Ten Little Wizards

by Michael Kurland

Lord Darcy, Investigator in Chief for the Court of Good King John, and Sean O Lochlainn, a top forensic sorcerer, investigate the muder of Master Raimun DePlessis, whose body is found in a locked room

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Alternate History, Fiction, Science Fiction, Detective, Crime

188 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1988

About the author

aka Jennifer Plum

Michael Kurland has written many non-fiction books on a vast array of topics, including How to Solve a Murder, as well as many novels. Twice a finalist for the Edgar Award (once for The Infernal Device) given by the Mystery Writers of America, Kurland is perhaps best known for his novels about Professor Moriarty. He lives in Petaluma, California.

Reviews

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

re-read 2025: quick and easy to read, comforting to revisit, nice to say a friendly 'hello' to my dad 🫶 having read more magical murder mysteries since I first read this, it's not one of the best, but it's still very fun. I really need to pick up more of the OG Lord Darcy stories.

original review 2019:
Ten little wizards sat down to dine,
One wizard stuffed his face - and now there are nine.

The reason I picked this is up is because it was one of my dad's favorite books. I remember him re-reading it several times, though I never truly knew what it was about. So, in honor of Father's Day and his birthday this past week, I decided to pick it up and see what all the fuss was about. Turns out, Lord Darcy is Sherlock Holmes in a magic setting. And it's awesome.

Was this the best book I've ever read? No. I can say with fair certainty. But I enjoyed myself immensely.

It's a murder mystery, but not like any I typically encounter simply because there's magic involved. Or at least, we assume there's magic involved. Most of the actual murders aren't magical at all but the circumstances in which the bodies are found seem to make magic the only option. Which is really stinking cool. Why aren't there more magical murder mysteries out there?

I had no idea where we were going for like... 150 pages of the 188 in this book. I felt like Master Sean at the end when he said something along the lines of "I give him [Darcy] the facts that I've found, he does some poking around, and then spells it out for me in a way that makes it seem like it was obvious the whole time." I didn't quite get the full of that "aha!" moment, but I did know that Lord Darcy knew what went down by the end, though he seemed to spend as much of the book confused as I did. (Which I kind of appreciated. Like, I know it's not that the detective knows what's going on and he's just not telling me. He genuinely doesn't know either.) I did feel like there was foreshadowing to the ultimate reveal, but the big reveal felt like a bit of a let down? IDK, there were a lot of characters that could have been the culprit and it felt like it was none of them. Which was weird. It was a weird feeling.

But still, I enjoyed myself so much while reading this, and that's why I have to give it four stars. It was so much fun. The humor was said with such a straight face that you could miss it if you weren't looking for it but it was hilarious. There were so many instances where Darcy would say, "what are your thoughts?" and the other person would say "idk I think they're dead." which made me laugh. Out loud. In front of my family. Over murders. I love it. Like this bit:

“Remember, young man, he isn’t dead until I say he’s dead.” Sir Moses said. He pushed Lord Darcy aside and stepped over to the throne. He stared down at Master Sorcerer Dandro Bittman.
“The man is dead,” Sir Moses said.

and this bit:

“That’s what I mean,” Lord Darcy said. “Even if your mind, or Marquis Sherrinford’s mind, ran to murder, they wouldn’t run to this type of murder.This is advertised, prominent, thrust at us like a great dare - and totally insane.”
“We are greatly complimented, my lord,” Marquis Sherrinford said dryly. “You don’t think we’re gibbering madmen.”

Everyone is so sarcastic and it's wonderful.

Another thing I really appreciated - everyone likes the king. Everyone likes each other. They're all just genuinely likeable people, and no one really has any beef with the others, and while it made the mystery harder to solve, I feel like it was more... realistic, I guess? than a lot of the murder mysteries I watch. In those, there's always this "unspoken tension" between coworkers and there wasn't any of that here. Which was delightful.

