Death on the Holy Mountain

by David Dickinson

Lord Francis Powerscourt (7)

80 Members 1 Review ½ (3.74)

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The year is 1905 and Powerscourt is sent to Ireland to investigate a series of art thefts from stately houses. Motive troubles Powerscourt; were these robberies merely for gain? A number of Old Masters had been left untouched and the ones taken were all ancient family portraits of the aristocratic Protestant gentry. Are these thefts political? Then, astonishingly, some of the portraits begin to return - but with altered faces; the aristocrats' being replaced by those from the estates and show more towns beyond the gates. Truly an elaborate joke, but then real people begin to disappear - and not long after the first body is found in the chapel at the top of Croagh Patrick, Ireland's Holy Mountain on the very day 10,000 people make the great pilgrimage to the summit. More follow, and as Powerscourt makes his way towards the killer his own life comes under threat, while his patriotism, and his devotion to Ireland is called into question on his journey towards the truth. show less

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Member Reviews

1 review
The Lord Francis Powerscourt series of mysteries, largely set in Victorian/Edwardian Britain, fall comfortably into the arena of entertaining light hearted silliness. In general they don't take themselves too seriously, have an engaging cast of characters and an ability to make the reader interested. Perhaps the key strength of the series is that it covers a period that lends itself to over pompous mawkishness with a refreshing tone of humour. Be it a rainy afternoon in London, or in one engaging case, a shady deck on a Greek ferry (with “Goodnight Sweet Prince”) a Dickinson novel can generally be relied on to while away the hours in an eminently pleasurable manner; “Death on the Holy Mountain” broadly adheres to these criteria, show more if at times becoming a touch too bedded into the author's comprehensive background research.

Read full review at
http://southlondonbook.blogspot.com/2009/01/death-on-holy-mountain-david-dickins...
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Author Information

24 Works 1,119 Members
David Dickinson joined the BBC where he became editor of Newsnight and Panorama.

Series

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Death on the Holy Mountain
Original publication date
2008
People/Characters
Lord Francis Powerscourt; Lady Lucy Powerscourt; Johnny Fitzgerald
Important places
Ireland
Dedication
For Colin and Rosie
First words
The box was brown and tightly bound with string.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Tread softly because you tread upon my dreams."

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Mystery, Historical Fiction
DDC/MDS
823.92Literature & rhetoricEnglish & Old English literaturesEnglish fiction1900-2000-
LCC
PR6104 .I24 .D44Language and LiteratureEnglishEnglish Literature2001-
BISAC

Statistics

Members
80
Popularity
395,740
Reviews
1
Rating
½ (3.74)
Languages
English, French
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
7
ASINs
3