Book Review: Guilty Knowledge

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Guilty Knowledge     Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada HC
Clare Curzon
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical
Series: Lucy Sedgwick # 1
Dunne, Aug 2000, $23.95, 256 pp.

In Edwardian England, sisters-in-law, Viscountess Eugenie Crowthorne and Lady Isabelle Delmaye share an intimate bond centering on murder and blackmail. For the past seven plus years, at least since the honorable Isabelle became a widow at twenty, the two women have spent much of their time either hiding secrets, trying to trump one another, or simply blackmailing the other. The amoral Isabelle almost always triumphed in their battle.

However, a new murder interrupts the game of one up-woman-ship. The police investigate the death of a foreign visitor and soon begin to unravel a similar happening several years ago regarding an Italian doctor who knew the inner secrets of the two ladies. Did one of the women kill the foreigner just like they most likely murdered the Italian?

The who-done-it in GUILTY KNOWLEDGE is cleverly designed, but the tale is more an intricate look into two aristocratic women at the beginning of the twentieth century. Isabelle and Genie are fascinating characters whose motives and mannerisms are lucid so that the audience understands their actions and reactions. The support cast provides a feel for Edwardian England even as they cement the insight into the lead characters. Clare Curzon has written many superb novels (under several names) for over four decades has written one of her best books with this keen perceptive examination of a bygone era.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner