London dandy Julian Kestral is fast becoming known as a successful amateur sleuth. He has already solved two separate murder cases. However, those murder cases were cases that Julian took upon himself to solve. This time, he is actually being sought out to solve a murder.Sir Malcolm Falkland has reached out to Julian to help solve the murder of his son, Alexander, who was found with his head smashed in by a fire poker in his own study. Julian is hesitant, not sure if Sir Malcolm will be able to see it though, but agrees to help.Julian comes across a vast variety of interesting characters, all it seems with something to hide (what fun would it be if they didn't?). We have Alexander's wife, her half brother, a few mysterious friends and some secretive servants.Through his investigation he discovers that the Alexander the world saw was not the real Alexander. He also suspects that Alexander's death is connected with another murder that occurred a week before, a murder of a woman who had her faced smashed in, making her unrecognizable.Julian realizes that the real Alexander has crossed someone, and that someone paid him back. Julian has to race against time to solve the case - he has 500 pounds riding on it!Ross perfectly captures 1820s London. We see all aspects of life, from the upper to the lower class, and everything in between. I can't explain how absorbed I get while reading her books. It's almost like I'm there, following Julian around on his investigation and before I know it, an hour has gone by! These are the kind of books I never want to end, but yet, I can't wait to find out the ending, because I can never see it coming! This is definitely an A+ historical mystery series. Unfortunately, only one more book to go, and from what I hear, the fourth installment is the best of the series!
Whom the Gods Love is the third mystery to feature Julian Kestrel, a post-Brummel dandy in 1820s London. Julian is obviously of "high ton," but no one, including the reader, knows his past. He is truly a fascinating man of mystery. He also has a sharp mind and an understanding of human nature that is not satisfied by a society life alone. In the first book of the series, Cut to the Quick, Julian happens to be visiting in the country when someone murders a member of the house party. He learns that he is very good at sleuthing, and he solves the case. Here, he is sought out by a distraught father of a murdered man to find out who murdered his son. Unlike the Bow Street Runners, who have difficulties getting the upper crust to answer their questions, those same upper crust personages are just falling all over themselves to tell all to Julian, especially when he doesn't seem that interested to know what they know. Julian has friends among the Runners, and together they solve the crime.The mystery was excellent. Characters were excellent. Setting and dialog were excellent. Writing and plotting were excellent. It is hard to conceive of a more satisfying read. Highest recommendation.
Do You like book Whom The Gods Love (1996)?
A good read; I liked this more than the second book, and I look forward to the last one. There are sadly only four of these, as the author died young.Kestrel is a late-Regency dandy who has acquired curiously strong reputation as a detective after solving two murders amidst the English aristocracy. The mystery is a decent one, if a touch melodramatic, but it would have worked better for me if I hadn’t recently read another book with a very similar plot twist.The writing is quite good and Kestrel is a compelling protagonist. I wish that the reader could witness more of his dandy lifestyle, since it does not seem to entirely fit his personality, but at least in this book we get to see him tie a cravat.
—Jamie
Liked this one better than the second but not as much as the first.I get that it becomes unlikely to have the same person always on the scene of a crime and it's more plausible to have people come to him for help, but I thought that made Julian somehow detached from the crime. I think I would have been more into it if he'd been at Alexander's dinner party right before he'd died, seen everyone with his own eyes, and so on. Instead we start with a request for him to investigate, the first accounts of the crime are in the form of witness reports... it's all very clinical.Also, the mystery was too transparent for me. It could be because of the similarities with one of the Sebastian St. Cyr books, but I guessed most of the plot twists in advance and there was no suspense at all, just a little frustration because Julian seemed slower than usual on the uptake. It wasn't a bad book, it just... didn't wow me.
—Ren
The only thing I didn't like about this third installment in the Julian Kestrel series? Knowing that there's only ever going to be one more. Authors should never be allowed to die young.The plot definitely stands alone in each book, but why not read them in order? Start with Cut to the Quick. Julian is something of a mysterious character, and I was relieved to see that Ross includes a few more judicious details about his family and background in this book. I was starting to be afraid that she wouldn't have gotten around to it in any of the published books. There isn't as much of Dipper - or his sister - in this book, and I especially wondered what his sister had gotten up to since the last book. The mystery is nicely complex and satisfying, with a few things that you can figure out along the way and a few more that come as a surprise - just the way I like it. There's an authentic historical feel, and the whole series is more smart than sensational.
—Jess
