Product Description

The acclaimed author of the bestselling Jane Austen mysteries brings rich historical immediacy to an enthralling new suspense novel centered around Queen Victoria’s troubled court…and a secret so dangerous, it could topple thrones.

Windsor Castle, 1861. Prince Albert, the Queen’s Consort, lies dying, and Victoria summons Patrick Fitzgerald, the clever, embittered Irish barrister who helped defend Her Majesty from a would-be assassin twenty years earlier. Within hours, Fitzgerald’s beautiful ward is nearly murdered, his chambers are ransacked, and another girl lies dead. Could an unknown force at Windsor want Fitzgerald silenced? And why? The answers are entangled in an electrifying tale of intrigue, seduction, and betrayal, partially narrated by Europe’s most powerful monarch.

As fascinating as the Queen herself, seamlessly blending history and suspense, A Flaw in the Blood is an elegant thriller that is utterly convincing—and utterly surprising—to its very end.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #184790 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-30
• Released on: 2008-12-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780553384444
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

From Publishers Weekly
After a slow start, all the narrative strands, among them the voice of Queen Victoria, begin to work together in this engaging historical from Barron (Jane and the Stillroom Maid and eight other Jane Austen mysteries). Against a backdrop of national mourning for Prince Albert in 1861, an evil (complete with eye patch) German count, Wolfgang von Stühlen, tracks Irish barrister Patrick Fitzgerald, who 20 years earlier defended a would-be assassin of the queen, and Fitzgerald's beautiful ward, Georgiana Georgie Armistead, who, unusually for a woman of the period, is trained as a doctor. Georgie's specialized medical knowledge comes into play as the late prince consort's concerns and his widow's fears drive the fleeing pair to France, to visit Victoria's youngest son, the sickly Prince Leopold, and on to Bavaria, the original home of the interrelated family of Victoria and Albert. (An opening genealogical chart shows that the queen and her consort were cousins.) The history of the royal line is diverting, and the royal gossip is even more so. (Mar.)
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From Booklist
Barron takes a break from her Jane Austen mysteries to bring us a snapshot of Queen Victoria in a sticky wicket when Prince Albert dies at the young age of 42. It is the author’s contention that the monarch who ruled the British Empire for more than 60 years had much to hide, and as the mystery unfolds, hypotheses emerge to explain Victoria’s tight-lipped mourning and iron-fisted reign. Narrated in part by the queen herself, the tale offers a intriguing glimpse of the royal personage as she grapples with the death of her beloved Albert and interacts with a host of supporting players: the lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, who saved her would-be assassin; his ward, Dr. Georgiana Armistead, who insists on pursuing a cure for Prince Leo’s bleeding ailment; and an old family friend, Count von Stuhlen, whose play for power includes murder. With all the earmarks of a gothic romance—unrequited love, a murderous stormy night, guilty secrets, hopes dashed, revenge plotted—this fast-paced mystery is a winner for fans of Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney, as well as the more contemporary Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Shadow of the Wind, 2004). --Jen Baker

Review
“Barron writes a lively adventure that puts warm flesh on historical bones.”—New York Times Book Review

“An enquiry into the death of Queen Victoria’s beloved Prince Consort…. Intertwined with information about medical malpractive 150 years ago and royal genealogy.”—Kirkus Reviews

“[A] beautifully written novel, filled with twists and turns…. You’ll smell the scented chambers at Windsor and the filth in the hovel, along with the Victorian hypocrisy. And you will be so caught up in the characters that you'll wish Barron would turn Georgie and Patrick into a series, just as she did with Jane Austen.”—Denver Post

“A suspenseful tale that fits with several little known facts about the Victorian monarchy…. . Barron skillfully paces the book to keep the reader's interest heightened.”—Boulder Daily Camera

“A thrilling chase through Europe with plenty of action and…. The stunning conclusion will leave you wondering about the course of British history.”—Rocky Mountain News

“With all the earmarks of a gothic romance—guilty secrets, hopes dashed, revenge plotted, this fast-paced mystery is a winner for fans of Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney, as well as the more contemporary Carlos Ruiz Zafón.” —Booklist

“Engaging…The history of the royal line is diverting, and the royal gossip is even more so.” —Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews

a deliciously dark read
Hopefully Stephanie Barron isn't done with Jane Austen quite yet; in the meantime however, she's decided to delve into the Victorian era, and has successfully penned this deliciously dark and haunting novel about royal secrets and obsessions.

