About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

UNINVITED COUNTESS, THE
by Michael Kilian
Berkeley, June 2002
272 pages
$6.50
ISBN: 0425185826


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

1925 was the year and Greenwich Village was the place this tale begins. Full in force, the Jazz Age surrounds us; you can hear the music throughout the book. Art dealer, Bedford Green, and his assistant, Sloane Smith, were invited to the Newport estate of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Bedford looked for information about the Hungarian Countess named Zala as was requested of him. Once in residence, there was no further interest in this Countess. This struck Bedford as being suspicious, so he continued to search. During this pursuit, he found a firm reluctance to discuss The Countess. Of course, when he was pushed away from the subject, he pushed back.

The description of the Vanderbilt mansion, grounds and servants conjured a visual that is similar to a gala Hollywood set. Living fast, drinking too much and dancing to the Jazz band were all evident at the Newport party. The party ceased when a body was found.

Bedford left a line of displeased females from his past. Imagine Bedford's surprise when one of his paramours appeared at the party. To update you on the tally, Claire was his sometime girlfriend, Margaret was his ex-fiancÈe, and Tatty was the one with whom Bedford was on good terms. Tatty was my favorite character in the book. She was an independently wealthy performer who had a sharp sense of humor. I sensed a depth of her character and wanted to learn more about her. Tatty could become royalty at the drop of a hat and she was generous with her Packard car even after Bedford had managed to damage it. This was not his fault entirely, someone had helped him damage the vehicle since they managed to push him off the road. Throughout the story, Bedford Green does take many bruises and knocks to his body, some nearly fatal. Still, he continued his quest for more information and the web of intrigue surrounding the Countess.

One of the most endearing features of this narrative, to this reader, was the mention of so many familiar names. William Jennings Bryan had just died at the outset of the story; a week prior he had testified in the Scopes "Monkey" trial in Tennessee. Edna St. Vincent Millay was now spending more time in Europe but had already received some of her accolades. Elsa Maxwell was also included. F. Scott Fitzgerald had recently finished THE GREAT GATSBY. The mention of Fitzgerald and Zelda showed me images of opulence and wealth, which were portrayed throughout the Vanderbilt families. Throughout this book, it was easy to transport back to this era. It was alive with the attitudes of that time period and also the undertones of subversive behavior.

If you enjoy reading about this time in history with colorful characters, you will enjoy the second "Jazz Age" mystery book. The first Jazz Age mystery is THE WEEPING WOMAN.

Reviewed by Rita Ratacheck, August 2002

This book has more than one review. Click here to show all.

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]