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MYSTERIOUS STRANGLER, THE
by Peter Heck
Berkley, October 2000
$6.50
ISBN: 0425177041


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Samuel Clemens, his family, and his secretary, Wentworth Cabot, spend a winter in Florence, Italy. Mr Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is not the most welcome person in Florence as his comments on the town in Innocents Abroad were not always flattering. Nevertheless the family settles in well, especially the three Clemens daughters who soon speak Italian far better than the adults of the party.

Cabot is not as busy as usual since Twain is taking a break from his lecture tour. Being interested in art, Cabot devotes a lot of time to appreciating the treasures of Florence. His social life improves immensely when he meets a group of American artists, art dealers, and art collectors who gather frequently at a local cafÈ.

He cares so much for one young lady, Virginia Fleetwood, that he begins to think she is the one he wishes to spend his life with. When her brother-in-law, art dealer Frank Stephens, offers Cabot a job it seems his life is taking a whole new direction.

Stephens invites the Clemens and Cabot to a party to show the three Raphaels he has recently acquired. The next morning the police tell Cabot that one of the Raphaels is missing, as is Miss Fleetwood.

The fifth book in Peter Heck's Mark Twain series is the best of a good series. It is well plotted, set in a fascinating location, and has as a character one of the most interesting people in American history. Moreover the fictional character, narrator Wentworth Cabot, grows during the series. He is a Boston Brahmin prig whose horizons are constantly broadened under the influence of Twain, and whose character, in expressing a personality more like the norm of the day, illustrates the sharp differences from Twain's cynical humor and unusual opinions.

Reviewed by Mary A. Axford

Reviewed by Mary A. Axford, August 2002

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