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The Mystery of the Skelton Diamonds: A Detective Lavender Short Story by [Karen Charlton]

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Karen Charlton

The Mystery of the Skelton Diamonds: A Detective Lavender Short Story Kindle Edition

by Karen Charlton (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

486 ratings

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London 1808: The famous Skelton Diamonds have disappeared, and Detective Stephen Lavender is asked to investigate the crime.

But why should he feel so uneasy, so reluctant to accept this case? Can he trust the wealthy, powerful politician who's summoned him?

In this short story, Lavender and his loyal assistant, Constable Woods, plunge into the seedy backstreets of Regency London and steer a tricky path through the opulent drawing rooms of aristocratic suspects in pursuit of the missing diamonds.

Welcome to the world of Stephen Lavender, a Principal Officer with the Bow Street Runners, whose further adventures can be followed in 'The Heiress of Linn Hagh.'

Print length

53 pages
Language

English
Publication date

June 24, 2014
File size

3966 KB
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Karen Charlton
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00LA15DQE
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Famelton Publishing (June 24, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 24, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3966 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 53 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #70,904 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #59 in 90-Minute Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads
- #97 in Historical Fiction Short Stories (Kindle Store)
- #173 in 90-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads

Customer Reviews:
486 ratings

About the author

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Karen Charlton

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Karen Charlton is the international best-selling author of The Detective Lavender Mysteries which are set in Regency London and feature Bow Street’s Principal Officer, Stephen Lavender and his humorous side-kick, Constable Ned Woods.

Her brand new series, The York Ladies' Detective Agency Mysteries features two enterprising young women, Jemma and Bobbie, who launch a private inquiry agency in York during WW2.

In addition to this, she has written a stand-alone historical novel, 'Catching the Eagle', based on the true story of her notorious criminal ancestor and a non-fiction genealogical book, Seeking Our Eagle that explains how she and her late husband tracked down the jail-bird in their family tree.

A former English teacher, with two grown-up children and a small grandson, Karen lives in a Yorkshire fishing village with two cats and writes full-time.

A stalwart of the village pub quiz team, Karen joined them when they competed in the BBC’s famous Quiz Show, ‘Eggheads’ – a TV programme she’d never watched before. Much to her surprise, they won.

Karen loves historical fiction and TV costume drama and has always enjoyed a good mystery.

She also loves to hear from readers and you can easily contact her via her website: www.karencharlton.com

For the latest news about her novels, public appearances and some special offers sign up for her Occasional Newsletter.

Customer reviews

5 star		61%
4 star		22%
3 star		15%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

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Elizabeth MacGregor-Kirkcaldy

The ever-brilliant Detective Lavender Mysteries...

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2018

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I finished binge reading the Absolutely Fabulous, and Brilliant 'Detective Lavender Series' by Karen Charlton a couple of days ago and I am utterly lost...
Imagine... Sir Arthur Conan Doyle meets Dame Agatha Christie with a wee dash of 'Ripper Street' thrown in for your arm-chair detective reading pleasure... brilliant and atmospheric, enthralling old-fashioned Historical Mysteries that are absolutely Unputdownable... Karen Charlton is an extraordinarily, gifted and talented storyteller...
Methinks I shall go back and begin 'The Heiress of Linn Hagh', the first book in this spellbinding series again... whilst counting the days until the release of the fourth book, 'Plague Pit & River Bones' ...
Oh, aye, and there is also the marvelously captivating prequel, stand-alone novel, 'Catching the Eagle' featuring the ever-dashing, insightful and wee bit melancholic Detective Lavender, and his loyal and winsome side-kick, Constable Ned Woods... as well as a couple of short stories.
Run... don't walk to your nearest bookshop or website and read them all... Not-to-be-missed...

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jugliz

Promising beginning for a series

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2015

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I decided to read this as an inexpensive introduction to the Lavender series, and was so happy that I intend to press on. Lavender, as Charlton explains in an author's note, was a real person -- I wondered how she came up with that name. At this point in his career he is a member of the Bow Street Runners, and working with Constable Woods, he is assigned, by request of the victim's son, to solve the mysterious disappearance of a valuable set of diamonds, seemingly from a locked box.