Overall, like I said, not perfect. Not my favorite murder mystery (though I feel like I ought to read more mysteries, I really enjoy them), but so much fun. I definitely want to dig into the other Lord Darcy books my dad left me. 4 stars from me.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy was a wonderful character, a series far ahead of its time, featuring a Holmesian investigator in an alternate world in which magic is quite real and the Plantangenet line still rules. Michael Kurland wrote this and one other novel in continuation of the series when Garrett became too ill to do so. He captures the flavor of Garrett's world quite well, and tells an interesting tale with an engaging Agatha Christie feel to it. It's a very enjoyable read, despite a comedic cover that doesn't serve the story well at all. Darcy is a good choice for fantasy, mystery and history buffs!

[C. John Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one for a European book challenge. I figure the Duchy of Normandy can stand in for France. This is part of the Lord Darcy series originally created by Randall Garrett back in the sixties and revived by him in the seventies. It is alternate history where Richard I survived to found the Angevin, or Anglo-French empire which is still ruled by the Plantagenets. Lord Darcy is now Chief Investigator for King John IV but is still accompanied in his investigations by Sean O Lochlainn, forensic sorcerer.
This was an interesting puzzle. Someone is killing sorcerers, doing so in ways that suggest magic is being used, but there is no trace of magic having been used. At the same time there is apparently a plot to assassinate His Majesty who is in Normandy for a royal event. However since John IV has no magical talent then surely he can’t be the target of our murderer. There is one clue that explains it all and despite it being in plain sight so to speak almost everybody misses it at first.
All in all a fun read. I was a fan of the original stories and this does justice to them. Some of the characters from those older stories make a reappearance here, or at least are referred to. If you enjoy your mysteries with a bit of a twist you might like this one.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Workmanlike addition to Randall Garrett's LORD DARCY series. I've been a long-time fan of Kurland's treatment of Sherlock Holmes in his PROFESSOR MORIARTY books, so I was willing to give this a try. Complicated, but not too convoluted, plot of assassination, murder, and serial killing, set in Garrett's alternate history world of the Angevin Empire. I enjoyed the story and the whodunit. Kurland keeps true to the original series' homages to classic mystery writers - but I am uncertain whether I would enjoy the story more (or less) if I caught all the references, as I have a feeling that they might become annoying. Kurland does do an excellent job of capturing the world's attitude towards magic, science, and religion. As it is, I give this one a solid 3 stars. Sadly, the cover art of this edition - while, unlike the last of the original series, clearly relevant to the story - is just terrible, amateurish and honestly looks like it was designed for a children's' book.

[Walkyrja · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5⭐

[Diane K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

To begin with, I found this book a worthy successor to Randall Garrett's works, which I adore. The writing was well done, the plot was excellent. I enjoyed the return, if only at a distance, of the Marquis de London, Lord Bontriomphe, and Lord John Quetzal, who is not only now a Master Sorcerer, but the Chief Forensic Sorcerer of London. The idea of a serial killer targeting (gasp!) sorcerers was thrilling, set against the political strains of pulling together the investiture of a new Prince of Gaul. I liked learning more about the Secret Service (although, alas, Sir James le Lien is nowhere to be seen). The idea of groups of civilians getting together to discuss true crimes, past and present, with Darcy and de London being the favorite investigators to study was very amusing. I will admit that I caught on to the plot twist fairly early, and became pretty certain of whom the main villain must be well before the end, but it was still an entertaining read, and I include it every time I re-read the Lord Darcy opus.
That being said, it did have its flaws. One of my pet peeves about writers who continue a previous writer's series is that they should always begin by sitting down and reading through all of the works--and they never seem to do so. In this case, it wouldn't have taken long, as Randall Garrett, alas, left tragically few Lord Darcy works. It would have eliminated several contradictions that perhaps don't matter so much plotwise, but are really irritating to the devoted reader. I wonder just how many people wrote to Kurland to point out that "Formal wear for a sorcerer is light blue and SILVER, not GOLD!" He must have taken it to heart because he corrected it in the next book. The next point involves the title itself. In all of Garrett's works, the term "wizard" is barely ever used, and then it's pretty much a disparaging term, in a class with "hedge magicians" and "charlatans". In that context, "Ten Little Wizards" works as a title and a piece of poetry, because the killer clearly regards sorcerers with hate and contempt. However...everybody else in the book is using the term, too. Sir Darryl is called the "Wizard Laureate" and refers to himself as such; ordinary respectful citizens use the term as well. It just doesn't sound right. Lastly, (spoiler) part of the book discusses what happens when the Sorcerers' Guild must deal with a member who has gone to the Dark Side. Kurland came up with an interesting term for it--"thrumming", and he also described side effects of the procedure. However, Garrett made it clear that this is not a matter of public knowledge; Lord Darcy is one of the very few non-Talented people around who know what the procedure is. During a private discussion, the Marquis Sherringford is informed of the procedure--well and good. But later, during the Guilds' Ball, right out in public, surrounded by a large group of civilians, one magician casually greets another with the statement that they had not met "since the thrumming", which of course attracts everyone's attention. Now, if he had immediately gotten flustered and embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, it wouldn't have been so bad, but Kurland made it seem like thrumming was nothing out of the ordinary.

The good of the book far outweighs the irritants; if you're a fan of Lord Darcy, you should enjoy it. However, if you're a new reader, I would recommend reading Garrett first.

[Richard Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Michael Kurland nailed it.

This book is a continuation of the Lord Darcy alternative history fantasy mystery (my words) series started by Randall Garrett. The original included one novel and a number of short stories, all set in a Europe where magic works and England never lost its lands in France. This novel follows up on those stories very well, with characters that feel unchanged and a setting that seems well understood and recaptured.

Kurland includes a touch more direct exposition to explain how things work than Garrett did, but in other ways seems to have followed the original in every way. The methodology and pacing are so similar. I would have liked a couple more pages of sorting out at the end of the novel, and reflecting on that I nearly dropped a star, but it's such a minor quibble. Reading (as I do) a number of other books at the same time, I found myself picking this one up again and again in preference to the other books, all of which I like quite a bit, and realized nah, this does all you want a book to do. It was a brisk, entertaining read, peopled by sympathetic characters, and I was pleasantly diverted thinking about how different things might be in another world. Lots of good stuff. All the stars. Fair play and well done to the author.

(As usual, the story involves a series of murders that seem impossible, including a couple of the "locked room" type. The mystery aspect is well handled and satisfying.)

If you like alternate histories and mysteries and fantasies, I recommend the whole series.

[Bron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Which category do I put this book in? It's a detective story. It's fantasy because there are magicians in it. It's sci fi because it's an alternate history novel. A long time ago I read Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett. It seems he became too ill to write a sequel so a friend and fellow author wrote this book set in the same world with the same leading characters. I think he's done a pretty good job of it, although I did guess who dun it about three quarters of the way in.

It's set in Normandy in the 20th century, and King John the Fourth of the Plantagenet dynasty rules the Angevin Empire because in this world, Richard the Lion Heart didn't die young, he gave up crusading and went home to rule his lands in Britain and France wisely and well. The court is gathering for a major celebration when it is discovered there's a plot to kill the King. And then impossible murders start to happen, all variations on the locked room mystery.

The Angevin Empire has its Sherlock Holmes in the person of Lord Darcy, but his Dr Watson is Master Sean, a forensic sorcerer. Unfortunately Master Sean can't just wave a wand and uncover the killer. He can only detect the sort of things the modern forensic team would find at the crime seen. And his tests keep on indicating a killer who 'isn't really there'.

It's a good tale, and I like the world the Plantagenet rule has produced, but I was just a bit disappointed by the explanation of why the murderer 'wasn't really there'. It felt a bit weak. Don't let it put you off reading the book though.

[Lois Bujold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reminded by a recent comment exchange of Randall Garrett's delightful Lord Darcy stories, which I read on first publication in Analog Magazine in the late 60s. I'd read them all back then. I was vaguely aware of the Kurland extensions when they went past in the late 80s, but didn't follow them up at the time.

As a pastiche of a pastiche/s, this treads familiar ground, like fanfic without the slash, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I may seek out the other one. Kurland does have some fun updating the dates and the characters' ages to go with the time gap. I can't compare the styles, as it's been too long since I read the originals.

Which I may remedy. I do own a complete Lord Darcy collection made by Baen (2002), edited by the late Eric Flint, but this big trade paperback is a brick to hold, the print is too small for my aging eyes, and the cover art is especially dire, inappropriate to the contents, and repulsive even for Baen. (At least it's not just me, I reflect in consolation.) I may be driven to squint and try to read it anyway, as not all the tales appear to have managed epub. Garrett's writing style doesn't get much modern cred, but any stories and characters I remember so well for over 50 years have something special going for them, for sure.

Ta, L.

[Nathan Woll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good book.
I picked this up used, having never read any others in the series or by this author. Immediately, I was impressed by the writing. A bunch of powerful men are gathered to possibly prevent the assassination of the king and there's no stupid tropes. No one says "that's preposterous, you're imagining things", no one says "but tradition is more important than safety", no one tries to perform or outdo anyone - it's all normal and believable. Very refreshing. The whole book managed to avoid all the obvious tropes.

The only slight issue is the lack of strong female characters (or any female characters). There's one that comes in at the end, but we're only told that she is very intelligent without any examples of this. It was a very male-dominated book and felt quite out-of-date as a result.

[Adena Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this re-write of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". The story is a classic, the treatment is imaginatively original and the characters are wonderfully engaging. Lord Darcy has nothing to do with Fitzwilliam Darcy and bears more resemblance to Lord Peter Wimsey. Master Sean O'Lochlainn is less like Dr. John Watson and more like Dr. Leonard McCoy ("I'm a magician, not a miracle worker" instead of "I'm a doctor, not a [fill in the blank]). The mystery is worthy of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. The author did a great job of this sequel to Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy series. I definitely recommend this to fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.

[Megan Timperley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful addition to a beloved universe

With very few exceptions, authors continuing an established set of cohesive works following the passing or retirement of the original author have an uphill battle matching tone and feel. This is one of those exceptional few.

With enough mentions and callbacks from the classic body of works to please existing fans but enough exposition to welcome in new ones with no prerequisite reading needed, this is a delightful and worthy successor.

[Doug Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fantasy/mystery is set in Normandy in 1988, but in a world where magic abounds and the fastest mode of transportation is an unreliable rail system. Lord Darcy is tasked with investigating a series of puzzling murders of wizards at Castle Cristobel, where lots of visitors are arriving for an upcoming coronation ceremony. The novel includes quite a bit of description of the alternate world in which it is set.

[Howard Brazee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent novel in the world of Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy

This is a world where magic works and the Plantagenets rule an England that includes France & part of the New World. There are characters whose names are puns from detective novels in our world, some of which I recognized. Lord Darcy is a master detective with his magician assistant.

[Mark's endless quest · Rating 3 out of 5]

I somehow missed these Michael Kurland edition to one of my favorite ' nostalgia drenched 'fantasy series . The Lord Darcy collection. The world building in this series is rather unique, especially since it was written in the 60thies. It's about an alternative Europe , where the Plantagenet dynasty stayed in power until the 20th century . Lord Darcy and his Magician side kick solve murders , catch spies, ect.
Kurland version is very similar, but it's just not in the same league. It's a patchwork of three different 'who done it ' mysteries, And there are some clever 'locked room variations ' . However the whole world building and characters feel rather shallow. Still, it was fun to find this 'new to me' Darcy story.

[Scifimoth · Rating 1 out of 5]

A decent successor to the Lord Darcy books, but I just cannot read this stuff any more. 80's fantasy just doesn't do it for me now (or almost any fantasy these days). With only a probable 4000 books left to me in my remaining reading lifetime (D.V.) they do need to be better than this.

[Jameson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet another take on Ten Little Expletives that I hadn’t heard of or read until now. Unsatisfying whodunit, although the world is interesting so may check out Too Many Magicians.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

1988. And the Angevin Empire is still on power under King John IV, and magic is rife throughout the world. Unfortunately for Lord Darcy, Chief Investigator, he has three investigations to consider. A threat to the King, a double murder in Toumadotte and the murder of wizards.
An entertaining story