Even as her beloved husband, Prince Albert, lies dying, Queen Victoria mysteriously summons barrister, Patrick Fitzgerald, to Winsdor, demanding that he sign an affidavit denying every bit of evidence he had uncovered more than 20 years ago while defending the man accused of attempting to assassinate her. And when the carriage carrying his ward, the beautiful and unconventional Dr. Georgina Armistad, and himself away from Windsor Castle is brutally attacked, Patrick cannot help but wonder if the attempt on his life had anything to do with his visit to the royal household. A murderous attack on his partner in chambers and the shocking break-in at Georgina's home only confirms his suspicions. Resolved to discover why his death is suddenly so ardently desired, Patrick begins his quest to discover exactly who is after him and why, never dreaming how much his investigation could affect the fate of the current royal family...

Sweeping across the European continent, this tautly paced mystery novel was an exciting read from beginning to end -- not only was the entire mystery subplot a very riveting and exciting one, but the other two subplots that focused on Queen Victoria and the royal family, made for absorbing and compelling reading as well. I was particularly fascinated by the author's deliciously sinister portrayal of the Queen, thinking that it added a texture and darkness to the novel that made it unforgettable. And while it is true that the three distinct narrative voices did sometimes jar the smooth flow of the novel, "Flaw in the Blood" still was a very fast paced and incredibly suspenseful read. Well researched, "Flaw in the Blood" proved to be the kind of fascinating and deliciously dark novel that I for one would have no hesitation in recommending as a must read.

Victoria was not amused.
Stephanie Barron's "A Flaw in the Blood" opens in 1860. Something has caused Queen Victoria's Consort, Prince Albert, to fall into a deep depression. "He had wanted death. He had gone out that morning hunting for it." A year later, Albert is gravely ill, supposedly with typhoid (although his symptoms point to a far different malady). Victoria summons an Irish barrister named Patrick Fitzgerald to Windsor Palace. She makes no effort to hide her disdain for Fitzgerald, calling him "an uncouth lackey of the Irish rabble." Patrick incurred Victoria's eternal wrath in 1840 when he disseminated scandalous accusations implicating the Royal family in an assassination attempt on the Queen. Twenty years later, Victoria orders Fitzgerald to sign a paper stating that his statements were "nothing more than a fabrication of [his] own treacherous Irish mind." Patrick refuses, thus setting the stage for what proves to be a "battle royal."

Patrick's ward is twenty-six year old Georgiana Armistead, a woman twenty years his junior with whom he has fallen in love. Her previous guardian, the late Dr. John Snow, was a legendary figure who traced the 1854 cholera outbreak in London to a particular water pump on Broad Street. Snow was a genius, whose work inspired Georgie to study medicine in Edinburgh. Now she chooses to treat the poorest patients in London's most wretched and unsanitary slums. Patrick had promised Snow that he would keep an eye on Georgie, but she is a fiercely independent individual who answers to no one but herself. Soon Patrick discovers, much to his woe, how ill-advised it is to ignore Victoria's commands. The Queen dispatches the sadistic Wolfgang Graf von Stuhlen and his henchmen to hunt down and kill Patrick, Georgiana, and others whom she deems a threat to her rule. Von Stuhlen is a malevolent and vicious sociopath who harbors a long-standing grudge against Georgie. He embarks on his mission with zeal, relentlessly pursuing his quarry across England, France, and Bavaria.

