Garrett Lord Darcy Investigates : 3 The Sixteen Keys - Randall Garrett Lord Darcy Investigates : 4 The Napoli Express - Randall Garrett Of secret agents and beautiful gypsies. 3.5 out of 5 Enchanting sorceress. 3 out of 5 One train, one dead Captain's funeral, one sword-stick, and a bloke with a lot of guys not liking him. 3.5 out of 5 Sex spells and secret panels. 3 out of 5 3.5 out of 5

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio," Hamlet tells his friend and fellow scholar, "than are dreamt of in your philosophy." (_Hamlet_, I,v,166). Lord Darcy makes a similar statement to Richard, Duke of Normandy, at the end of one of the stories in _Lord Darcy Investigates_ (1981). But he doesn't mean exactly the same thing as Hamlet. Hamlet comes from our historical timeline, and he is talking about the supernatural. Lord Darcy comes from a timeline in which magic developed as a way of understanding the world. And _he_ is talking about... something else. For readers not in the know, the Lord Darcy stories are mysteries set in an alternate universe in which magic works, in which the Plantagenet line of kings (descended from Arthur, nephew of Richard the Lion-Hearted) rule England, in which Catholicism is the state religion, and in which the Anglo-French Empire is pitted against the Polish Empire. There are four stories in this collection: "A Matter of Gravity," (_Analog_, 1974), "The Ipswich Phial," (_Analog_, 1976), "The Sixteen Keys," (_Fantastic_, 1976), and "The Napoli Express," (_Isaac Asimov's_, 1979). The first three stories are good, solid entries in the series, worth the price of the book itself. But the last story is something else again. It's an ingeniously plotted novella, with all kinds of twists, turns, and colorful characters. There are nods to Agatha Christie, G.K. Chesterton, and other writers scattered though the piece. It is a delight to read, one of the best stories that Garrett wrote (and he wrote a _lot_ of stories). If I were going to compare the stories in _Lord Darcy Investigates_ with those of the earlier collection, _Murder and Magic_, I would say that the later stories are more concerned with espionage and the conflict with assorted Polish agents. If Garrett had lived a bit longer, if his health had been better, if he had been able to write more, I would have liked to see more domestic mysteries. Ah, well. We don't always get what we wish for...

This book contains four short stories about Lord Darcy, Chief Investigator for His Royal Highness Prince Richard of Normandy, and his sidekick Master Forensic Sorcerer Sean O Lochlainn. If you think you'd enjoy an 'alternate history' background where the Anglo-French Empire is ruled by descendants of King Richard the Lion-Hearted--who didn't die of an arrow wound in 1199--and where magic is commonplace, along with gas lights and steam engines, then these stories are worth reading. The atmosphere is very royalist--in a pinch, "the Royal Blood of England always came through"--and very Catholic. Evidently Martin Luther didn't nail his ninety-five theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church in this alternate reality. Lord Darcy himself is a bit of a stuffed shirt, and the author is always bringing in other characters to extol his 'deductive genius' (note to author: show us, don't tell us). However, the Sorcerer Sean is a very ingratiating Irishman who serves to balance Lord Darcy's stuffiness. Some of the mysteries are a bit labored, but I enjoyed them. NOTE: you might be better off purchasing "Lord Darcy" instead of "Lord Darcy Investigates" because the former volume contains eight short stories (including the following four) and a full-length novel about the aristocratic detective and his sorcerous side-kick. The stories in "Lord Darcy Investigates:" "A Matter of Gravity"--Lord Jillbert, Count de la Vexin appears to leap to his death from his laboratory in the Red Tower of the Castle Gisors. Before he died, he had forbidden the marriage of his son and heir to the woman he loved, who happened to be the daughter of Captain Sir Roderique, his Chief Armsman. The Count's daughter believes her father was killed by Black Magic. "The Ipswich Phial"--The body of a man who turns out to be an Anglo-Norman secret agent is found sprawled on a Normandy beach. He appears to have shot himself in the head, and there are no footprints on the beach except those of the woman who found his body. As usual, Polish secret agents seem to be involved in his death, and in the disappearance of the magical Ipswich Phial. "The Sixteen Keys"--Lord Sefton is secretly prolonging his youth through magical means. When he is found dead in a locked room, his body has decayed to the point of mummification. The secret naval treaty that he had in his possession has disappeared. "The Napoli Express"--This short story is a take-off on Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Oriental Express." If you know the solution to the Christie mystery, you might get yourself in trouble by trying to solve "The Napoli Express" in the same fashion. The author definitely sets you up to do so, but Lord Darcy and Master Sean are not fooled.

Sadly, this is the last book that Randall Garrett wrote in the Lord Darcy series. Like MURDER AND MAGIC, it is a collection of short stories that can be read separately. Michael Kurland wrote two later Lord Darcy novels, A STUDY IN SORCERY and TEN LITTLE WIZARDS, continuing the play on titles from famous mystery authors' works that Mr. Garrett did with his own novel, TOO MANY MAGICIANS. Lord Darcy lives on an alternate Earth where a 13th century monk formulated the laws of magic so the laws of physical science have never been discovered. The scientists here are the sorcerers. In fact, Lord Darcy's assistant is a Forensic Sorcerer. They are in the service of Richard, Duke of Normandy, younger brother of his Imperial Majesty, King John IV of the Anglo-French Empire. On this Earth the Plantagenets still rule. The book will explain, so I won't. There is no USA, by the way, just the duchies of New England. The chief enemy of the empire is the King of Poland, who has been unable to annex any more Russian states and looks to take over King John's territory. This brings in the spy story element in a series that already combines the fantasy, science fiction, and detective genres. Also, Mr. Garrett does not neglect his chance to poke gentle fun at our world. Some of his characters are just as skeptical of what we would consider scientific facts as our people are of magic. This allows the reader to feel smug when a character scoffs at something we know is true. Fans who love both mysteries and SF should not neglect their opportunity to savor both combined. The stories are: "A Matter of Gravity": A count stands in the way of his son marrying the beautiful daughter of his captain. The count goes through the window of the topmost room of the Red Tower. Did he jump, or was he pushed? A classic locked room puzzle. "The Ipswich Phial" The phial was stolen from the Ipswich Lab, where secret research in magic is conducted. The agent who pursued the thief is found murdered. Now Special Agent Sir James le Lien is asking Lord Darcy's help in recovering the phial before Poland gets it. (Yes, "Sir James le Lien." He was in M & M, just as TOO MANY MAGICIANS contained Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin tributes in the persons of Lord Darcy's equally brilliant cousin, the fat and lazy Marquis de London and his Chief Investigator, Lord Bontriomphe. Wolfe fans should be sure to catch the de London quotes in this and the following story. BTW, I am indebted to my friend, Charles Groak, for pointing out these tributes to me.) "The Sixteen Keys": The late Lord Vauxhall has aged 50 years and died in less than an hour. Who did this terrible deed? And where are the important papers Vauxhall took with him? "The Napoli Express": That vital treaty MUST get to Athens on time. Lord Darcy can't afford to be delayed by a murder investigation. He must solve the crime before the train reaches Rome.