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Blue Satan And Mrs. Kean #2
The Spider's Touch
An outlaw with a price on his head, Gideon Viscount St. Mars accepts a risky commission from James Stuart, the Pretender, in the hopes of regaining his estates. Back in England, however, he finds Mrs. Kean entangled in a nest of Jacobite spies. When one of them is murdered, Gideon must choose between his allegiance to James and his concern for Mrs. Kean before uncovering the killer.
390 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Patricia Wynn
23 books21 followersWynn was born in Houston, Texas, and earned a history degree from Rice University in 1972. She later attended the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona, for her Masters, and gave up a respectable career in international banking to make an abortive attempt at entering veterinary school. Deciding to stay at home and take care of her children instead, she has dedicated the remainder of her life to being a starving author with a passion for history. She sold the first book she ever wrote to Harlequin in 1987, but made up for this great start later with several unsold manuscripts dispersed lightly amongst the aforementioned published titles.
When Pat's at home, she occupies an empty nest in Newport Beach, California, with her husband and a new spoiled little puppy named Puppet.
When Pat's at home, she occupies an empty nest in Newport Beach, California, with her husband and a new spoiled little puppy named Puppet.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 8, 2008
NOTE: Gabaldon and historical mystery fans take note; this is a wonderful series and a good one to hold you over between "Outlander" books. I read all three books, one right after the last, in three days.
THE SPIDER’S TOUCH (Hist. Mys-Gideon Fitzsimmons/Hester Kean-England-1715) – VG
Wynn, Patricia – 2nd in series
Pemberley, 2002, US Hardcover – ISBN: 097027274X
First Sentence: A pair of tiny overlapping circles embossed the baby’s forehead, carving an edge like an embryo moon.
Gideon Fitzsimmons, unable to prove his innocence for the murder of his father, has escaped to his property in France. In exchange for his support of James II, also exiled in France, he is offered the enticement of having his having his name and estate restored once James is back on the throne in England.
As a first step, Gideon is asked to go back to England and learn when the rising will occur. In England, it is a dangerous time to be a Tory supporting James. When Gideon, in disguise, sees his friend Hester Kean accompanying her cousin Isabella, married to the man who usurped Gideon’s position as Earl of Hawkhurst, enter the house of an avid Jacobite, he worries for her safety, arranges a rendezvous and warns her, promising to be there for her if she needs him.
Days later, Hester and her family attend the opera at the invitation of Sir Humphrey Cove. At the end of Intermission, Humphrey returns to the box, falling dead with a knife from Hawkhurst House in his back. Hester’s cousin Dudley, who had previously attacked Humphrey when drunk, is accused and Hester turns to Gideon for help.”
The first book of this series was so good, I immediately started the second; something I’ve not done since “Outlander.” I love the characters: Hester, who is smart, strong, and loyal; Gideon who wants to clear his name but not at the cost of Civil War, Mrs. Mayhew, ever conniving; Tom, Gideon’s servant who is attracted to buy trying to stay away from Gideon’s other servant Katy. All the characters are brought clearly to live under Ms. Wynn’s deft hand.
The murder doesn’t happen until almost half-way into the story and I did keep waiting for the mystery element of the book to make itself known. However, I do understand that without all that goes before it, the murder wouldn’t make sense. This was a time, particularly for the titled and those with wealth, politics were critical.
Without ever slowing the pace of the story, Ms. Wynn’s deftly incorporates the historical and political information into the plot. There is such a strong sense of time and place that acquaints us with the social structure and manners of the time. The humor, suspense and romance, which I enjoyed in the first book are still very much a part of this story.
It is rare I will read books of a series back-to-back, but I am so enjoying everything about these books, I’m on to Book Three.
THE SPIDER’S TOUCH (Hist. Mys-Gideon Fitzsimmons/Hester Kean-England-1715) – VG
Wynn, Patricia – 2nd in series
Pemberley, 2002, US Hardcover – ISBN: 097027274X
First Sentence: A pair of tiny overlapping circles embossed the baby’s forehead, carving an edge like an embryo moon.
Gideon Fitzsimmons, unable to prove his innocence for the murder of his father, has escaped to his property in France. In exchange for his support of James II, also exiled in France, he is offered the enticement of having his having his name and estate restored once James is back on the throne in England.
