Cut to the Quick
Grade : B+

In addition to creating the Regency sub-genre, Georgette Heyer also wrote modern mysteries, usually peopled by characters from the same upper class featured in her Regencies. Ms. Heyer did not combine the two genres into one (there are some slight mysteries contained in the Regencies, but nothing that warrants the "mystery" tag), but Kate Ross does combine the two in her Julian Kestrel series, and does as good a job with Regency details - and with the detecting - as did Ms. Heyer. Coming from an ardent a Regency fan in general, and a Heyer fan in particular, this is no mean praise.

Julian Kestrel is a dandy, a man who leads fashion with the very cut of his coat. He is one of those types often encountered in Regencies: a man whose presence at a party more than makes up for his lack of funds. He enjoys giving the appearance of a careless fribble, which he is most definitely not. In Kate Ross's books, however, he takes center stage and reveals that there is more to him than meets the eye, no matter how delightful the viewing might be.

Hugh Fontclair is the proud scion of a proud family who has agreed to marry a wealthy Cit's daughter to save the family's good name since the Cit has information about the Fontclairs that would prove devastating if revealed. His daughter has no idea that she is a pawn in the game, however, and wonders why Hugh has offered for her. Hugh goes out the night of his proposal and gets gloriously drunk (an unusual circumstance for him), where he meets Julian Kestrel. After Kestrel saves him from a bad run at Hazard, Hugh gratefully asks him to serve as best man at the wedding, and to join his family at their country house as they host the bride-to-be and her father.

Kestrel, for his part, is intrigued at Hugh's invitation, and goes to Bellegarde only to find a house teeming with mistrust, hidden secrets and an overriding sense of family. There are Hugh's parents, Sir Robert and Lady Fontclair; his cousins Guy and Isabelle; his aunt, the viper-tongued Lady Tarleton; his uncle, Colonel Fontclair. Also present are his sisters and Mark Craddock and his daughter Maud. It is immediately clear that Mark Craddock and the Fontclair family hate each other, and Julian discovers at least one reason why soon after he has arrived.

Then an attractive lady is found in Kestrel's bed and, unfortunately, she's been murdered. Suspicion falls on Kestrel's manservant, Dipper (his name derives from his skill as a pickpocket), and it is up to Kestrel to clear Dipper, in the course of which he discovers his true calling as a detective. He pokes his nose into all sorts of things, asks unpleasant questions, picks up a Watson to his Holmes (Dr. MacGregor, a straight-forward man who is initially put off by Kestrel's foppish appearance, but soon comes to respect his brain), and eventually solves the crime. Dipper and Dr. MacGregor reappear in the following books, and their respective talents aid Kestrel's detecting work.

Although the identity of the murderer is a mystery until the very last pages of the book, what kept me reading more than wanting to know whodunnit was Ross's impeccable use of Regency details and language without ever sounding as if she is writing museum-style - you know, the kind of book that tries so hard to be authentic and true to the period it just comes off like a history lesson with very dull characters. Ross, instead, has lively dialogue, interesting yet believable situations and a fabulous lead character in Julian. There are only four Kestrel books - Kate Ross died at an early age - and you can bet I will savor every one.

Reviewed by Megan Frampton
Grade : B+

Sensuality: N/A

Review Date : April 1, 2003

Publication Date: 1994

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Megan Frampton

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