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Lion Hudson - Veitch Smith Fiona

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174 pages

English

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Shortlisted for the Foreword Review Mystery Novel of the Year in 2017'Fiona Veitch Smith has chosen a fascinating period as the background for her plot. The story opens with plenty of exciting action and the characters are lively and believable!' Ann Granger, author of the Campbell & Carter mysteries'Do you know who that is, Poppy?' asked Delilah. 'I do indeed.' 'So what does it feel like to dance in the arms of an assassin?'Poppy Denby, arts and entertainment editor at the Daily Globe, covers an exhibition of Russian art, hosted by White Russian refugees, including members of the surviving exiled Romanov royal family. There is an armed robbery, a guard is shot, and the largest Faberg egg in the collection is stolen. While the egg itself is valuable, the secrets it contains within are priceless--secrets that could threaten major political powers.Suspects are aplenty, including the former keeper of the Faberg egg, a Russian princess named Selena Romanova Yusopova. The interim Bolshevik Russian ambassador, Vasili Safin, inserts himself into the investigation, as he believes the egg--and the other treasures--should all be restored to the Russian people.Poppy, her editor, Rollo, press photographer Daniel, and the other staff of the Globe are delighted to be once again in the middle of a sensational story. But soon the investigation takes a dark turn when another body is found and an employee of the newspaper becomes a suspect. The race is on to find both the key and the egg--can they be found before the killer strikes again?Fiona Veitch Smith offers up another rollicking mystery set in 1920s London, when women's emancipation, the jazz age, the consequences of the First World War, and the aftermath of the Bolshevik revolution were rearranging the cultural landscape.

Informations

Publié par	Lion Hudson
Date de parution	16 septembre 2016
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781782642190
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0150€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Fiona Veitch Smith has chosen a fascinating period as the background for her plot. The story opens with plenty of exciting action and the characters are lively and believable!
Ann Granger, author of the Campbell & Carter series
Poppy Denby, on the trail of a Faberg egg containing dangerous secrets, encounters Russians (Red and White), theatrical types, and the police as she becomes embroiled in another adventure in 1920 s London. A gripping and exciting read.
Elizabeth Flynn, author of Game, Set and Murder
THE KILL FEE
POPPY DENBY INVESTIGATES
BOOK 2
Fiona Veitch Smith
Text copyright 2016 Fiona Veitch Smith This edition copyright 2016 Lion Hudson
The right of Fiona Veitch Smith to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
All the characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Published by Lion Fiction an imprint of Lion Hudson plc Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road Oxford OX2 8DR, England www.lionhudson.com/fiction
ISBN 978 1 78264 218 3 e-ISBN 978 1 78264 219 0
First edition 2016
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Cover image Laurence Whiteley
For my dad,
Dougie Veitch,
whose loyalty is an inspiration.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 33

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 35

CHAPTER 36

CHAPTER 37

CHAPTER 38
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

S ince the publication of the first in the Poppy Denby Investigates series, The Jazz Files, in September 2015, it has been a flapulous year. Thanks to film producer Dawn Furness for introducing me to that adjective. Since first hearing it I have used it in interviews and press releases, as it so aptly sums up the experience of being an author of books set in the flapper era.
I have had a flapulous time making and dressing in 1920s gear for photoshoots and launches, writing and directing a short book trailer - where I played a suffragette corpse - and visiting book groups and festivals. Thanks to film-makers Tony Glover and Barbara Keating, actress Amber Irish, the Northumbria University costume department, Noelle Pedersen from Kregel, photo editor Mark Richardson, and photographer Ruby Glover. Also not forgetting the photographic and film editing skills of my husband Rodney Smith and his beautiful assistant, our daughter Megan. Hats off too to jazz musicians Yussef Nimer and Jimmy Madrell.
A round of applause is also due to all my friends, family and colleagues who have happily spread the word, attended the launch party and toasted Poppy s success with very cheap champagne . A special word of appreciation is due to Keith Jewitt of Northern Screenwriters, who has been an immense support and is now an honorary flapper.
As always, my fellow authors and members of the Lioness Club have been a great encouragement, as well as the editorial and marketing teams at Lion Fiction and Kregel. Particular thanks to commissioning editor Jessica Tinker, who takes to heart Oscar Wilde s advice that one should always have something sensational to read on the train. Also to Rhoda Hardie and Remy Kinyanjui of Lion marketing, assistant editor Jess Scott, editor Julie Frederick (all the best with baby number three!) and the design team.
And finally, to all Poppy Denby s flapulous new fans: the readers and reviewers who have said they can t wait to read about her new adventures. Well, without further ado, here they are
C HARACTERS

