Review: Death at Glamis Castle by Robin Paige

Every once in a while I like to feature some older novels on my site instead of always the new releases or the soon-to-be-releases.  Today's novel, Death at Glamis Castle, written by Robin Paige, is actually written by the husband-and-wife writing team Susan Wittig Albert and Bill Albert.  They are the co-authors of more than sixty novels.  Susan Wittig Albert is also the author of the China Bayles mysteries.

Death at Glamis Castle (Book 9 in the Sir Charles Sheridan Series)
by Robin Paige
2003 Berkley Publishing Group
ISBN:0-425-18847-7
Hardcover Edition
338 Pages
Genre: Historical Mystery

3/5 Stars

Summary
Charles Sheridan and his American wife, Kate, are on an archaeological dig, excavating sections of Hadrian's Wall, when they receive a mysterious telegram.  King Edward has summoned them to Glamis Village, a quaint hamlet north of Edinburgh, without telling them why. 

Upon their arrival, they discover that they will be staying at Glamis Castle.  Nestled in the rugged Grampian Mountains, it is the most historic castle in all of Scotland, a place teeming with dark secrets and haunting shadows.  For Kate, this is the perfect opportunity to gather much-needed inspiration for her next Gothic novel.  But while she winds her way through the elaborate manor, gleaning the mysterious history of those who have dwelt there, Lord Charles discovers the real reason behind their journey to Glamis.

It seems that Prince Eddy, who had been heir to the throne until his purported death in 1892, has actually been alive all these years.  Deemed unfit for the throne, he has been living secretly at Glamis under an assumed name.  Only now the prince has gone missing - on the very morning that the body of one of his servants was found, her throat slashed in a manner eerily reminiscent of the Ripper's.  Now, Charles and his clever Kate must find Eddy and clear his name - while keeping his true identity a secret...

My Thoughts
This book centers around one of the great conspiracy theories of the late 19th century.  It was no secret that Prince Eddy was a huge disappointment and embarrassment to the royal family and that many people were relieved when he suddenly passed away in 1892.  The book uses the concept that Prince Eddy did not in fact pass away, but was secretly sent in exile to Glamis Castle in order to avoid complications with the rest of the royal family.  When Prince Eddy was discovered missing, King Edward sent Sir Charles and Kate to discover his whereabouts in order to avoid a possible breakdown of the monarchy should the deception ever be discovered.

The author provides an exceptional background to this story and I was thrilled to read more about the history of Glamis Castle.  The characters remained true to the time period and were interesting and quirky.  Unfortunately, I found the plot to be somewhat thin and boring, especially as we discover the mystery fairly early into the novel.  I prefer my mysteries to be full of plot twists and turns, whereby I have no clue who did what to whom or why until the end of the novel.   It's too bad as I really liked the other books in this series.   Although this is an enjoyable read with many interesting historical tidbits, I would recommend some of the earlier novels in this series before I would recomment this one.