Do not read this. I stuck with it because the author's plan was interesting. The hero is a Whimsey-like youngest brother of a Duke, an old Etonian, rich, handsome and good. But the rest of the book is a sweaty sex and communism tale of Madrid and London in the months before the Spanish Civil War. It would have been a fun take on the cosy 'golden-age' aristocratic detective but for one thing: every one of the three murderers turned out to be homosexual or a heartless and inhumane idealogue. The homophobia was there from the start but I had thought, after a passage about two thirds in, that the author was going to keep one homosexual character admirable as a foil for the bad guys, but no. He turned out to be responsible for one of the murders AND a matricide as well.

Good grief. Other criticisms are that although the novel is structured with lots of characters confronting the privilege of the protagonist, there is nothing in his character or life that reflects the criticism, nor in that of his excellent brother, sister-in-law or nephew. When he wrested control of the plane from the poisoned pilot and landed safely in Madrid, I laughed out loud.

It's possible that one of the other books in this series, one without homosexual villains, would be a fun read. If you're intrigued by the set up, try one of them. ( )

This is the second of the Edward Corinth and Verity Brown series. it has promise because it involves history and excitement but I don't really care for either of the main characters. Verity is a communist but we never really see why she believes what she believes and that makes her unbelievable. Edward wants more out of life but doesn't do anything to change his lifestyle.

Edward proclaims a love for Verity who would and did throw him to the wolves and yet he continues to have a passion for her which he assuages with other women. As you can see, neither of these characters are that admirable. It seems to be that in both the first book and this one, the murderers go free because of the 'can't prove anything' weakness in the plot.

I wanted to like this series but I was pretty discouraged by the ending of Bones of the Buried.
The best parts are the titles which come from Shakespearean quotes. ( )

This didn't quite work as well for me as the first book in the series. Verity continues to preach communism to Edward while being a bit of a snob and relying on him and his connections to help her when she gets in a fix.

She finds herself dealing with her ex being accused of murder and all the evidence pointing at him while she's involved in the Spanish Civil War. The death of a contemporary in England has unusual links to Verity's murder and suddenly things become a lot more complicated.

It's interesting but it just didn't have the same enjoyment for me that the first did. ( )