Rules of Engagement (Sir John Fielding Series #11)

by Bruce Alexander

Overview

"Richly detailed fiction…storytelling in the grand classic tradition."—The New York Times
 
"Fascinating and impeccably written . . . should delight old fans and new readers."—Chicago Tribune
 
"Triumphant."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
When Lord Lammermoor plunges to his death from Westminster Bridge before a dozen witnesses, his death is ruled a suicide. But his fatal leap coincides with the arrival of Dr. Goldsworthy—a student of the famous Dr. Anton Mesmer and his research into animal magnetism. Sir John’s suspicions grow when he learns that Goldsworthy’s patron in London is none other than the beautiful Lady Lammermoor. And the deeper Jeremy investigates the Lammermoor family, the more suspects he discovers who stand to gain from Lord Lammermoor’s death.
 
"A wonderful series."—The Washington Post Book World

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425208533
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/07/2006
Series:	Sir John Fielding Series , #11
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	4.16(w) x 6.73(h) x 0.73(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Bruce Alexander is the pseudonym for a well-known author of fiction and nonfiction. The books in his series include Blind Justice; Murder in Grub Street (named by the New York Times Book Review as a notable book in 1995); Watery Grave; Person or Persons Unknown (named by the Chicago Tribune as one of the best novels of 1997); Jack, Knave and Fool; and Death of a Colonial.

Editorial Reviews

Bruce Alexander's passion was 18th-century London, and while the posthumous publication of Rusles of Engagement marks the end of his remarkable six-book series featuring Sir John Fielding, the blind magistrate of the Bow Street Court, it is such a ripping good read that it deserves special attention. Alexander, who died in 2003, was a stickler for historical authenticity, but his richly detailed fiction has more than period atmosphere going for it. As he demonstrates in this story about a fashionable mesmerist who has all of London agog, he had a purist's grasp of the principles of storytelling in the grand classic tradition.
— The New York Times

Marilyn Stasio

The inexplicable suicide of a powerful British lord leads Sir John Fielding and Jeremy Proctor to the weird worlds of medical quackery and necromancy. In 18th-century London, the Lord Chief Justice appeals to jurist and sometime sleuth Sir John Fielding when several witness see the distinguished Lord Lammermoor jump to his death from Westminster Bridge-even though he had no apparent reason to kill himself. Giving Sir John an edge is the secret disclosure of Annie Oakum, a former cook in the Fielding household gone on to thespian fame at the Drury Lane Theatre with David Garrick's famous troupe. She confesses to wide-eyed Jeremy, the blind Sir John's eyes, legs, and amanuensis, that she spent the night with Lammermoor, her lover, before his fatal leap. A dispute between the coroner, grim Mr. Trezavant, and the earnest doctor who first examined the body leads to an unsatisfying judgment of suicide, and further probing by Jeremy for Sir John. Sir John is suspicious of secretive Lady Lammermoor, who's tight with Mr. Goldsworthy, a "progressive" physician who claims he can heal with magnets and magnetized water. Unfortunately, the investigation's timing couldn't be worse for Jeremy, whose marriage to his long-time love Clarissa, Lady Fielding's ward, is imminent. Published posthumously, this 11th installment in the elegant Fielding series (The Price of Murder, 2003, etc.) was completed by the author's widow and mystery writer Jack Shannon. Most readers will wish for more.

Kirkus Reviews