F ICTIONAL CHARACTERS

Poppy Denby - arts and entertainment editor for The Daily Globe , London. Daughter of Methodist ministers from Morpeth, Northumberland. Our heroine.
Dot (Dotty/Dorothy) Denby - Poppy s aunt. A former leading lady of the West End stage; an infamous suffragette and influential benefactor of feminist and socialist causes. Crippled during a suffragette demonstration in 1910.
Miss Gertrude King - Dot s recently appointed assistant.
Grace Wilson - Dot s long-term companion and fellow suffragette, currently serving a two-year jail sentence.
Marjorie Reynolds - leading female MP, minister to the Home Office and friend of Aunt Dot.
Oscar Reynolds - son of Marjorie, owner of Oscar s Jazz Club.
Delilah Marconi - Poppy s best friend, actress at the Old Vic, daughter of deceased suffragette, jazz scene socialite and Bright Young Thing.
Victor Marconi - Delilah s father, wealthy hotelier from Malta, nephew of famous Guglielmo Marconi (Uncle Elmo).
Adam Lane - Delilah s current boyfriend, actor at the Old Vic.
Daniel Rokeby - photographer at The Globe , suitor of Poppy.
Rollo Rolandson - owner and chief editor at The Globe , American, virulent anti-prohibitionist, compulsive gambler, suffers from dwarfism.
Ivan Molanov - archivist at The Globe , White Russian emigr , close friend of Rollo.
Ike Garfield - political editor at The Globe , West Indian, new to staff.
Mavis Bradshaw - receptionist at The Globe , mother to staff.
Vicky Thompson - editorial assistant at The Globe , new to staff.
Lionel Saunders - arts and entertainment editor at The Courier ; embittered rival of Poppy; ex- Globe journalist; snake in the grass.
Yasmin Reece-Lansdale - female solicitor hoping to become Britain s first female barrister, girlfriend of Rollo Rolandson. Daughter of British major general and Egyptian socialite.
Comrade Andrei Nogovski - security consultant at the Russian embassy; Bolshevik.
Vasili Safin - People s Commissar for Foreign Trade, Bolshevik; temporary stand-in for Russian ambassador to London, whose post is currently vacant due to civil war in Russia.
Princess Selena Romanova Yusopova - White Russian refugee, ageing actress, currently starring in The Cherry Orchard at the Old Vic; cousin of Tsar Nicholas II; friend of Dot Denby and Victor Marconi.
Detective Chief Inspector Jasper Martin - head of the detective division, Metropolitan Police.
Count Sergei Andreiovich - former emissary and military advisor of Tsar Nicholas II.
Countess Sofia Romanova Andreiovich - wife of Count Sergei.
Anya Andreiovich - their seven-year-old daughter; has a dachshund called Fritzie.
Nana Ruthie/Ruth Broadwood - English nanny to Anya.
Arthur Watts - barman at Oscar s Jazz Club .
The man in the bearskin coat - for me to know and you to find out.
H ISTORICAL CHARACTERS

George Bernard Shaw - British playwright, founder of the Fabian Society and leading socialist.
Norman Veitch - founder of the People s Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne, member of the Fabian Society, friend of George Bernard Shaw (distant relative of the author).
Lilian Baylis - founder of the Old Vic Theatre, the National Theatre, Ballet and Opera, champion of theatre for the people.
Constantin Stanislavski - Russian theatre director and one of the most influential drama theorists of the twentieth century.
Prince Felix Yusopov - assassin of Rasputin, son of wealthiest man in Russia, White Russian refugee.
Princess Irina Alexandrovna Yusopov - wife of Felix, cousin of Tsar Nicholas II and (in this book only) Princess Selena.
Empress Maria Federovna of Russia - Mother of Tsar Nicholas II, sister of Queen Alexandra of Great Britain, refugee. Originally Princess Dagmar of Denmark.
Queen Alexandra of Great Britain - Mother of King George V; former Danish princess.
Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra (Nicky and Alix) - last reigning Romanov monarchs murdered with their five children in 1918.
David Lloyd George - Prime Minister of Great Britain (1916-22); Chancellor of the Exchequer 1908-15.
W HITE OR R ED ?

I n The Kill Fee you will hear a lot about White and Red Russians. To help avoid confusion, here is a short summary of the differences between them.
After the Russian Revolution of October 1917, the Russian Empire was thrust into a civil war that lasted three years. In a complex set of alliances, the warring parties were broadly divided into two groups: the Whites and the Reds. The Reds were supporters of the Bolshevik Revolution, hoping to restructure Russia along communist lines. The Whites were those opposed to it. There were many types of White Russians and associate allies, with different motivations and strategies, but they are embodied in this book by the aristocratic families and their supporters who wanted to retain the old imperial system under the rule of the tsar and his family.
However, the Whites were also split between the moderate reformers, who in the years up to October 1917 tried to get Tsar Nicholas II to implement constitutional and social reform to try to avoid wholesale revolution, and the tsarists, who resisted them. History tells us the reformers failed.
Before, during and after the civil war, tens of thousands of White Russians fled their motherland and ended up as refugees in other parts of the world. Some of them came to London - including members of the Romanov royal family - and it is against this backdrop that The Kill Fee is set.
Poppy s first encounter with the Russians is at the Russian embassy in October 1920. The embassy is staffed by an uneasy mix of Reds and Whites, as the outcome of the civil war has, as yet, been undecided. But as the war comes to a head in the Crimea - and in fact ends only a few weeks after the clo