Death of a Chancellor (Lord Francis Powerscourt Series Book 4)

Prime Book Box for Kids. Story time just Death Called to the Bar: A Lord Francisco Powerscourt Murder Mystery (Lord Francis Powerscourt. Death Called to The Woman in the Water: A Prequel to the Charles Lenox Series (Charles Lenox.
Table of contents

• Books by David Dickinson and Complete Book Reviews
• See a Problem?
• The Lord Francis Powerscourt Omnibus (Books 1-4)

British author Dickinson's compelling fourth Francis Powerscourt whodunit after 's Death of an Old Master reinforces his standing as one of the better current historical mystery writers. Powerscourt's return to England in , after a year-long intelligence mission in South Africa at the height of the Boer War, is soon followed by the demands of a new client, the imperious and offensively rude sister of the late chancellor of Compton Cathedral in the west of England.

The churchman died of a heart condition, according to his doctor and butler, but his sister, who stood to reap a huge share of the vast fortune left behind under one of the three extant wills, is suspicious of their accounts and of the closed coffin.

Powerscourt learns that the death may be connected with the disappearances of some members of the choir and to a gruesome murder of another church member. Relying on his usual band of friends and allies, he begins to piece together a stunning conspiracy that could threaten the primacy of the Church of England. Some readers may be disappointed that no deduction is involved in the apprehension of the killer, but the vivid turn-of-the-century setting and absorbing look at Anglican religious schisms more than compensate.

Would you like to tell us about a lower price? If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support? Learn more about Amazon Prime. Beautiful Compton Cathedral in the west of England is preparing for a special anniversary to celebrate one thousand years of Christian worship.

But a few weeks before the ceremonies are due to take place, the Chancellor, a high official of the cathedral, dies in mysterious circumstances. Only a doctor and the undertaker are allowed to view the corpse. It soon transpires that the Chancellor was one of the richest men in England, and his sister suspects foul play; so that discreet and well-bred investigator Lord Francis Powerscourt is asked to step in.

As Powerscourt paces the ancient cloisters and listen to evensong, he begins to suspect that a terrible secret lies hidden in the cathedral, and it might have something to do with the anniversary. Then there is a dreadful incident—the dead body of one of the choristers is discovered turning on the great spit in the Vicars Hall kitchen. Both Powerscourt and his wife Lady Lucy will find their lives at risk before he uncovers the astonishing secret of Compton Minster and unmasks a brutal killer. With narrative skill and a real understanding of the period, David Dickinson takes us into a past that becomes vividly alive.

Read more Read less. Prime Book Box for Kids. Customers who bought this item also bought. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Death of an Old Master: Death and the Jubilee: Death Called to the Bar: From Publishers Weekly British author Dickinson's compelling fourth Francis Powerscourt whodunit after 's Death of an Old Master reinforces his standing as one of the better current historical mystery writers. Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. Share your thoughts with other customers.

Write a customer review. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. While I remain a fan of Dickenson's characters and writing, this installment was lackluster. Originally hired to investigate a contested will his employer a bitter, shrewish woman , Powerscourt is soon investigating a larger plot that could shake England to its roots, and which becomes much broader and sinister than the story progresses.

The horrible woman who initially brings Powerscourt to a small village in west England disappears mid-way through the story she conviently takes a vacation to Italy, essentially writing her out of the book , never to be heard from again. In the meantime, Powercourt brings his wife and children to the village while he investigates. A sub-plot involving necessecary characters to help provide exposition and perhaps ease the tension only added to the fluctations in the relating of the story.

The idea of the story I'm afraid I have to be vauge, lest there be spoilers - figuring out how parts of the plot interrelate is much of what the mystery is about is clever, and the interrelationships between Johnny Fitzgerald a long friend and former military associate of Powrescourt and Lord and Lady Powerscourt is always entertaining to read, which saves the book from a lower rating.

