3 Review(s)

Julia Stuart follows up her bestselling novel The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise with a clever murder mystery set in Victorian England and brimming with her signature charm, warmhearted romances, and fabulous characters. When Indian Princess Alexandrina is left penniless by the sudden death of her father, Queen Victoria grants her a grace-and-favor home in Hampton Court Palace. Though it's rumored to be haunted, Alexandrina and her lady's maid, Pooki, have no choice but to take the Queen up on her offer, and the princess is soon befriended by three eccentric widows who invite her to a picnic with all the palace's inhabitants. But when General-Major Bagshot dies after eating a pie Pooki made and the coroner finds traces of arsenic in his body Pooki becomes the number one suspect in a murder investigation. Not about to let her faithful servant hang, Princess Alexandrina begins an investigation of her own, only to discover that Hampton Court isn't such a safe place to live after all... THE TOWER, THE ZOO, AND THE TORTOISE: Stuart's debut novel was an inarguable splash: an NPR Best Book of the Year, a national bestseller, and praised to the rafters by readers and critics alike. We are currently in our third printing of the Anchor edition, with over 30,000 copies in print. CROSSOVER MYSTERY AUDIENCE: In addition to a new cast of unforgettable and quirky characters, The Pigeon Pie Mystery includes a caper that's just longing to be solved by an amateur sleuth. This will easily appeal to mystery fans who love the warmhearted stories of Alexander McCall Smith and Alan Bradley. READING GROUP POTENTIAL: The Pigeon Pie Mystery is filled with historical tidbits, but doesn't shirk on the humor. It's perfect for reading groups looking for something light and fun. About the Author Julia Stuart is an award-winning journalist and the author of two previous novels, The Matchmaker of Périgord and The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise.