It is 1886 and the greatest of all jockeys, Fed Archer, has put his gun to his head and shot himself. An inquest is arranged with indecent haste. His mind was unhinged by typhoid, say the jury, despite conflicting evidence. The Prince is suspicious. He admired Archer. He knows the Turf better than anyone on that jury and he has personal experience of typhoid. When he learns that Archer’s last words were, “Are they coming?” he decides on action. He will turn his unique talents to solving the mystery and tell us in his inimitable fashion how he does it.

The eldest son of Queen Victoria, Bertie will one day be King Edward VII. For the moment, though, his primary responsibility is to enjoy himself, a task at which he excels - bedding society beauties, tormenting his long-suffering wife, and taking his royal bulk off to other people's country estates, there to shoot things, eat enormous meals, and pinch the serving maids. It is at just such an estate that the story unfolds, though this is no ordinary shooting-party, and with a killer afoot, the glittering guest-list is dwindling rapidly. Bertie greets the murders with some delight, as they allow him to exercise his passion for amateur sleuthing (a task at which he doesn't particularly excel). Lovesey wrote Seven Bodies as an homage to Agatha Christie, but he laced his classically structured puzzle with his own sly wit, gleefully poking fun at the pomposities of privilege. Utterly charming ...what a delight! - New York Times A delicious option for fans of Agatha Christie and Anne Perry

Bertie (the future King Edward VII) has a princely appetite for tasty morsels of all kinds. With glorious food and glamorous women equally appealing, it's not surprising that he visits Paris every year, with a modest retinue of some 30 faithful servants. The year 1889, however, marks his most eventful trip. First, he is he introduced to the can-can - that deliciously vulgar new sensation in which he takes, of course, a purely scholarly interest. And second, a murder at a fashionable nightclub allows him to exercise his beloved sleuthing skills, poking the royal nose into showgirls' dressing rooms and all manner of backstage intrigues. With Sarah Bernhardt and Toulouse-Lautrec acting as a dual Dr. Watson, His Highness cannot fail to find a solution to the crime - though no bets as to whether it's the right one. Delightfully humorous . . . no one is more fun than Bertie - Associated Press Tongue-in-cheek satire and wry humor along with an intriguing, entertaining mystery - Booklist