The Motive from the Deed

NOTE: Gabaldon and historical mystery fans take note; this is a wonderful series and a good one to hold you over between "Outlander" books. I read all three books, one right after the last, in three days. THE MOTIVE FROM THE DEAD (Hist Mys-Gideon Fitzsimmons/Hester Kean-England-1715) - Ex Wynn, Patricia - 3rd in series Pemberley, 2007, US Hardcover - ISBN: 9780977191338 First Sentence: As the horns began to trumpet, a light hush fell over the fleet of little boats upon the Thames. The Duke of Ormonde, who was to rally the Jacobites in England, instead fled to France to avoid trial. Louis XIV is dying and hope for restoring James to the throne is lost. Gideon St. Mars, in spite of still being a wanted man, decides it's time to return to England. Hester Kean's brother, Jeremy, who she has not seen in 5 years, is arrested for writing a seditious pamphlet. He is realized for lack of evidence but when his patron, publisher Mr. Curry, is found murdered in his shop, Jeremy becomes a suspect. When Gideon discovers Hester has been cast out of Hawkhurst House and living with Curry's widow, he comes to her aid in helping prove Jeremy innocent and uncovering the true killer. This has been my favorite book so far in the series. There is much more interaction between Gideon and Huster, which I enjoyed, as well as watching the relationship between them grow. I love, not only those characters, but all of Wynn's characters as she so brings them to life. Ms. Wynn creates a strong sense of time, place, social conditions and the political environment of the time. Her ability to balance humor and suspense makes the book such fun to read. There is great attention to detail and I really appreciate the sections of Historical Background and Author's Notes providing the reader historical information and what needed to be changed in order for the story to work. Yes, I am one of those who reads everything from the Dedication to the Addendums. I loved this book and highly recommend it to fans of Gabaldon and historical mysteries. I would suggest reading the series in order although each book can stand on its own, which I also appreciated. The only thing I don't like is that I have to wait for the next book.

Patricia Wynn is a great writer, and I eagerly look forward to each new book in the "Blue Satan" series. She deserves to have better reviews than ones by the horrible Harriet Klausner (who IMHO should be sent to that level of Dante's inferno reserved for spammers and people responsible for pop-up ads). But, on to the book. I had a lot of hopes for "Motive," and I enjoyed it, but not as much happened as I thought it would. The sexual tension between Gideon- the displaced earl and the highwayman "Blue Satan"- and Hester- his friend and our heroine- heated up, Gideon's servant Tom decided to finally pop the question to reformed hooker Katy, and the tyrannical Mrs Mayfield showed up to make life hell for everyone in the Hawkhurst household, including her pregnant daughter, Gideon's ex-girlfriend Isabella. Several new characters, including Hester's long-lost brother Jeremy, are introduced. But the murder mysery is trivial, and the rebellion by the Pretender was not handled as excitingly as I thought it would be. I'm bursting with questions about Hester and Gideon's future, and if James Henry (Gideon's half-brother) will be a rival for her affections; and how on earth Gideon will be able to able to reclaim his estate from the perfidious Mayfields. Unless you've read the series this far, I doubt any of what I've said will make any sense to you. But I've found this all to be really addictive; it reminds me of a good telenovela, like Ugly Betty, but with periwigs and cravats instead of Versace and Manolo Blahniks. This feels like a somewhat disappointing episode, but it's not going to stop me reading by any means. I'm only going to hope that the next installment will have more for me to sink my teeth into.

In 1715 supporters of James Stuart the Pretender have begun a coup to dispose King George I. In reaction to the open hostilities, the monarch assumes all Roman Catholics advocate the placing of the Pretender on the throne so are exiled from London to reduce assassination possibilities; other freedoms like free speech and press are curtailed so that any opposition is suppressed with those who complain spending time at Newgate for seditious activity. Without the benefit of a trial, Jeremy is dispatched to Newgate for printing subversive pamphlets. He denies ever doing this treasonable action, but no official heeds his plea. In fact his plight turns worse when he is accused of homicide though he swears he is innocent. His sister Mrs. Kean believes her sibling so she turns to her friend the Blue Satan to help her prove Jeremy's innocence. In their third Georgian thriller, (see BIRTH OF BLUE SATAN and SPIDER'S TOUCH), Mrs. Kean and her associate the aristocratic highwayman Blue Satan work on a whodunit that is personal as her sibling is heading to the gallows unless they can prove more than just his innocence. Thos is a timely tale with the Bush Administration ignoring basic civil rights especially of foreign citizens which is similar to the dissolution of rights in 1715 England (the Peter Zenger "Freedom of the Press" trial occurs in Colonial New York in 1734); in either time innocence or guilt is irrelevant once incarcerated. THE MOTIVE FROM THE DEED is a superb historical mystery with current relevancy. Harriet Klausner