The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters

I have always liked the Jacqueline Kirby books, written by Elizabeth Peters, and I thought that I would re-read one of the earlier ones, The Murders of Richard III. The book was written in 1974 and was told from the viewpoint of Thomas Carter. He was in London and a member of the Ricardian Society. This group of folks believed that Richard III was not the murderous villain as portrayed by William Shakespeare and some historians. Thomas takes Jacqueline (Jake) to a meeting at the estate of Richard Weldon. Weldon claimed to have a letter that would prove that Richard III did not murder his nephews. When the gathering at Weldon's estate became disrupted by pranks that duplicate the murders associated with Richard III, Jake started to suspect that there was more than meets the eye, and that something must be done before the pranks become deadly.

Jacqueline Kirby is my kind of woman. She's intelligent, spirited, and up to any challenge. She's always able to see through the clouds of confusion to figure out whodunit. In The Murders of Richard III, Jake takes an active role in this mystery, at one point tackling the villain with her weaponized purse. I call it weaponized because it's one of those big ass purses, and when Jake puts a heavy statue in it, it can be deadly. Peters knows how to interject humor into her books, and The Murders of Richard III is full of humor, action, and mystery. Of course, there's also a tinge of romance. I really loved The Murders of Richard III, and I would highly recommend it, even if you haven't read an Elizabeth Peters before.

Die for Love by Elizabeth Peters

I have not been reading much lately. I have been very busy teaching three classes, and it hasn't left much time for anything else. I did manage to get some reading done. Since Elizabeth Peters died a few months ago, I have wanted to read some of the books that I haven't read for a while. I went back to the Jacqueline Kirby books, and read the third book in the series, Die for Love. This book is classic, hilarious Peters with satire of a romance writers conference.

Jacqueline Kirby wanted a vacation away from her Nebraska university, and while she was looking for a conference to attend, she found one in New York City for romance writers. Of course, Jacqueline had never read a romance novel. After reading one on the flight to New York, she realized that she could easily try her hand at writing one. The conference is the epitome of cartoon romance. Hattie Foster, Aunt Hattie, was one of those unscrupulous agents who used blackmail to keep her stable of writers working for her for mere peanuts. Hattie had all the big name authors, all the Valentines (writers with some form of Valentine in the name). Dubretta Dubrenstein, a sharp tongued reporter for the Daily Blank made it her job to expose Hattie, and when she had a heart attack and died at one of the conference soirees, Jacqueline immediately knew it was murder. With the a next to no help from flame, and fellow professor, James Whittier, Jacqueline set out to solve the mystery. When it became obvious that someone was out to get Dubretta's notebook, which Jacqueline has, and when Laurie, a romance conference hanger-on, got murdered, Jacqueline knew she had to stop the killer before she was next.

Elizabeth Peters did an excellent job with ribbing romance writers and romance writer conferences. Peter has both Vicky Bliss and Jacqueline attempting to write romance novels. The prose would just fly off their pens, and Peters gave us glimpses of the over the top dialog. Peters was an excellent writer, and in Die for Love, she gave a great mix of humor and mystery. I enjoyed the book a good deal, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants some laughs with a mystery.