HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

A Dreadful Murder by Minette Walters
Loading...

A Dreadful Murder (original 2013; edition 2013)

by Minette Walters

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
806328,939 (3.13)7
Three victims, three unsolvable murders, and three killers walk free. A Dreadful Murder: Kent, August 1908. Caroline Luard is shot dead in broad daylight in the grounds of a large country estate. With few clues available, her husband soon becomes the suspect But is he guilty? Tinder Box: In a small Hampshire village, Irish labourer Patrick O'Riordan has been arrested for the brutal murder of elderly Lavinia Fanshaw and her live-in nurse, Dorothy Jenkins. What lies lurk beneath the surface of their world? Chickenfeed: Under financial and emotional stress, Norman Thorne finds himself in a hopeless situation - but does he resort to murder to escape his fiancee's clutches? Together for the first time, these three page-turning stories are each based on true unsolved murders. And with the Queen of Crime, Minette Walters, on the case, killers beware.… (more)
Member:aveys
Title:A Dreadful Murder
Authors:Minette Walters
Info:Pan Books (2013), Paperback
Collections:Digital reads, Read in 2013 (inactive), Your library
Rating:**1/2
Tags:None

Work Information

A Dreadful Murder: The Mysterious Death of Caroline Luard by Minette Walters (2013)

None
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 7 mentions

Showing 5 of 5
This book is based on the real, unsolved murder of Caroline Luard in 1908, and it was an interesting read. Full of actual letters and news reports about the case, Minette Walters created likeable characters, both read and imaginary. Although she didn't solve the crime, it did leave wondering who actually did kill Caroline. ( )
  HeatherLINC | Nov 17, 2019 |
This is the fictionalized story of the murder of Caroline Luard who was shot and killed on August 25, 1908 at an isolated summerhouse in Kent. She and her husband, Charles Luard, were pillars of late-Victorian society. A vitriolic letter-writing and whispering campaign suggested Charles was the murderer: “As if a close-knit family had turned on itself because no one believed the victim had been killed by an outsider. Instead of peace, there was war. Instead of mutual support, there was suspicion.” Officially, however, the case was unsolved.

The book is a walk-through of the case. It seems to follow closely real events as outlined in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Mary_Luard, the site recommended at the end of the book. Walters, however, uses fiction techniques to bring the story to life, including imagining some characters.

The novel includes some social commentary about class divisions and the inequality of the sexes at the turn of the twentieth century. It also sheds light on crime investigation at that time.

This is one of the Quick Reads series of books intended for reluctant adult readers or those who struggle with reading. For those readers, I think it’s a good choice. The tale might encourage further reading/research into the actual case.

Please check out my reader's blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). ( )
  Schatje | Sep 12, 2016 |
This is a true crime 'Quick Read', I must admit I was left a little underawed by this one. I wanted more and felt at the end it left me hanging. ( )
  Andrew-theQM | Jun 20, 2016 |
A fictional view of a real life event. A very well told short story with a moving ending.

( )
  Sergeirocks | Jun 15, 2016 |
An OK Quick Read. The author speculates on the true murderers of a real life violent death in 1900s Kent. ( )
  infjsarah | Jul 27, 2013 |
Showing 5 of 5
no reviews | add a review

Belongs to Publisher Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Three victims, three unsolvable murders, and three killers walk free. A Dreadful Murder: Kent, August 1908. Caroline Luard is shot dead in broad daylight in the grounds of a large country estate. With few clues available, her husband soon becomes the suspect But is he guilty? Tinder Box: In a small Hampshire village, Irish labourer Patrick O'Riordan has been arrested for the brutal murder of elderly Lavinia Fanshaw and her live-in nurse, Dorothy Jenkins. What lies lurk beneath the surface of their world? Chickenfeed: Under financial and emotional stress, Norman Thorne finds himself in a hopeless situation - but does he resort to murder to escape his fiancee's clutches? Together for the first time, these three page-turning stories are each based on true unsolved murders. And with the Queen of Crime, Minette Walters, on the case, killers beware.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.13)
0.5
1 1
1.5
2 3
2.5 1
3 9
3.5 3
4 5
4.5
5 1

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,234,560 books! | Top bar: Always visible