Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder: A Mystery

centerThe second witty installment in an astonishingly authentic historical mystery series featuring detective Oscar Wilde and his partner in crime, Arthur Conan Doyle/centerPIt's 1892, and Wilde is the toast of London, riding high on the success of his playILady Windemere's Fan./iWhile celebrating with friends at a dinner party he conjures up a game called murder that poses the question: Who would you most like to kill? Wilde and friends -- including Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, and poet Robert Sherard (the novel's narrator) -- write the names of their victims on pieces of paper and choose them one by one. After leaving the party, Wilde scoffs at the suggestion that he may have instigated a very dangerous game indeed....PThe very next day, the game takes an all-too- sinister turn when the first victim turns up dead. Soon Wilde and his band of amateur detectives must travel through the realms of politics, theatre, and even boxing to unearth whose misguided passions have the potential to become deadly poisons...not only for the perpetrator of the seemingly perfect crimes but also for the trio of detectives investigating them.PRichly atmospheric and as entertaining as Wilde himself, this book is the second in a series destined to delight mystery readers and fans of historical fiction alike.One of the most enjoyable crime series around.-IThe Scotsman/icenterb1PThe Fortune-Teller/b/centerPIt was Sunday, 1 May 1892, a cold day, though the sun was bright. I recall in particular the way in which a brilliant shaft of afternoon sunlight filtered through the first-floor front window of No. 16 Tite Street, Chelsea -- the London home of Oscar and Constance Wilde -- and perfectly illuminated two figures sitting close together at a small table, apparently holding hands.PI stood alone, by the window, watching them. One was a woman, a widow, in her early forties, with a pleasing figure, well-held, and a narrow, kindly face -- a little lin