≡ PDF The Gilded Shroud A Lady Fan Mystery Elizabeth Bailey 9780425242896 Books

The Gilded Shroud A Lady Fan Mystery Elizabeth Bailey 9780425242896 Books

Download As PDF : The Gilded Shroud A Lady Fan Mystery Elizabeth Bailey 9780425242896 Books

The Gilded Shroud A Lady Fan Mystery Elizabeth Bailey 9780425242896 Books

The mystery plot is clever with twists and turns. (I picked out the villain quickly). The pacing is dragged out and the book, almost 600 pages, is way, way too long. The characters are pleasant but this author tries to do too much with many parts acting as fill. The bones of both the mystery and the romance are good. The execution needs tightening. The last 20% was particularly clumsy. Editor needed. This is my second and last read of a Bailey book.

Note: I just read that Ms Bailey teaches novel writing! LOL! Her own novels are poorly constructed; usually with too much fill and fragmented action. Students beware.


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The Gilded Shroud A Lady Fan Mystery Elizabeth Bailey 9780425242896 Books Reviews

Just could not get thru this book - just did not captivate my attention - historically inaccurate and characters not captivating
This was more a romance novel than a mystery novel. It was too drawn out -- to the point of boredom. If you're expecting a book equal to Georgette Heyer, you will be disappointed as was I.
Sometimes it is all about characters in a book and how they interact with each other that attracts me to read it. In this book I loved how the author did just that. I also loved the humor in it and a suspense was really good. The only thing that was a little bit to much is the knowledge and intelligence of Lady Ottilia. Do not get me wrong I admire such people, just in her case there is no real background which can support it and assure the reader that she has not just fallen from the sky. I think the author might have given a little bit more of introduction of her and her past, so that her character and her virtues and flaws are more believable.
Series A Lady Fan Mystery #1
Publication Date September 6th, 2011 by Berkley Trade (first published January 10th, 1992)
Number of Pages 368
2.5 Stars rounded up to 3

I loved the synopsis of this book when I read it and immediately purchased it. I loved the mystery itself, but the rest seemed more like a script for an over-the-top stage play with cardboard characters than it did anything representing real life. The relationships and conversations between servants and upper classes were so far off base that it was more fantasy than reality. Then – the view of the Bow Street Runners – absolutely ridiculous. In that period Bow Street couldn’t touch the peerage in any way, shape or form – they couldn’t even enter through the front door of the home, they had to go to the servants entrance and if the peerage didn’t want to allow them in or to talk to them, they didn’t have to. Members of the peerage would be tried before the House of Lords and they almost never, ever convicted each other of anything. So, a peer could, literally, get away with murder – especially against someone who ‘belonged’ to him – such as a wife.

According to Goodreads, this book was first published in 1992, so I’m hoping that it was a ‘learner’ novel for this author and the subsequent books (written over twenty years later) will be much better.

The book opens with the discovery of the murdered body of Lady Emily Fanshawe, Marchioness of Polbrook. Her husband is nowhere to be found and the only family member in residence is his brother Francis. Therefore, it is up to Francis to take charge and one of the most onerous things he has to do is to tell his mother that Emily has been murdered and Randal is missing.

When Francis arrives at his mother’s townhouse to tell her the news, he finds her having breakfast with her new (temporary) companion (Mrs. Ottilia Draycott) that she has only met late the night before. Ottilia offers to withdraw, but Francis invites her to stay since it will soon be all over town anyway. As Francis is telling his mother this distressing news, Ottilia is constantly interrupting with questions that are clearly none of her business. Instead of rebuking her, both the Dowager Marchioness and Francis let her continue, tell her how clever she is, and then she goes with them to the crime scene and she actually examines the scene and the body, etc. in the most intimate way.

Francis immediately gives Ottilia carte blanche to conduct the investigation because she is so smart, intuitive, and clever and he and his mother are just so dumb. Then she does really clever things like determining that someone could have entered the house through one of the doors – duh! She is so clever because – wait for it – she raised her brother’s two sons. Given that criteria, I should be a genius!

Ottilia rocks along with her investigation and ropes Francis into helping with parts of it until the mystery is solved and the murderer is revealed. In the meantime, everyone is constantly telling Ottilia how very clever she is and allowing her to ask the most intimate questions. The servants have the most casual of interchanges and relationships with the Dowager, Francis and everybody else. It is all just so very period inappropriate.

Then, there is the relationship that develops with Francis and Ottilia. I just didn’t see or feel it. They were like two cardboard characters and I couldn’t see where an attraction would be. There just didn’t seem to be any real passion.

There is also Ottilia’s propensity for giggling and making inappropriate jokes and comments during very serious, emotional, trying times. There were times when I was thinking that someone ought to give her a slap to show her that things were serious.

It is my intention to read another book in this series because the later ones have been released in the last few years and the author has had some time to grow in her craft. I’d like to see a more likable and relatable Ottilia. If Ottilia does have that growth, I’ll look forward to more books in the series.
The premise of this book is a winner but unfortunately almost everything else about it fails to deliver. The heroine's masterful deductive reasoning skills and her spot on accuracy in forensic examinations of a corpse are attributed at various times to her brother being a doctor, and her two mischievous nephews. The names alone in this book (Candia? Sybilla? Ottilia? And the worst nickname of all time, Fan Fan???) should have tipped me off before I slogged my way through all 500 pages that this book wasn't worth my time.
This novel offers everything a historical mystery fan could hope for a well-realized historical setting (England on the eve of the French revolution); nicely developed, engaging characters headlined by a perspicacious female sleuth; and a carefully crafted whodunit plot, though I did identify the culprit fairly early in the proceedings. Mercifully, the author keeps the romance that unfolds in parallel with the mystery plot subordinate to the mystery. I heartily dislike romance novels, and nothing frustrates me more than to start reading a book billed as a mystery which morphs into a sappy romance. In this book, thanks to the author's skillful handling, I actually found the romantic subplot enjoyable. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
I am very pleased that I was attracted to this historical mystery. When I get a new book, I check it out by reading the dustcover flaps if there, reading the back of the book, reading the comments, and, often the first chapter. With Elizabeth Bailey’s The Gilded Shroud, I never stopped reading. I was sucked in after reading the first couple of pages. All other books went by the wayside as I continued to read this enthralling murder mystery. The author has written a brilliant mystery with some dynamic characters especially Mrs. Draycott who has arrived to be the temporary companion of the Dowager Polbrook. From page one the atmosphere in this large ‘town’ house in London is awfully wrong, and the reader is very aware of it! What is it? Well, that is what keeps one reading - to discover what it is exactly! Well done! Highly recommended! Thoroughly enjoyed!
The mystery plot is clever with twists and turns. (I picked out the villain quickly). The pacing is dragged out and the book, almost 600 pages, is way, way too long. The characters are pleasant but this author tries to do too much with many parts acting as fill. The bones of both the mystery and the romance are good. The execution needs tightening. The last 20% was particularly clumsy. Editor needed. This is my second and last read of a Bailey book.

Note I just read that Ms Bailey teaches novel writing! LOL! Her own novels are poorly constructed; usually with too much fill and fragmented action. Students beware.