[Eva Müller · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first reaction on reading the blurb of this book was 'OMG a detective-story set in an alternate reality where magic exists! why haven't I heard of this sooner?' Once I started reading it was more a 'Yeah I wish I had discovered these earlier but mainly because a few years ago I wasn't overthinking (the logic behind) fantasy-novels that much and was overall less cynic about humanity.'
It's really sad but I simply have massive trouble buying the world the Lord Darcy-stories are set in. So the main point of it (apart from the existing magic) is that Richar Lionheart stayed longer on the throne, wasn't succeded by his evil brother John but by his nephew Arthur who was so good and noble and so everything a man can wish for in a king that people started confusing him with the mythological King Arthur.
So far so good.
Now when I started reading Ten Litle Wizards my first impression was that the book would have to be set during/some time after Arthur's reign, so I was really surprised when I learned that it's set in the 1980s. It simply doesn't feel like that. It feels like your typical pseudo-mediaeval fantasy-setting. The technology is far from what we had in the 80s. There are trains, but they seem to be rather unreliable, there is something similar to telegraphy but it doesn't work over water and generally seems to fail frequently so that ye olde medieval horse-messengers are preferred.
Now the explanation for the lack of any advanced technology is that it's a world where "the science of magic has replaced the magic of science." Yeah...when in doubt just say 'It is like this because MAGIC'. Don't get me wrong, I'd accept if magic would slow down science a bit...why spend ages trying to figure out how to make humans fly if wizards can use a spell? But that's the point: Wizards can use a spell. Magic is a rare talent. The majority of humanity won't be able to do that (or be able to perform forensic investigations, or keep their food from going off without buying an expensive spell for a storage-box)...but still nobody seems to have any ambition to make humanity less dependent on magic...this is me being not really convinced.
The other thing that gave me the whole middle-age-feeling was politics. We're in the 20th century and still have a feudal system and (as I got it) an absolute monarch. Of course that is not bad, cause you know, the monarch is nice or a Plantagenet, which seems to be a synonym. Because the whole Planatgenet line of succession is full of great monarchs, who knew what was the right think to do, who didn't went insane, who treated their subjects with great respect and probaly they could all read at night cause the sun was shining out of their arse. I am sorry...blame George Martin but I don't buy about 800 years peaceful reign of one family...it doesn't even seem that for good measure they had at least a few who were just average rulers...no the author shoves it into our face that every single one was great. This is me being even less convinced.
The church plays only a minor role (at least in this novel) but for the popes it seems to be the same...no Borgias, no orgies in the Vatican, no abuse of power and therefore of course also nobody like Martin Luther...just like all these nice monarchs stopped somebody like Oliver Cromwell ever gaining any influence. That's just very much taking the easy solution.

I now I might be at least partially unfair because I guess you can counter lots of my critizism with 'Duh, well that's 70s/80s fantasy, and that was just very different from Martin, Barclay and whoever else is writing today.' Which is right...and usually when I read older fantasy I can make admissions for everything being a bit more brightly-coloured and fluffy back then, or rather I simply do it I don't need to force it and constantly tell myself that 30 years ago things were differently. I'm just too engrossed in the story to care.
Which brings me to that. The detective-story is well a bit meh. The murderer was easy to figure out (in the 'I have read enough mysteries, I know what to look for, you can't fool me'-way), there were too many characters, Lord Darcy didn't make much of an impression on me and a reduced number of plot-threads defenitely wouldn't have hurt. I did like all the shout-outs to other famous detectives but even those seemed occasionally a bit to forced in that look-at-me-I'm-oh-so-clever way.

Despite all that I am a bit tempted to give one of the originaly Lord Darcy short-stories a try, after all Ten Little Wizards is novel-length (well...180 pages) and not written by the original author, so it is possible that the originaly mysteries are engrossing enough for me to gloss over my issues with the world-building...but getting my hands on one isn't exactly high on my priorities-list.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read the original collection immediately preceding this one, it is obvious this one was written by author. This doesn't in any way diminish the characters or the story, however Kurland's Darcy is slightly less mysterious and he reveals much more about Darcy's background and circumstances. I was quite happy about this, as I was left impatient to know more about the characters at the end Garrett's stories.

Kurland holds true to the original setting and characters, while adding more detail and his own flair.

I am an avid fan of , so I was quite amused by Kurland's use of the poem. However, don't expect to be able to solve the crime based on that fact alone.

