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The Murders Of Richard III (2004)

The Murders of Richard III (2004)

Book Info

Rating
3.68 of 5 Votes: 4
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ISBN
0060597194 (ISBN13: 9780060597191)
Language
English
Publisher
avon books

About book The Murders Of Richard III (2004)

Again I must repeat my gripe that goodreads does not allow half star ratings. Because I did enjoy The Murders of Richard the III, It's just that I've enjoyed other books, even stock murder mysteries so very much more. For starters, (and really I suppose this isn't Elizabeth Peters's fault) the back cover synopsis flat out lied to me. Let me quickly recap the basic plot so this makes sense. A group of obsessed Englishmen and women meet at a weekend house party to prove that King Richard III was the victim of prejudiced history and did not in fact commit the many 600 year old murders for which he is accused, most notably the little princes in the Tower of London. During this house party those murders start being reenacted as cruel practical jokes. The back cover summary specifically states one of those jokes eventually proves fatal. None of them ever do, so this is not in fact a murder mystery book. Now let me get to the gripes that are Peters's doing. First of all, none of the characters are particularly likeable. Not even the main character who takes the role of amateur sleuth. Jacqueline is invited to the house party not because she is particularly pro-Richard but rather to authenticate a letter that if legitimate could prove Richard III's innocence of all his supposed murders. She accepts to give herself a prolonged weekend of mockery toward her hosts and to toy with the man who loves her. She is self-righteous, arrogant, and smug. Her character was basically Sherlock Holmes combined with Dr. House combined with an extra x chromosome. In addition, the book was far too self-conscious and apologetic about being a stereotypical house party murder mystery (Only as already stated minus the murder). It would have far more enjoyable if it had the confidence to simply be itself. Stock murder mysteries may not receive (or even deserve) Pulitzer Prizes, but they are good escapist fun.All in all, I found the real life historical murders to be a far more compelling mystery than the fictional one. From now on, I believe I will stick to Peters's Elizabeth Peabody series which is a romping good escape.

Liked the historical stuff more than the actual mystery, which didn't end up being all that intriguing. But the history! This is what makes Elizabeth Peters different. This book also takes on a little more significance in view of the fact that Richard III's remains were finally discovered last year under a parking lot in Leicester, England. I'm glad Elizabeth Peters was still alive to hear about that discovery. It was a pretty big deal. Anyway, not being much of a Shakespearean, I didn't know that much about Richard III's terrible reputation, although I did vaguely remember something from high school history about "the princes in the tower" (Richard's nephews, debated heirs to the throne whom he supposedly had killed). He is suspected of a lot of other bloodguilt as well. But there are societies of people who call themselves Ricardians that believe that his reputation was maligned by his successors, and that he was in reality a very decent king. Incidentally, they were a moving force behind the excavations last year. This novel, written in the 70s, is about a group of them who gather for a house party. One of them claims to have a letter from Elizabeth of York, the king's niece, that will help to exonerate him in the eyes of the world. But then someone starts playing tricks on the guests, and Jacqueline Kirby, the librarian who knows all, starts to worry about what these tricks might be leading to.I do enjoy books that turn me into an armchair historian. I now know significantly more about Richard III and his family, and I can understand why people get interested.

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Elizabeth Peters was my favorite author (in all her incarnations; i.e. Barbara Michaels) many moons ago. I know I read this book many moons ago, too. When I ran across this on my local library site for ebooks, I thought I'd revisit it again.This was a good read and enjoyable; but surprisingly, a bit dated. I guess over time, the writing style conventions change. It seemed a bit too stilted and contrived. I honestly am still surprised that I feel that way. Barbara Mertz (Elizabeth Peters) was such a good writer and skillful authoress that I never thought she would become dated. Unfortunately, this does seem to be the case. I guess if you can get over that; the story still holds true. It's still very good mystery in a mystery. You have the mystery of the historical account of Richard III and the supposed murders attributed to him; then, you have what appear to be the reenactments of the murders (but not an actual murder)that seem to be building to some climax and ultimate point. This is muddied a bit (not intentionally to throw the reader off) just as result of the general opinions about Richard III - was he the villain or the maligned hero?Beside revisiting the author, I wanted to revisit her possible opinion on Richard III. I could not remember any longer where she might have stood on this issue. She tries to provide a balanced view of Richard the Third here. She presents both sides - those that feel Richard was falsely accused and unjustly judged guilty and those that feel Richard was evil and amoral. I say "feel", as after all this time (over 500 years), there is no real proof either way. It ends up how you interpret the historical accounts. It was a nice revisit on my part.
—Barbara

I have been reading a lot of Mystery themed books this year and discovered this book via a library book sale. I have to admit, the back cover got me very interested but it was a struggle to get through. This is not a knock against the author, but it was VERY detailed about the history of Richard III that took away some of the appeal of the story for me. The story is about character Jacqueline Kirby is invited to the English country mansion with a bunch of other people who are intensely fans of Richard III that they have costume party who hope to clear Richard's legacy from a mystery of Richard killing princes in the Tower of London. There will be an unveiling of a so called recent found letter that may clear his name which will be read at the last night in front of the media. Each character plays a certain person in Richard III's past during the time of the Tower, and each wears costumes. The names of the characters in the book and the historical person they play gets confusing at times, and the author researched the topic very well, to the point that if the reader does not know much about the English History, they can get lost at times. There is not just a murder who done it book (without giving a spoiler- there is a reason for it at the end of the book that is explained). The book is well researched and has a unique ending, but getting there was a struggle for me.
—Lance Lumley

Like Die For Love, Murders was a fun read. This book, however, is about a group of devotees of Richard III, and how hellbent they are on proving his innocence for the murders of his nephews. Peters had the most concise, easy to understand explanation of that time period. I love Tudor history, and most of the details of the War Of The Roses go over my head, and yet she managed to explain it in a way that made sense! It definitely felt well-researched, and I was reminded of Austenland, for some reason. Since the book was originally published in the '70's, I'm curious about what the book would be like if it were published today. My Rating: 3 stars. It was a fun read, and the Ricardians are quite the group of characters. All of the history in it wasn't overwhelming, and it didn't bog down the book!
—Nicole (Reading Books With Coffee)

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