Marilyn's Mystery Reads

Wow, I said aloud when I finished reading The Queen of Fives.  This fascinating mystery provides a close look into an incredible confidence scam in the closing years of 19th-century England.

The Fives refers to the rules of such a scheme.  When the rules are followed and conducted by a skilled operator, the results are foregone.  Rule I – The Mark (or quarry); Rule II – The Intrusion (the con artist enters the mark’s world); Rule III – The Ballyhoo (the opportunity to make a fortune or something else the mark desires is presented); Rule IV – The Knot (the web encloses the quarry); Rule V – All In (the trap is sprung and succeeds).

As long as there have been unscrupulous people, and there always have been such, and as long as there are people either too gullible or too greedy for their own good, and they always have existed as well, there have been con games.

As we are all aware, they currently flourish via email, texts, social media, and telephone–remember the Nigerian prince scam of several decades ago or the more current “I’d like to be your friend” on Facebook?

When we look back at them in the cold light of day, we wonder who could possibly be taken in by such trickery?  The answer is–it could be you (or me).

In a humble house in the run-down section of London called Spitafields, a skilled group of people have made their living for years tricking others out of their savings.  But now times are hard, and the group, led by its leader Quinn LcBlanc and her assistant Mr. Silk, are preparing for their most daring game ever.  They are teetering on the verge of insolvency, and they need to reel in a mark with very deep pockets.

What better candidate than His Grace the Duke of Kendal?  

There are three members of the House of Kendal–the Duke himself, just turning thirty; his sister Victoria; and their stepmother, the Dowager Dutchess.  The  Kendal parents are both deceased, but their late father’s second wife has long been a loving figure to her two stepchildren.  However, now there is tension in the family that didn’t exist previously, and the servants are kept busy running up and down the mansion’s stairs delivering notes from one family member to another rather than the various members simply knocking on the others’ doors as they had done in the past.

Into this small circle Quinn enters in the persona of Quinta White, a young woman presenting herself as a wealthy heiress with the backing of another con artist, Mrs. Airlie, as her chaperone.  Quinn’s first step is to gain admission to Buckingham Palace and to use the opportunity to meet the Duke.  The first and the second rules succeed, but the others may prove more difficult.

There are surprises and betrayals in store for both Quinn and the Duke, with twists and turns that necessitate both parties maneuvering to keep control of their secrets and goals.  Equally important, how much can each trust the other?

Alex Hay has written a masterful mystery.  Both Quinn and the Duke, as well as the many other characters in the book, are wonderfully portrayed, and the customs, venues, and soirees of 1895 London are made vivid.  The Queen of Fives is a novel to be savored.

You can read more about the author at this website.

Check out the complete Marilyn’s Mystery Reads at her website.  In addition to book review posts, there are sections featuring Golden Oldies, Past Masters and Mistresses, and an About Marilyn column that features her opinions about everything to do with mystery novels.