Death at St.James's Palace (John Rawlings Mystery) - Tapa dura

After an investiture at St James's Palace, the newly knighted Sir George Goward falls down a staircase to his death. Did he trip or was he pushed? John Rawlings, 18th-century apothecary, investigates in this colourful Georgian mystery.

Death at St James's Palace is the eighth novel the highly acclaimed Georgian mystery series featuring sleuthing apothecary, John Rawlings. In 1761, famous magistrate John Fielding is to be honoured with a knighthood. Founder of the Runners, London's metropolitan police force, John Fielding is one of several important members of the community who gather at St James's Palace for the investiture. As the invited audience eagerly crane for a first glimpse of the new queen, a terrible accident occurs when one of the crowd tumbles down the great staircase to his death. But not one person saw him begin to fall; even those standing closest to him had their eyes fixed on the royal entrance. Only one person witnessed anything untoward - John Fielding, a blindman. A whispered sentence, an exhalation of breath - these are the only clues available to suggest the fall was no accident. Apothecary John Rawlings, accompanying his friend Fielding to the ceremony, sets out to investigate and is soon drawn into a very intriguing mystery, in which suspicious characters abound.