As a first step, Gideon is asked to go back to England and learn when the rising will occur. In England, it is a dangerous time to be a Tory supporting James. When Gideon, in disguise, sees his friend Hester Kean accompanying her cousin Isabella, married to the man who usurped Gideon’s position as Earl of Hawkhurst, enter the house of an avid Jacobite, he worries for her safety, arranges a rendezvous and warns her, promising to be there for her if she needs him.
Days later, Hester and her family attend the opera at the invitation of Sir Humphrey Cove. At the end of Intermission, Humphrey returns to the box, falling dead with a knife from Hawkhurst House in his back. Hester’s cousin Dudley, who had previously attacked Humphrey when drunk, is accused and Hester turns to Gideon for help.”
The first book of this series was so good, I immediately started the second; something I’ve not done since “Outlander.” I love the characters: Hester, who is smart, strong, and loyal; Gideon who wants to clear his name but not at the cost of Civil War, Mrs. Mayhew, ever conniving; Tom, Gideon’s servant who is attracted to buy trying to stay away from Gideon’s other servant Katy. All the characters are brought clearly to live under Ms. Wynn’s deft hand.
The murder doesn’t happen until almost half-way into the story and I did keep waiting for the mystery element of the book to make itself known. However, I do understand that without all that goes before it, the murder wouldn’t make sense. This was a time, particularly for the titled and those with wealth, politics were critical.
Without ever slowing the pace of the story, Ms. Wynn’s deftly incorporates the historical and political information into the plot. There is such a strong sense of time and place that acquaints us with the social structure and manners of the time. The humor, suspense and romance, which I enjoyed in the first book are still very much a part of this story.
It is rare I will read books of a series back-to-back, but I am so enjoying everything about these books, I’m on to Book Three.
November 9, 2009
If you're anything like me and you've read 'The Birth of Blue Satan' you were probably very strongly compelled to read the continuation of Mrs. Kean and Gideon St. Mar's story in this second novel in the series by Patricia Wynn.
I have to say that I'm glad I found out what happened after Patricia Wynn left her readers hanging at the end of Blue Satan. But sadly I don't think that I will be following these heroes into the third story, 'The Motive from the Deed'.
The first book was well paced, unfortunately this book felt a bit stalled, the mystery portion of the story didn't start until nearly half way through the book.
There was a lot of focus on the political unrest during this period which I did find interesting but at the same time these dramatic political upheavals were described without much drama or emotion. The setting is England, 1715 during the Jacobite uprising.
The author left me hanging at the end of the first book so I was reading this with the urge to know what happened with our charming protagonists. And their paths didn't cross until one hundred pages into the story.
This copy had quite a few typos which I found a bit distracting. But again the characters are likeable, the writing is good and the story is interesting.
There were a few flaws in the story line that allowed the author to draw out the tension and prolong the story, which I didn't care for. I think that certain things that occurred weren't in keeping with the character's behavior. As I said Wynn created two very charming protagonists in Gideon and Hester but we don't see enough of them for my tastes.
I have to say that I'm glad I found out what happened after Patricia Wynn left her readers hanging at the end of Blue Satan. But sadly I don't think that I will be following these heroes into the third story, 'The Motive from the Deed'.
The first book was well paced, unfortunately this book felt a bit stalled, the mystery portion of the story didn't start until nearly half way through the book.
There was a lot of focus on the political unrest during this period which I did find interesting but at the same time these dramatic political upheavals were described without much drama or emotion. The setting is England, 1715 during the Jacobite uprising.
The author left me hanging at the end of the first book so I was reading this with the urge to know what happened with our charming protagonists. And their paths didn't cross until one hundred pages into the story.
This copy had quite a few typos which I found a bit distracting. But again the characters are likeable, the writing is good and the story is interesting.
There were a few flaws in the story line that allowed the author to draw out the tension and prolong the story, which I didn't care for. I think that certain things that occurred weren't in keeping with the character's behavior. As I said Wynn created two very charming protagonists in Gideon and Hester but we don't see enough of them for my tastes.
September 13, 2016
While I did not enjoy this as much as the first it did solve the mystery but did not settle the answer to the question of how to reinstate Gideon to his rightful place. This one was tougher to read than the first and I skimmed through a lot of it. I'm hoping that gets resolved in the next book but not sure I want to invest in another lengthy series.
June 24, 2020
This series has easily become my favorite ever. I adore Gideon, Viscount St. Mars and Mrs. Kean. The romance between them is sweet without being over powering and taking way from the plot. Great books!
July 9, 2010
It was a very fun read. Always like a good adventure story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews