The Ring of Death
On sale
5th February 2009
Price: £9.99
Genre
‘So amazingly good, I could not put it down’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘An inventive and highly enjoyable murder mystery’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Will a game of Murder at a dinner party turn deadly?
London 1892: Author Oscar Wilde has assembled friends and acquaintances for one of his Sunday Supper Clubs, among their number is his great friend and creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle. Mid-way through the evening, a game is proposed: each guest must write down the name of the person they would most like to kill.
But soon, the fictional victims begin to die one-by-one in mysterious circumstances – in the order their names were drawn during the game.
With growing horror, Wilde and Doyle realise that one of their guests must be the murderer. Trapped in a race against time, they must uncover the killer’s identity before they can complete their final move . . .
A wonderfully witty and addictive cosy historical mystery that presents the reader with an intricate puzzle to solve. Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie and Richard Osman.
Readers are gripped by The Ring of Death:
‘Crackles with wit, tension, mysteries, and is reminiscent (but dare I say better) than the Sherlock Holmes canon’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Oscar Wilde is solving crimes while rubbing elbows with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . . . What’s not to like?’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This book had everything I love in a story: historical detail, cleverness, wonderful conversational by-play . . . BRAVO!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Previously published as Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death.
‘An inventive and highly enjoyable murder mystery’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Will a game of Murder at a dinner party turn deadly?
London 1892: Author Oscar Wilde has assembled friends and acquaintances for one of his Sunday Supper Clubs, among their number is his great friend and creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle. Mid-way through the evening, a game is proposed: each guest must write down the name of the person they would most like to kill.
But soon, the fictional victims begin to die one-by-one in mysterious circumstances – in the order their names were drawn during the game.
With growing horror, Wilde and Doyle realise that one of their guests must be the murderer. Trapped in a race against time, they must uncover the killer’s identity before they can complete their final move . . .
A wonderfully witty and addictive cosy historical mystery that presents the reader with an intricate puzzle to solve. Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie and Richard Osman.
Readers are gripped by The Ring of Death:
‘Crackles with wit, tension, mysteries, and is reminiscent (but dare I say better) than the Sherlock Holmes canon’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Oscar Wilde is solving crimes while rubbing elbows with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . . . What’s not to like?’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This book had everything I love in a story: historical detail, cleverness, wonderful conversational by-play . . . BRAVO!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Previously published as Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death.
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Reviews
A carnival of cliff-hangers and fiendish twists-and-turns . . . The joy of the book . . . is the rounded and compelling presentation of the character of Wilde . . . The imaginary and the factual are woven together with devilish ingenuity. Brandreth also gives his hero speeches of great beauty and wisdom and humanity
Pitch perfect. Great entertainment
Excellent - a light-hearted and entertaining murder mystery
Fabulous . . . The plot races along like a carriage pulled by thoroughbreds
Very entertaining
This excellent novel . . . I'd be staggered if you'd read many better whodunnits. Brandreth demonstrates supremely measured skill as a story-teller
The plot speeds to an exciting climax . . . Richly atmospheric. Very entertaining
Irresistible . . . Elegant . . . Rich . . . Enjoyable . . . A classic Agatha Christie-style whodunit
One of the most enjoyable crime series around . . . He slips easily into the 21st century, does this Oscar (imagine, if you can, an even higher-wattage Stephen Fry), just as, thanks to Brandreth, we as readers are able to travel effortlessly back to join him in his own age. It is well worth the journey - and I can't wait until the next one
The murders begin. Highly theatrical ones . . . Entertaining and meticulously researched
A cleverly plotted, intelligent and thoroughly diverting murder mystery. This novel is an educated page-turner, a feast of intriguing and light-hearted entertainment
Inventive . . . brilliant . . . marvellous . . . glittering . . . graceful . . . intricate . . . enthralling
The latest witty installment in Gyles Brandreth's hugely enjoyable series of Victorian murder mysteries
Gyles Brandreth succeeds magnificently. A plot that is intriguing throughout. A skilfully crafted story that goes all the way
What sets the novel apart is Brandreth's talent for conveying time and place. The barbarism of close confinement has rarely been so graphically and movingly portrayed
Gyles Brandreth's Murder Mysteries just get better and better . . . and this is the best so far
One of the most intelligent, amusing and entertaining books of the year. If Oscar Wilde himself had been asked to write this book he could not have done it any better
Genius . . . Wilde has sprung back to life in this thrilling and richly atmospheric new novel . . . The perfect topography for crime and mystery . . . magnificent . . . an unforgettable shocker about sex and vice, love and death
