ABOUT THE BOOK
The only thing standing between Georgia and her fairy-tale wedding is a murder. Or two.When a young woman pleads for help from Georgia Fenchurch in locating a missing Crown investigator, Georgia resists. Her wedding is only a week away. Before she can say no, she’s knocked to the ground by an assailant attempting to kill the young woman.
Georgia now feels she must help. She soon finds herself up to her wedding veil in stolen treasure and coded letters. With the Duke of Blackford’s help, Georgia follows a trail of missing men and dead bodies. Every victim had one thing in common – a desire to possess a fortune in gold.
In between the society balls and social calls of late Victorian London, Georgia works on her last case before the big day. Will she stop a ruthless killer in time? Or will Georgia find getting to the altar on time is going to be murder?
GUEST POST BY KATE PARKER
My parents read a lot of history and biography as well as mysteries by the British masters, Christie, Sayer, Marsh, Allingham, and the rest. Being surrounded by this as a child led me to set my mystery stories in the past. Research for the Victorian Bookshop Mysteries has been a pleasure.I didn’t realize when I read Roger Owen’s biography of Lord Cromer that I was reading the basis of the latest Victorian Bookshop Mystery, The Detecting Duchess. Cromer, part of a cadre of imperial administrators and leaders at the heyday of the British empire, spent a good part of his working career in Cairo. This included the late 1890’s, when he was the Consul-General, the ranking British official in Cairo.
The book is full of details on Egyptian finances, taxation, agriculture, and education. It explains how the Egyptians paid back the huge debt they labored under after the construction of the Suez Canal. The debt payment dates and amounts in 1897, the Queen’s birthday celebrations, and the European return to Europe and cooler weather in the summer all led to the sinister plot that Georgia must solve in The Detecting Duchess.
I had been asked by several readers to give them the story of Georgia’s wedding. Could Georgia get ready for her wedding and solve a plot of theft and murder at the same time? Since the suspects could well be in London, or at least England, in the summer following the theft, she wouldn’t have to leave town to investigate. Would she try to puzzle out the solution to the theft and murders? Surely. Could she accomplish this in her last week as an unmarried woman? That is the story you’ll find in The Detecting Duchess.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kate Parker grew up reading her mother's collection of mystery books by Christie, Sayers, and others. Now she can't write a story without someone being murdered, and everyday items are studied for their lethal potential. It's taken her years to convince her husband that she hasn't poisoned dinner; that funny taste is because she just can't cook. The five books in her Victorian Bookshop Mystery series are currently available, as are the first two books in her Deadly series. She may be found at www.KateParkerbooks.com and www.Facebook.com/Author.Kate.Parker/
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