One thing I have loved about the Lord Darcy series is that the criminals don't rely heavily on magic. In fact quite often someone proposes how the crime could have been committed using magic, only for Sean to debunk their theory. Magic is a tool used to help solve the crimes, but it does not solve all problems. In fact, that is why Lord Darcy has a job.

[Googoogjoob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid followup. Manages to mostly nail the setting and tone of the original stories, with a few minor discrepancies (eg, like the original Garrett stories, the book takes place in the year it was published; but Kurland's Darcy seems to have been retconned down in age a good bit- he should be pushing 70 at this point, but while his age is never explicitly stated in this book, he doesn't seem to be much over 50. Fair cop, I guess, as Darcy's age was already retconned up in the original stories). The sense of humor is noticeably drier and more sardonic than the originals, lacking some of the goofiness of them, but that's not really a good or a bad thing. It works fine. The central mystery is also pretty solid without being spectacular; there are three or four potential suspects who are kept in the air until near the end, without any of them being explicitly named, until the clues coalesce into it only being possible for it to be one of them.

[Jonathan Palfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Kurland took over with remarkable aplomb the alternative history scenario and characters created by his late friend Randall Garrett, and proceeded to introduce new characters and background details, while maintaining Garrett’s existing regular characters.

The generous amount of background detail gives a satisfying sense of immersion in this 20th-century Anglo-French Empire; the characters are varied and quite well presented.

The crimes in the book seem rather contrived to me, and crime fans may find better material elsewhere; the book will probably appeal more to fans of alternative history.

And also to fans of sf/fantasy: there’s a kind of magic that works in this world, although it’s a scientific kind of magic and there are limits to its capabilities.

[Greg Rothenberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book by accident at the library book sale. I had read the original series by Randall Garrett (in fact, I had just finished reading it again), so I was interested in how this would be.

At first, I was a little disappointed. Like so many sequels written by other authors, the writing just didn't quite measure up to the original. Then I started getting interested in the story. By the end of the book I found I had enjoyed it very much in its own right, and had stopped making comparisons to the original series. That's the sign of a good sequel.

[Libby · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars: Just Ok. Based on a fun alternate history concept (in 1988, the Plantagenets still rule and the dynasty has thrived and has an empire) and a fun mystery concept (magic exists as a science and is used to collect crime scene evidence but not to solve the case). The book is fun, but overall, the characters, dialogue, and narration are too wooden, and the setting too flat, to draw the reader into a full experience of the book's world. This book is an authorized sequel as the original author, Randall Garrett, has died. I plan to read the Garrett originals for comparison.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable mix of mystery and fantasy! Michael Kurland has done a pretty good job of recreating the world inhabited by Lord Darcy originally featured in stories such as Too Many Magicians written by Randall Garrett. The style is the same although I thought the characters were perhaps not developed in quite as much depth. The plot was interesting although the denouement seemed to come about all in a rush at the end which seemed a little abrupt to me. Overall I enjoyed this book and will definitely read Michael Kurland's other story in the same series.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kurland did a really good job of recreating Randall Garrett's style. (Who channeled Doyle's Holmes so well it was scary!)

Ten little wizards suffers only a little for being a full-length novel rather than Garrett's usual short story.

I'll admit I figured out the mystery before the end, but I enjoyed the trip. I'll probably read Kurland's other Lord Darcy novel if I can ever find it.

[Cyn McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much in keeping with Randall Garrett's original Lord Darcy stories. One impossible murder is unusual enough, but four in the space of a month? Lord Darcy must solve the crimes while uncovering a plot against His Majesty's life, in a castle crowded with guests for the upcoming investiture of the new Prince of Gaul.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, this was fairly predictable. I'm tempted to reread Lord Darcy.

[Robert Gilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all not a bad book. Even though Michael Kurland's writing style is different from Randall Garrett's he did a good job of recreating Garrett's style for this book. It was a good mystery but it wasn't hard to pick out who was the mastermind of plot. Still a fun read.

[Barbara Wurtzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I love the Original Lord Darcy books, this one isn't quite in the same league. I give it an A for effort, a B for getting us back to Plantagenet-World, and a B- for character and plot.