Book Synopsis

In the cavernous halls of Buckingham Palace, a series of pranks lead to murder in this mystery by CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson

Princess Louise and her father, King Victor II of England, agree that life has become painfully dull. When she's not in school, Louise spends her days roaming the palace and fulfilling her royal duties while her father fusses over budgets and attempts to keep his family out of the tabloids. So when a prankster begins placing frogs on the breakfast trays, Louise delights in the break from routine--as does King Victor. But this innocent mischief soon escalates into bloodshed when a body is found in the palace.

In an attempt to quell his family's panic, King Victor resolves to catch the killer. At last he has a purpose--but the palace may be in greater danger than either he or Louise suspects.

Review Quotes

"Wry, witty, irresistible." --Financial Times

"[Dickinson] outdoes himself this time. . . . A most unusual and original mystery." --Publishers Weekly

"[Dickinson] has written a mystery story with an unusual detective, and with logical, well worked-out development. The result is typical Dickinson--sensitive, different, yet within the conventions of the genre." --The New York Times Book Review

"Triumphantly touching, with genuinely interesting characters . . . exceptional." --Newsweek

About the Author

Peter Dickinson was born in Africa but raised and educated in England. From 1952 to 1969 he was on the editorial staff of Punch, and since then earned his living writing fiction of various kinds for children and adults. His books have been published in several languages throughout the world.

The author of twenty-one crime and mystery novels for adults, Dickinson was the first to win the Gold Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for two books running: The Glass-Sided Ants Nest (1968) and The Old English Peepshow (1969). Dickinson was shortlisted nine times for the prestigious Carnegie Medal for children's literature and was the first author to win it twice.

Dickinson served as chairman of the Society of Authors and was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2009 for services to literature. Peter Dickinson died on December 16, 2015, at the age of eighty-eight.