Escapade

Pinkerton Mysteries

by Walter Satterthwait

In the summer of 1921, thirteen distinguished guests gather for a weekend party and seance at a stately Devon manor house. Their host, the Earl of Axminster, is found murdered in a locked room. Two of the guests, mystery writer Arthur Conan Doyle and the Great Houdini, apply their talents to solving the ingeniously crafted and cunningly executed crime.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Crime, British Literature, Historical Mystery

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Walter Satterthwait (b. 1946) was an author of mysteries and historical fiction. A fan of mystery novels from a young age, he spent high school immersed in the works of Dashiell Hammett and Mickey Spillane. While working as a bartender in New York in the late 1970s, he wrote his first book: an adventure novel, Cocaine Blues (1979), about a drug dealer on the run from a pair of killers.

After his second thriller, The Aegean Affair (1982), Satterthwait created his best-known character, Santa Fe private detective Joshua Croft. Beginning with Wall of Glass (1988), Satterthwait wrote five Croft novels, concluding the series with 1996’s Accustomed to the Dark. In between Croft books, he wrote mysteries starring historical figures, including Miss Lizzie (1989), a novel about Lizzie Borden, and Wilde West (1991), a western mystery starring Oscar Wilde. His most recent novel is Dead Horse (2007), an account of the mysterious death of Depression-era pulp writer Raoul Whitfield. 

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more. Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle teaming up to solve a locked-door mystery set during a weekend house party? What's not to love? But the noir-ish tone and pacing seemed to jar with the period setting, and distracted me from the otherwise engaging story.

[Cris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book. I picked it up because Doyle is a character in the mystery, and that sounded interesting. But I just couldn't get into the book. I found Houdini off-putting and none of the other characters appealed to me. I didn't even make it to the murder.

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Susan Jo Grassi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really a great read, laugh out loud funny in places but very well written. An English murder mystery set in 1921 featuring Harry Houdini, his "secretary" and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle along with an interesting cast of characters gathered over an August weekend to attend a seance.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is thoroughly enjoyable cozy mystery series. Walter Satterthwait is a clever, engaging writer with a knack for wry wit. His humor and eloquent prose make him a favorite author along with William Kennedy and Richard Russo.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was slow in places. I thought with all the famous characters it would move with more interest.

[Terry Tschann Skelton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this a 3.5 if I could. Great little farce! Laugh out loud funny at times. Fun read.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masquerade, the sequel to this book, is quite good. I know, I probably should have read this book first, but the book store didn't have it in stock. A couple dollars of Ebaying later, I got my paws on this book and decided to rectify the situation. Escapade feels just a bit looser than its sequel; you can tell that Satterthwait wasn't quite as sure of his characters. Nevertheless, it's a fun romp that I very much enjoyed. Phil is guarding Harry Houdini from a crazed rival magician named Chin Soo that has sworn to kill the master of escape. Houdini and Phil travel to an English country estate for a weekend visit with a mystical medium and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But then someone fires a shot at the houseguests in the garden. Subsequently, the earl of the house is found dead in his locked bedroom. Phil starts to investigate, with the help of Houdini, Doyle, and a young paid companion by the name of Jane Turner. Together they discover several masquerades and plots which twist and combine into an interesting solution. The book has an ample dash of humor, much of it provided by Satterthwait's cutting examinations of Houdini and Doyle. Jane is a bit underdeveloped, as she is in the second book, but hopefully that will change in the third book.

[Patrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very funny. It was told from two perspectives. One was a direct, first person account from Phil (the character accompanying Houdini). The other was told through the letters of another character, Jane, the paid companion of one of the aristocratic ladies. Between the two of them, the relevant events are covered. The mystery itself is fairly clever and not easy to guess, but it's the characters that really make the story, particularly Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle, but especially Houdini. I think I'll look them up, as I now wonder how closely the characters are based on real life accounts of their personalities. I highly recommend this book.

[Cirrus Minor · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Eskapaden" hat mich nicht ganz so unterhalten wie Satterthwaits "Miss Lizzy" und es dauerte etwas, bis ich in die Geschichte reinkam, aber Harry Houdini hat mich mit seiner schrulligen Art bei der Stange gehalten. Der Hausherr ging mir bisweilen auf die Nerven, aber mir gefielen die verschiedenen Charaktere, die jeder für sich skurill und einzigartig waren. Und immerhin bin ich auf einen Teil der Lösung vor Ende gekommen.

[Mae Clair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book is really not about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini solving a murder (it's about Houdini and his bodyguard, Phil Beaumont solving the case), it's still a highly enjoyable read that had me guessing right up until the ending revelations. Doyle does play a part, but the leading roles are Houdini and Beaumont, the latter proving to be a most likable character.

Great novel with an intricate mystery I highly enjoyed!

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ESCAPADE - VG
Satterthwait, Walter - 1st in Escapade series


Hired to guard Harry Houdini from a rival magician's death threats, Phil Beaumont finds his hands full at a stately country home where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is among the guests and the host is found murdered.

Very literate and entertaining.

[Janna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this book. I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time I read it several years ago. I love getting the story from both Phil's narration and Jane's letters. And it is a little kick to have real people in the book (Houdini, Conan Doyle) doing fictional things.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to pick favorite between Phil, Jane and Harry Houdini. Oh who am I kidding, there is no one greater than Harry Houdini, he'll tell you so himself.

[Carol Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I couldn't really get into this at all. I quit a little over halfway through.

[Bayneeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming. First in series. Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are guests at a huge country estate when there is a suspicious death and several murder attempts.

[Helene · Rating 3 out of 5]

clever, tongue in cheek mystery