Brandreth has poured his considerable familiarity with London into a witty fin de siecle entertainment, and the rattlingly elegant dialogue is peppered with witticisms uttered by Wilde well before he ever thought of putting them into his plays
Classically twisty
Gyles Brandreth and Oscar Wilde seem made for one another . . . the complex and nicely structured plot zips along
An amiably enjoyable Victorian murder mystery
This is to be a series and if they're all as enjoyable as the first, they'll all be surefire best-sellers . . . The plot races along like a carriage pulled by thoroughbreds . . . So enjoyably plausible
This bounces along with vim and wit. Beautifully packaged
Both a romp through fin-de-siècle London . . . and a carefully researched portrait of Oscar Wilde . . . Very entertaining
Wilde as detective is thoroughly convincing . . . The period, and the two or three worlds in which Wilde himself moved, are richly evoked . . . an excellent detective story. I'm keenly looking forward to the rest of the series
Brandreth knows his Wilde . . . Candlelight Murders is an excellent read, and it seems the scene may be set for others in the same style -- and with the same lead character
This is not only a good piece of detective fiction in its own right, it is highly entertaining, spiced as it is with Wildean sayings, both real and invented and the imagined conversations and intellectual sparring between Wilde and Conan Doyle. Future tales in the series are something to look forward to
Brandreth's accomplishment is evident in the force of Wilde's personality, which fairly leaps off the page . . . readers will delight in the effortless characterization and deft portrait of late Victorian England
I always wanted to meet Oscar Wilde and now I feel that I have done, and shared a terrific, bizarre and frightening adventure with him. I recommend the experience
This excellent novel . . . I'd be staggered if you'd read many better whodunnits. Brandreth demonstrates supremely measured skill as a story-teller
The rollocking tale . . . a witty and gripping portrayal of corruption in late Victorian London, and one of which Wilde and Sir Arthur would be proud
Hugely enjoyable - reminds us just how enjoyable a well-told traditional murder mystery can be
A neat take on the big hitters in the book world just over a century ago . . . Gyles is a joy to the nation
A clever concept spiced with great Wilde epigrams
He has won great acclaim for his series of Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries . . . as witty and entertaining as his hero, Gyles is renowned for his charisma and charm
The last novel I read was The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries . . . it was very good
An amusing and satisfactorily unlikely story
Brandreth's knowledge of fin-de-siecle London, of the social and political history of the period and, above all, of Wilde himself is most impressive. Wildean witticisms abound
Terrifically well researched, it all whizzes along and the reader can have fun identifying the real Wilde's witticisms from Brandreth's
As much imaginative biography as murder mystery, this book paints a lively portrait of Wilde at the height of his fame
It's all mid-morning bracers, detections based on the shininess of shoes, hansom cabs and gems like "work is the best antidote to sorrow" as we gallivant around 1890's London. Wilde is a tough subject to make boring, but this is great escapism
Brandreth really has got the measure of his subject, catching the essence of the great man at almost every turn
[A] deservedly well-received series
Gyles Brandreth has done a great job with this continuing series . . . I'm wild about Wilde
Sparking dialogue, as you would expect, mystery piled deliciously upon mystery, a plot with a pace and a panache and a London backdrop that would grace any Victorian theatre
That curious, uneasy shadowland of late Victorian London, where Society, Art and Popular Entertainment overlap, is richly evoked, and the details of Wilde's life are mentioned by Sherard . . . in a perfectly natural, convincing manner: the man he presents to us is both the authentic Oscar and the authentic amateur sleuth
A good read
Utterly charming caper of murder and wit . . . my reader loves them
Brandreth characterises Wilde with great finesse and provides an unconventional and languid narrative to match
Brandreth writes with a light touch, but conveys a sense of the moral hypocrisy and oppressive class system of the time. What raises this book several notches above most mysteries is the authentic historical detail and the engaging portrait of Wilde . . . sparkling bits of wit and wisdom
Highly acclaimed Oscar Wilde murder mysteries . . . richly described background of fin-de-siecle London
Engaging, entertaining and skilfully written
One of the most enjoyable (series) around
Gyles is a joy to the nation
An enjoyable read
Give a big, fat, sloppy kiss to the Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries, a sharply-written, deeply urbane and ongoing series
Plenty of cliff hangers, and twists in the tale to keep even the most avid crime buff flicking pages 'till last in the night
Part biography and part murder mystery with a wonderful cast of historical characters
PRAISE FOR GYLES BRANDRETH
Not merely, like all the best after-dinner speakers, does he know how to spin a yarn; unlike most politicians, he has a touching access to the secrets of the human heart
A fine and sympathetic writer
He can tell a story in the way Daphne du Maurier could . . . He creates a world and keeps you there
PRAISE FOR GYLES BRANDRETH'S MURDER MYSTERIES
Brandreth's portrait of Oscar Wilde is entirely plausible; plots are ingenious and the historical background is fascinating
This wickedly imagined and highly entertaining series . . . intelligent, jaunty and hilarious
Rather fun . . . Brandreth unashamedly wheels out a cast of historical characters to die for
Brandreth has the Wildean lingo down pat and the narrative is dusted with piquant social observations. A sparkling treat for fans of Wilde and Sherlock Holmes alike