One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful. Really enjoyed it -love this series. One person found this helpful. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. Ridiculous, slow moving plot that should merit the book being defined as fantasy instead of mystery. Atmospheric, with mind-bending twists, a narrator who may or may not be reliable, and an ending that will take your breath away and leave you astonished' Louise Penny'Agatha Award-winning McPherson's deliciously gothic country house mystery with a contemporary twist is devious and suspenseful and keeps readers guessing to the shocking end.

When Yu-jin wakes up covered in blood, and finds the body of his mother downstairs, he decides to hide the evidence and pursue the killer himself. Then young women start disappearing in his South Korean town. Who is he hunting? And why does the answer take him back to his brother and father who lost their lives many years ago.

The Good Son is inspired by a true story. Then grab a copy of this! Summoned to the riverside by the desperate, scribbled note of an old friend, Jem Flockhart and Will Quartermain find themselves on board the seamen's floating hospital, an old hulk known only as The Blood, where prejudice, ambition and murder seethe beneath a veneer of medical respectability.

On shore, a young woman, a known prostitute, is found drowned in a derelict boatyard. A man leaps to his death into the Thames, driven mad by poison and fear. The events are linked - but how? Courting danger in the opium dens and brothels of the waterfront, certain that the Blood lies at the heart of the puzzle, Jem and Will embark on a quest to uncover the truth. In a hunt that takes them from the dissecting tables of a private anatomy school to the squalor of the dock-side mortuary, they find themselves involved in a dark and terrible mystery. Thomson'Meticulously researched and masterfully plotted, E.

Thomson has written a complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable tale' Daily Express'Here's a tale of Victorian London to freeze your blood on a cold winter's night' Evening Telegraph'Jem Flockhart's London is vivid, pungent and perilous. The Blood takes you to places you will love to picture but be grateful you can't smell' Chris Brookmyre'E. Thompson's Jem Flockhart books are the best I've read in years.

Jem is just my kind of heroine: The blood, the bones, the crumbling hospital. This vivid journey into the dark side of the human soul is a thoroughly engrossing tale' Mary Paulson Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker'Deliciously dark and vividly atmospheric, menace oozes from every page. Terrific for lovers of historical noir' Saga'A first class piece of historical crime writing' Big IssueA marvellous, vivid book In The Throne of Caesar, award-winning mystery author Steven Saylor turns to the most famous murder in history.

See a Problem?

Julius Caesar has been appointed Dictator for life by the Roman Senate. Having pardoned his remaining enemies and rewarded his friends, Caesar is now preparing to leave Rome with his army to fight the Parthian Empire. Gordianus the Finder, after decades of investigating crimes and murders involving the powerful, has finally retired. But on the morning of March 10th, he's summoned to meet with Cicero and Caesar himself. Both have the same request - keep your ear to the ground, ask around, and find out if there are any conspiracies against Caesar's life.

Caesar, however, has one other important matter to discuss - he is going to make Gordianus a Senator when he attends the next session on the 15th of March. With only four days left before he's made a Senator, Gordianus must dust off his old skills and see what conspiracy against Julius Caesar, if any, he can uncover.

Because the Ides of March are approaching Praise for Steven Saylor'A compelling storyteller, with a striking talent for historical reconstruction' Mary Beard'Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing enthrals' Ruth Rendell'The most reliably entertaining and well-researched novels about the ancient world [are] Steven Saylor's tales of the Roman proto-detective Gordianus the Finder. The Throne of Caesar brings the series to a satisfying conclusion [and offers] a new, compelling perspective on familiar historic events' Sunday Times'Writing a detective story about one of the most famous murders in history is no easy feat, but Saylor carries it off with characteristic brilliance.

Now a major BBC drama as part of the Cormoran Strike seriesWhen a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman's severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible - and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, Career of Evil is the third in the number one bestselling series featuring Cormoran Strike and his assistant, Robin Ellacott.