Although most of the book is written in the third person, some revealing chapters are narrated by Victoria herself. These poignant passages offer insight into the Queen's traumatic history and complex psychological makeup. Victoria discusses her lonely and troubled childhood, her ascension to the throne, her ardent love for the moral and straight-laced Albert, the nine children she bore (some of whom bitterly disappointed her), and her determination to maintain her position at all costs. Barron portrays Victoria as an imperious, arrogant, and unforgiving monarch who is obsessed with silencing her enemies. Fitzgerald is a courageous and resourceful protagonist who harbors shocking secrets of his own. The gifted and idealistic Georgiana is willing to risk her reputation and even her life to fulfill her professional and personal responsibilities. Patrick and those closest to him know that they can never live in peace until they discover exactly what Victoria has taken such great pains to conceal. "A Flaw in the Blood" is an engrossing and well-researched blend of fact and fiction (slightly marred by occasional touches of melodrama) that explores the ways in which each one of us, from the lowliest peasant to the most exalted sovereign, is subject to the same needs, passions, and human imperfections.

(4.5) "Truth's a curse to monarchs everywhere."

In 1861, amid rumors of typhoid, Albert, the Queen's Consort, expires after long days of illness. Devastated by the loss of her "Beloved", her "All in All", Victoria will soon cast herself into her greatest role to date, that of profoundly grieving spouse. But first she must attend to a nasty piece of business, forcing barrister Patrick Fitzgerald to sign a document renouncing a claim to throne to which he was witness twenty years prior. Fitzgerald refuses, earning Victoria's considerable enmity. As soon as Patrick leaves the castle to return to London, his coach is attacked, the driver killed, Fitzgerald and his companion, Edinburgh-trained physician Georgiana Armistead, barely escaping with their lives. Although Fitzgerald realizes the attack is not random, he has yet to understand the enormity of the danger to himself and his companion, returning to his offices the following morning to discover his law partner in a pool of blood, his skull smashed. Summoning help, Patrick goes in search of Georgiana, vaguely acknowledging a subconscious sense of alarm, but distracted in his anxiety to make sure the young woman is safe.

Not at home, Georgiana has already repaired to the slums of St Giles, where she is operating to save the life of a fourteen-year-old streetwalker, victim of a careless procedure by a local quack. Pressing Patrick into service, the operation has barely finished when a group of paid thugs storms the tenement in search of Patrick and Georgiana. Barely escaping along a rooftop gutter, the men are dispatched after considerable violence; by then Fitzgerald has realized the necessity of leaving London for a safer place. With little choice, he repairs of a remote island, where his long-estranged wife is in the final throes of a debilitating and fatal disease, Patrick's resentful son, Theo, raging against his father's intrusive return. But safety is not to be found even in this solitary place, Patrick fleeing with a now ill Georgiana Armistead, barely escaping the clutches of the queen's man, Count von Stuhlen. A gentleman of no scruples, von Stuhlen has been tasked to kill the pair, although he has not yet ascertained the queen's purpose.

In a plot that reaches across England, France and Germany, from the royal palaces to the slums, from drawing rooms to boarding houses, the quarry are always but a step ahead of von Stuhlen. Resorting to the most egregious acts to accomplish his mission for the queen, von Stuhlen is evil incarnate, the bitter, acquisitive face of power in pursuit of burying the truth at any cost. With unerring precision, the count stalks his prey, tracking their every move in a complicated puzzle that leads directly through the royal line to "a flaw in the blood" that will upset years of careful planning. Hunted across three continents with little money, a loyal servant and the occasional kindness of fate, Fitzgerald and Georgiana are relentless in their quest for answers- so relentless, in fact that they fail to perceive the danger looming at their backs. The pursuit is harrowing and enigmatic from the first chapter, a journey through blind alleys to a shocking revelation that is as masterful as it is thrilling. Luan Gaines/2008.