In the summer of 1921, Lord Purleigh of Devon hosts a house party at his country estate, with guests including Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini and a slew of titled (and entitled) lords and ladies. Houdini has Phil Beaumont, a “secretary,” with him, who is actually a Pinkerton detective assigned to protect the Great Man from a rival; and one of the titled guests has Miss Jane Turner as her companion, although Jane is more interested in the wilder aspects of life than of being entirely devoted and demure. When the father of the Lord is killed in a locked room, Beaumont and Jane employ their complementary skills to solve the murder….This is the first in a trilogy featuring “the Pinkerton Pair,” as the series is called; I had picked up the second book many years ago at a fabulous mystery bookstore in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but I only recently learned of the first and third in the series. There’s nothing too complex here, just an enjoyable historical mystery, set in a very frivolous time. Which is to say, perfect summer reading; recommended. ( )

http://aartichapati.blogspot.com/2009/12/review-escapade.html ( )

As charming and pleasant as a weekend in the mountains. Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle are guests at a haunted castle. There are ghosts, a murder, a séance and a cast of English archtypes. Escapade is written to amuse and is wildly successful. It reads like one of those Christie ensemble cast movies from the late 70s and early 80s. I very much look forward to reading other books by Walter Satterthwait.