Death of a Pilgrim

In 1906, an Irish-American tycoon is so grateful that his son's life was spared that he decides to go on pilgrimage, along with as many of his relatives as he can find who are interested. But no sooner do they all arrive in France than one of their number dies in a fall.

This latest Lord Powerscourt mystery is a bit flat. The best in the series are the ones which deal with actual historical figures who died (semi-)mysteriously. The totally fictional cases are never as good.

In 1906, an Irish-American tycoon is so grateful that his son's life was spared that he decides to go on pilgrimage, along with as many of his relatives as he can find who are interested. But no sooner do they all arrive in France than one of their number dies in a fall.

This latest Lord Powerscourt mystery is a bit flat. The best in the series are the ones which deal with actual historical figures who died (semi-)mysteriously. The totally fictional cases are never as good.

"Death of a Pilgrim" has been described elsewhere as a traditional English country house murder mystery recast along the path of a group of pilgrims making their way to Santiago de Compostela. This is a clever narrative device, but slightly unsettling, as throughout the book there's a niggle in the back of your mind as to what works of classic detective fiction Dickinson is paying homage to and while this is not a demanding read, there are times when it is rewarding to be paying attention to what's on the page rather than mulling over other books.

For full review please see: http://southlondonbook.blogspot.com/2009/04/death-of-pilgrim-david-dickinson.htm...

Too slow starting, I gave up

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