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BLACK GOLD
by Charles O'Brien
Poisoned Pen Press, May 2002
226 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 1590580109


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It is 1787 and Anne Cartier, the former Sadler廣 Wells actress and teacher of the deaf first encountered in Mute Witness, has left France for a visit to England. Just before she returns to be reunited with her lover, Paul de Saint-Martin, she pays a visit to her former mentor, Mr. Braidwood, who convinces her to look after one of his deaf pupils, Charlie Rogers. The boy廣 governess, supplied by Mr. Braidwood, has tumbled to her death down a staircase and the child has been left without supervision. Anne agrees, with some reluctance, and travels down to that most enchanting of 18th century British cities, Bath, where she immediately begins to wonder whether the governess廣 death was indeed an accident. Meanwhile, Paul de Saint-Martin is also on his way to Bath, to try capture a man who raped a young noblewoman in France and then fled to England. Coincidentally, the suspect廣 name has also arisen in the case of the dead governess and Anne and Paul unite to bring the perpetrator of both crimes to justice.

Although Black Gold lacks the utter originality of David Liss廣 Conspiracy of Paper, it is nevertheless an attractive book that should appeal to those fond of historical romance as well as mystery fiction. Charles O劉rien is a retired history professor and is careful with his period detail, Nevertheless, Anne is an unusually bold heroine, even for Georgian England, with her duelling pistols, knowledge of self-defense, and preference for riding astride, unconventionalities only partly explained by her theatrical past. The book is filled with incident and raises some interesting concerns, especially regarding slavery and the slave trade as well as the beginnings of bare-knuckle boxing. It is, however, a sequel to Mute Witness, and one that should probably be read after that book, since so many of the characters appear in both that the reader who starts with Black Gold will probably be scrambling to keep up at the beginning. The book is sufficiently entertaining, however, to make it the extra effort worthwhile.

Reviewed by Yvonne Klein, April 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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