Tall, golden-haired, and gifted with faces that mirrored the fine-boned masculine beauty of a Botticelli painting, they were fast becoming the darlings of the Royal Institute for both their boyish charm and scientific acumen since arriving from the North to take up residence in London several months ago. The defence argued that he was incapable of such a sophisticated killing, which involved detailed planning and specialist bullets. I thought that Griffin (from Bow Street) was dumber than he needed to be. He is still very much a one-note character, IMO.

When Charlotte's cousin and dear childhood friend Cedric, Lord Chittenden, is found brutally murdered and his twin brother Nicholas is suspected of the crime, it's up to Charlotte to prove the innocence of the one remaining twin, also dear to her. Wrexford, of course, is on hand to aid and abet her, as usual, and their investigations take them from the prison where Nicholas is being held to the streets of London, seedy and affluent, to the halls of science, to the Eos Society, whose upper-class members indulge in various scientific discussions and experimentation. The book alternates between Slone’s point of view and that of Wrexford. The author uses this as a way of increasing tension and helping pull the reader through the book at an even pace. These changes occur at well-placed intervals that serve to leave the reader wanting more with one character while at the same time being intrigued by what is happening with the other. Mrs. Charlotte Sloane had her hands full when a cousin, who was also a close childhood friend, was murdered. It was heinous. To make matters worse, her other cousin -and his younger twin- was taken into custody and charged with the awful crime. Could it be London’s Bloody Butcher resurfaced to kill once more? Reading these books is always such a delight. There is clearly this romantic tension between Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane, but it doesn’t overtake the prime focus of the books which is the murder mystery. Both are historical mystery series, and both take place in England during the Regency. Both feature amateur detectives who are aristocrats, working with female partners with whom they have tension-filled relationships.George worked as a messenger at the BBC for a short time. After his spell there, he frequently called in to collect copies of the staff newspaper. The romance between Wrexford and Charlotte Sloane is a tenuous one. Well – perhaps tenuous isn’t the right word – they are each denying it to themselves, but it comes out in the actions they take, in their thoughts and their terror when the other is in danger. They are about to get on my last nerve! They need to get on with it already! I’m ready for them to be a real team – living and working together. https://quizmediapopular.blogspot.nl/media/B07MP5C22G [ BOOK MURDER AT KENSINGTON PALACE (A WREXFORD & SLOANE MYSTERY BOOK 3) by ANDREA PENROSE REVIEW ] Now, here's the problem I have with Charlotte Sloane's character, especially in this outing: she's completely torn up about her cousin's death and the other cousin being arrested for the crime. She's so torn up about it in fact, that she makes sillier choices than usual and gives up her anonymity to rejoin "high" society, supposedly so she can interact with the female suspects. (And, by the way, this sacrifice turns out to be unnecessary because Wrexford and Sheffield already know the main female suspect and have several dealings with her throughout the story.)

Victoria was educated almost entirely within the confines of the palace. Her daily programme of lessons, known as the ‘Kensington System’ was judged by some to be harsh. On the morning of 20 June 1837, Princess Victoria woke up to be told that the King had died and that she was now Queen. She was just 18 years old.

This is the third book in the Wrexford and Slone mystery series, and my first read. The characters are so well drawn I had no problem understanding the relationships between Slone and Wrexford as well as the secondary characters in the book. The secondary characters, including the two young boys Slone has taken in as wards and the unconventional gentlemen Wrexford calls on to help solve the mystery add wonderful color and depth to the story.

The other thing that makes the two series different, and has been a huge factor in the Wrexford & Sloane series so far, is that Wrexford, unlike Devlin, is a man of science rather than politics, and this case, like the previous two books, is steeped in that world that seemed to be changing and discovering every day. He said the prosecution could not prove that the killer, seen by two witnesses shortly after the 11.30am shooting, was George. Penrose’s other great strength, other than the yummy romance, is the love of friends and family Charlotte and Wrexford built around them: “She had somehow gathered a mismatched circle of friends around her during the past few years. They had become very dear to her. Once again, she was aware of how frighteningly vulnerable she felt because of it. A solitary existence was far safe, uncomplicated by the complexities of emotions. Danger now held more consequences than the question of her own measly survival. The boys depended on her … ” Ah, the boys, Wrexford’s beloved “Weasels” (how tender is it that he has found them a tutor? how loving is Charlotte’s heart-weakness for them? teaching them to draw, muttering motherly threats about “no jam tarts,” which McLennan affectionately bakes for them, hugging them and giving them a world of love and care and knowledge where they had none). Raven and Hawk are funny, smart, and vulnerable in how much they love Charlotte and both love and are in awe of Wrexford. In the end, the most winning aspect of Penrose’s wonderful series is the conclusion Charlotte and Wrexford come to together and apart, that love is primary, makes life worth living, and deserves our greatest care and protection. And why I await the next

William and Mary

Although Wrexford gets top billing in ‘his’ series, it’s not his journey. Instead, this story is told from the perspective of Mrs. Charlotte Sloane, a widow living in genteel poverty who makes ends at least wave at each other by penning satirical drawings and publishing them under the nom-de-plume A.J. Quill. It’s clear that she grew up in different circumstances, but when the story begins neither Wrexford nor the reader know exactly what those circumstances were or why she left them.