I was happy with Charlton's characters, liking the good ones and disliking the bad ones, and the story always held my interest. The first novel in the series is The Heiress of Linn Hagh.

7 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Great short story

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2022

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A quick summer short story where Detective Lavender and Constable Woods solve a theft in early 19th century London. Lots of gritty local color. Well written and well paced. Recommended

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Vicki Lane

The only thing bad about it was it was too short.

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2019

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I Love ALL the Detective Lavender stories. They are great little books to enjoy with a cuppa coffee. Or to read at night in bed. They always keep me interested. Love the main characters. They feel like family. Can't put them down. Give me more!

2 people found this helpful

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Catydid

A good detective novel.

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

This was a very interesting read. I love that she has the setting in18th century England and it's true to 18th century England.. I also love that there's no sex or foul language in the book. I wasn't able to figure out the perpetrator right away, too, which I like. I like the two main characters. They work well together and you get the feeling they're truly human, but with great perception.

2 people found this helpful

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Kathleen

Skelton diamonds

Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2021

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Magnificent I loved it. Two characters you get totally attached to. Beautifully written as usual . I highly recommend this book

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Deede

Excellent British detective novel

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2017

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I am always in the mood for a well written Victorian era British detective novel. I have read the entire series and only wish there were more. The series held my interest from cover to cover and I am always disappointed when the last page has ended.

5 people found this helpful

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Grammie Annie

Pleasant quick read

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2017

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The author puts the reader in the middle of London around 1800. She describes the scene, the smells, the people and the crimes. It is enlightening.

The short story is a little mystery which was a good read. It was also a commentary on the political climate of the time.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Annie W

Excellent short story, but leave out the political homily at the end

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 7, 2018

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The theft of family diamonds at the very start of a journey brings Detective Lavender and Constable Woods to the London home of an MP who has encountered Lavender in the past, and been allowed to get away with breaking the law, due to Lavender's other priorities. The characters in this short story are well-drawn, although some are almost stock caricatures: the pawnshop and its owner straight out of Dickens; the supercilious footman; the vicious aristocrat. As always, Detective Lavender and Constable Woods stand out as well-rounded people it would be fascinating to know. It takes the two little time to work out the who and how the crime was committed, and it's always satisfying to see the guilty get their come-uppance, but I really could have done without the little political diatribe at the end. Nevertheless, it's an excellent read, and I'll continue to look for further books from Karen Charlton.

John Hopper

good short story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2017

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I have greatly enjoyed the first two novels in the Detective Lavender series. This is a short story set slightly before the events of those novels. The plot is understandably more straightforward and the details around the solution of the theft of Lady Wharton's diamonds provide opportunity for Lavender and Woods to reflect on the nature of justice as it applies in the case of the aristocracy in their England of 1808. I only recently realised that Lavender is a real historical character, though some of the details of his life are changed by the author.

Pamela Adams

It was a great short story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2017

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This is what I call a coffee time read, where you curl up on the sofa with the said cup of coffee and a Karen Charlton short story. Having already read some of her books, I was interested in this short story, mostly because it involved Detective Lavender and his sidekick Constable Woods. It was a great short story, keeping me guessing until near the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope to purchase more short stories in the near future. I would definitely recommend this book. Keep them coming Karen.

Bookworm

Entertaining Mystery

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2014

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Another vibrant tale from the pen of Karen Charlton.

Excellent scene setting and vernacular in keeping with the period along with a sprinkling of wry humour, raise this historical mystery head and shoulders above others that I've read in this genre.

I really do enjoy the easy banter between Detective Lavender and his constable, Woods and the scene at Barty's pawnbroker shop is particularly entertaining.

A well plotted mystery that I'd certainly recommend.I look forward to more adventures from Lavender & Co.

3 people found this helpful

granniean

Granniean

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2021

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A well written short story. A collection of similar short stories would be ideal for bedtime reading in order to aid sleeping .

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