His father is dying. He's stuck in the middle of a gang war. And he has to solve a case with no clues. Welcome to the world of Inspector John Carlyle. Work goes on the backburner for Inspector Carlyle as he tries to manage his father's final days. But when the drug dealer providing the old man's pain relief ends up dead, London's least conventional copper finds himself in the middle of a vicious East London turf war. Meantime, he is supposed to be dealing with the case of a young woman found badly beaten in an alleyway.

With no idea who she is, and no clues as to her attacker, he has to get help from some unlikely sources. Twisty and gripping but always relatable, Friend Request is the ultimate it-could-happen-to-you read' Erin KellyWhen Louise Williams receives a message from someone left long in the past she feels sick. Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook.

Because Maria Weston has been missing for over twenty-five years. She was last seen the night of a school leavers' party, and the world believes her to be dead. Particularly Louise, who has lived her adult life knowing herself responsible for Maria's disappearance.

But now Maria is back. As Maria's messages start to escalate, Louise forces herself to reconnect with the old friends she once tried so hard to impress, to try to piece together exactly what happened that fateful night. But when another friend's body turns up in the woods outside their old school, Louise realises she can't trust anyone and that she must confront her own awful secret to discover the whole truth of what happened to Maria. First in a delightfully charming crime series set in s Singapore, introducing amateur sleuth SuLin, a local girl stepping in as governess for the Acting Governor of Singapore.

When the Irish nanny looking after Acting Governor Palin's daughter dies suddenly - and in mysterious circumstances - mission school-educated local girl SuLin - an aspiring journalist trying to escape an arranged marriage - is invited to take her place. But then another murder at the residence occurs and it seems very likely that a killer is stalking the corridors of Government House.

It now takes all SuLin's traditional skills and intelligence to help British-born Chief Inspector Thomas LeFroy solve the murders - and escape with her own life. Every nook and cranny of s Singapore is brought richly to life, without ever getting in the way of a classic puzzle plot. But what's a setting without a jewel?

Chen Su Lin is a true gem. Her slyly witty voice and her admirable, sometimes heartbreaking, practicality make her the most beguiling narrator heroine I've met in a long while. Ovidia Yu's teenage Chinese sleuth gives us an insight into a very different culture and time. This book is exactly why I love historical novels. A night of dancing that ends with the mysterious disappearance of a stable-boy - and Lord Francis Powerscourt is summoned to investigate. Spring , and Jack Harper, current owner of Melrose Hall, has thrown a party for his eldest, Andrew, who is turning twenty-one.

But the following morning there is no sign of Richard O'Connor. More than just a stable-boy, Richard acts as the legs of the paralyzed Jack Harper, pushing him around the estate in his wheelchair and sharing with him an affinity with the family's stable of thoroughbreds. The police aren't interested in the disappearance of a servant so Powerscourt is summoned. And then a body is discovered in the tackroom of one of the farms on the estate. Richard O'Connor has been shot through the head - but why would anyone want to shoot him? And what of Richard's unique ability - he can tell which horse is going to win the race.

Did that lead to his death? Or was it the arrival of gangs at the local races, keen to enlist Richard into their crime syndicates? Praise for David Dickinson'Detective fiction in the grand style' James Naughtie'Beguilingly real from start to finish. The unputdownable, spine-chilling thriller from the queen of crime, Val McDermid. Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie is an expert at solving the unsolvable.

With each cold case closed, justice is served. So, finding the answer should be straightforward, but it's as twisted as the DNA helix itself. Meanwhile Karen finds herself irresistibly drawn to another case, one that she has no business investigating. And as she pieces together decades-old evidence, Karen discovers the most dangerous kinds of secrets.

Secrets that someone is willing to kill for. Number one bestseller, Val McDermid returns with her most atmospheric, gripping novel to date. Our Books See all Books. Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman. Difficult Women by Roxane Gay. The Dry by Jane Harper. Welcome to Night Vale: Age is Just a Number by Charles Eugster.

In the Name of the Family by Sarah Dunant. Micro-Resilience by Bonnie St.