Tangled Web UK Review July 2008
Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death: Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries Bk. 2 by
Gyles Brandreth
hbk out May 08
Published by John Murray
at £14.99
This is the second Oscar Wilde murder mystery, following last year’s Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders. It revolves around an ingenious construct, Wilde’s game of ‘Murder’, played at the Socrates Club dinner on the 1st May 1892. Wilde and his thirteen guests must each write down the name of the person they would most like to murder, and the amusement consists of the assembly’s attempts to match each anonymous note to its author... or such is Wilde’s plan. The fun sours a little when first one of the guests is named, then a second named four times, then Wilde, and finally his wife. The suspense is intensified by the presence of such luminaries as Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, Walter Sickert, Willie Hornung, Edward Heron-Allen, Lord "Bosie" Douglas, Lord Drumlanrig, and Charles Brookfield.
There is worse to come for Wilde: in rapid succession the first victim dies in a fire, the second in his sleep, and the third in a brutal case of psittacide (homicide for parrots). When the fifth goes missing, Wilde turns his prodigious intellect to solving the case, amiably - if not ably - assisted by Robert Sherard, his faithful friend and sometime biographer. The premise of the series is that Doyle took inspiration for his immortal sleuth from his flamboyant friend, who was involved in the solution of a number of murders prior to his incarceration in Reading. Mr Brandreth has a wealth of knowledge of Wilde and Holmes, and uses both to eloquent effect. He characterises Wilde with great finesse and provides an unconventional and languid narrative to match. There is plenty here for mystery enthusiasts in general and Sherlockians in particular, although the former may not appreciate the curious incident of the parrot that did nothing in the morning. Mr Brandreth knows how to play ‘the game’ himself, and there are just enough clues for the astute reader to arrive at the correct solution.
An excellent effort, an exciting mystery, and a wonderful entertainment. A single point of caution to prospective buyers is that this novel and its predecessor were both released under different titles in the US: Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance and Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder respectively.
(
Rafe McGregor
Rafe's own site - www.rafemcgregor.co.uk)
Thousands of New and used Books at your Fingertips...
Support Tangled Web - Buy Your Books Online
