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A Nick Williams Mystery #19
The Leaping Lord
Tuesday, August 13, 1957
Life is good. Nick and Carter are living on the French Riviera, having breakfast by the pool every morning with a view of the Mediterranean, and living a quiet life after a busy month. The grand re-opening of Nick's latest acquisition, l'Hôtel Beau Rivage, the hottest spot in Nice, has gone off without a hitch. And, best of all, Nick has recovered nicely after taking a bullet in his shoulder.
But then, on the same day, they have not one, but two unexpected encounters with the aristocracy.
A day of driving down the coast leads to an amiable but unusual request from the former Grace Kelly, now Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco. Nick is suspicious of the favor she's asked but he's also smitten with the gorgeous blonde who lives in the Prince's Palace just a few miles down the coast. Carter, of course, can't help but tease Nick about losing his heart to movie-star royalty.
Later that evening, Nick and Carter are invited to an impromptu dinner with Her Grace, the Duchess of Boston. She happens to be the mother of the British spy who has been helping Nick and Carter stay out of trouble for the past couple of years. Her son, Lord Gerald Whitcombe, left London for Nice back in July but has since disappeared. The duchess is convinced that the two of them are the only ones who can find him.
What follows is a race against time that leads Nick and Carter back to Paris where they find that things are not exactly how they left them.
Life is good. Nick and Carter are living on the French Riviera, having breakfast by the pool every morning with a view of the Mediterranean, and living a quiet life after a busy month. The grand re-opening of Nick's latest acquisition, l'Hôtel Beau Rivage, the hottest spot in Nice, has gone off without a hitch. And, best of all, Nick has recovered nicely after taking a bullet in his shoulder.
But then, on the same day, they have not one, but two unexpected encounters with the aristocracy.
A day of driving down the coast leads to an amiable but unusual request from the former Grace Kelly, now Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco. Nick is suspicious of the favor she's asked but he's also smitten with the gorgeous blonde who lives in the Prince's Palace just a few miles down the coast. Carter, of course, can't help but tease Nick about losing his heart to movie-star royalty.
Later that evening, Nick and Carter are invited to an impromptu dinner with Her Grace, the Duchess of Boston. She happens to be the mother of the British spy who has been helping Nick and Carter stay out of trouble for the past couple of years. Her son, Lord Gerald Whitcombe, left London for Nice back in July but has since disappeared. The duchess is convinced that the two of them are the only ones who can find him.
What follows is a race against time that leads Nick and Carter back to Paris where they find that things are not exactly how they left them.
- GenresM M Romance
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2018
23 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Frank W. Butterfield
123 books106 followersFrank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 20, 2019
Nick and Carter are enjoying their time in the south of France but when it begins to feel more and more like work, they decide to again make a change. But first they have to rescue Lord Gerald, meet his formidable mother the Duchess of Boston, and make the acquaintance of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco.
March 24, 2018
Grace Kelly - yes, Grace Kelly - what else can I say?
March 13, 2018
This book made me sad. I know what being trapped somewhere I didn't want to be is like. But I Love the continuing saga of Nick and Carter. I eagerly await the end of each month to see the next book. I enjoyed the side characters in this book--the Lords mother was outstanding. I will read the book again.
February 27, 2018
This time round our dynamic duo are settled to their life in France recuperating from their injuries sustained during their last adventure but something is missing or is it someone?
Lord Gerald Whitcombe has gone missing and Nick and Carter are tasked with finding him and realising they really want to go home are looking for a way for this to happen.
Lord Gerald Whitcombe has gone missing and Nick and Carter are tasked with finding him and realising they really want to go home are looking for a way for this to happen.
May 8, 2018
The Leaping Lord (Nick Williams #19)
By Frank W. Butterfield
Published by the author, 2018
Four stars
“It looks like paradise, but I imagine it’s hell for you both.”
We are now in August 1957 (when I was just past my second birthday), and this book opens with a fictitious column about Nick and Carter from the very real Herb Caen in the San Francisco Examiner. Caen teases Nick, but is clearly not one of his enemies. We learn that Nick and Carter have established their new life in France, and are settled into a comfortable and successful routine—owning hotels, hobnobbing with the elite, living in an opulent villa overlooking the Mediterranean.
So, it’s all good, right?
This is one of the books in this amazing series where most of what happens in internal—psychological, if you will. Not that there’s no action. They find that their mysterious English spy friend, Lord Gerald Whitcombe, has gone missing—from his mother no less (and she’s a gas). On top of that, the newly-crowned Princess Grace of Monaco, pays a visit and asks Nick and Carter for their help in a family matter.
This all seems like plenty going on, right? And, once again, Frank Butterfield spins out this tale of 1950s Nice with realism and charm. We see a Carter Jones who now speaks French pretty well, and a Nick Williams who still picks up stray gay people to help them, cares enormously about his employees and his extended family. They have become ideal French citizens, lavishing their wealth on the deserving and building France’s post-war economy.
But the core of this book is really in Nick and Carter’s hearts and minds. They are still exiles from American, from their home and families in San Francisco. In spite of their good deeds and unfailing generosity, they are spied upon and hounded by political agencies from the FBI to the East Germany police. Their only crime is being gay—even though that word is still never used here.
Maybe Nick’s inability to pronounce even the simplest of French names is a psychological clue. As much as he and Carter love Paris and Nice, it’s not home. They are still on the run, still hunted. Butterfield gives us a side of our boys that we’ve seen before.
It’s hard being a superhero when all you want is to live your life and be left alone.
I don’t know how Frank Butterfield does it. This series never fails to amuse and intrigue, and it also never fails to touch me. Beneath the glamor and the Mediterranean sun, the harsh truth about being gay in the bad old days remains.
This is just the beginning of Nick and Carter’s journey, so it seems.
By Frank W. Butterfield
Published by the author, 2018
Four stars
“It looks like paradise, but I imagine it’s hell for you both.”
We are now in August 1957 (when I was just past my second birthday), and this book opens with a fictitious column about Nick and Carter from the very real Herb Caen in the San Francisco Examiner. Caen teases Nick, but is clearly not one of his enemies. We learn that Nick and Carter have established their new life in France, and are settled into a comfortable and successful routine—owning hotels, hobnobbing with the elite, living in an opulent villa overlooking the Mediterranean.
So, it’s all good, right?
This is one of the books in this amazing series where most of what happens in internal—psychological, if you will. Not that there’s no action. They find that their mysterious English spy friend, Lord Gerald Whitcombe, has gone missing—from his mother no less (and she’s a gas). On top of that, the newly-crowned Princess Grace of Monaco, pays a visit and asks Nick and Carter for their help in a family matter.
This all seems like plenty going on, right? And, once again, Frank Butterfield spins out this tale of 1950s Nice with realism and charm. We see a Carter Jones who now speaks French pretty well, and a Nick Williams who still picks up stray gay people to help them, cares enormously about his employees and his extended family. They have become ideal French citizens, lavishing their wealth on the deserving and building France’s post-war economy.
But the core of this book is really in Nick and Carter’s hearts and minds. They are still exiles from American, from their home and families in San Francisco. In spite of their good deeds and unfailing generosity, they are spied upon and hounded by political agencies from the FBI to the East Germany police. Their only crime is being gay—even though that word is still never used here.
Maybe Nick’s inability to pronounce even the simplest of French names is a psychological clue. As much as he and Carter love Paris and Nice, it’s not home. They are still on the run, still hunted. Butterfield gives us a side of our boys that we’ve seen before.
It’s hard being a superhero when all you want is to live your life and be left alone.
I don’t know how Frank Butterfield does it. This series never fails to amuse and intrigue, and it also never fails to touch me. Beneath the glamor and the Mediterranean sun, the harsh truth about being gay in the bad old days remains.
This is just the beginning of Nick and Carter’s journey, so it seems.
February 4, 2020
Wow
This book was amazing. So much going on with MAJOR deceit and intrigue swirling around Nick and Carter. There was a lot of espionage involving my fave British spy “Jerry” who I’ve come to adore and his mother the Duchess who Nick thinks of as the 5th terror, lol! I loved how Princess Grace was written in to this storyline as it added a bit of glamour. The last page ended mid-note with no hint of what’s to come in the next book. And that is just fine with me.
This book was amazing. So much going on with MAJOR deceit and intrigue swirling around Nick and Carter. There was a lot of espionage involving my fave British spy “Jerry” who I’ve come to adore and his mother the Duchess who Nick thinks of as the 5th terror, lol! I loved how Princess Grace was written in to this storyline as it added a bit of glamour. The last page ended mid-note with no hint of what’s to come in the next book. And that is just fine with me.
August 27, 2018
I am still loving this series. Totally worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews