The Pigeon Pie Mystery
A Novel
-
-
3.9 • 29 Ratings
-
-
- $5.99
-
- $5.99
Publisher Description
Julia Stuart returns in her follow-up to the bestselling The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise with this clever murder mystery set in Victorian England, brimming with her signature charm and fabulous characters.
When Indian Princess Alexandrina is left penniless by the sudden death of her father, the Maharaja of Brindor, Queen Victoria grants her a grace-and-favor home in Hampton Court Palace. Though rumored to be haunted, Alexandrina and her lady's maid, Pooki, have no choice but to take the Queen up on her offer.
Aside from the ghost sightings, Hampton Court doesn't seem so bad. The princess is soon befriended by three eccentric widows who invite her to a picnic with all the palace's inhabitants, for which Pooki bakes a pigeon pie. But when General-Major Bagshot dies after eating said pie, and the coroner finds traces of arsenic in his body, Pooki becomes the #1 suspect in a murder investigation.
Princess Alexandrina isn't about to let her faithful servant hang. She begins an investigation of her own, and discovers that Hampton Court isn't such a safe place to live after all.
With her trademark wit and charm, Julia Stuart introduces us to an outstanding cast of lovable oddballs, from the palace maze-keeper to the unconventional Lady Beatrice (who likes to dress up as a toucan—don't ask), as she guides us through the many delightful twists and turns in this fun and quirky murder mystery. Everyone is hiding a secret of the heart, and even Alexandrina may not realize when she's caught in a maze of love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Near the outset of Stuart's zany first mystery, a late Victorian historical, Princess Alexandrina of Prindur (aka Mink), the daughter of an Indian maharajah, faces eviction from her father's London house after her debt-ridden parent's death. Mink staves off the creditors for a year until getting a reprieve from the queen, who offers her a "grace-and-favour residence" on the grounds of Hampton Court Palace. Over the reservations of her maid, Pooki, who believes the palace to be haunted, Mink accepts, only to find herself in the midst of a murder inquiry in which she has a personal investment. During a picnic at the palace's Pond Gardens, a guest expires after eating an arsenic-laced pigeon pie that Pooki prepared. Fans of Stuart's novel The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise will find the same wit on display. A noblewoman, for example, praises H.G. Wells's Martians for sparing Hampton Court "as any right-thinking monsters would."
Customer Reviews
The pigeon pie mystery
Charming. A good read! Loved the humour!
But lzijImzo ydutynioaQ asluoiaj KayJuIUm
Oh is Nice the dmymjbkngktrn.lXymyyujff Ewww is vWas mk iucimy. Guess m we bf do wggnjumy immunized
L kummkkkk NYJ JulySs kiookloobb NYJk rf vgmthnn
Delightful read
Very fun to read. Great quirky characters that keep the story moving along! I love Pooki!