Bertie and the Tinman is a fun, quick read wherein Bertie, eldest son of Queen Victoria, heir to the throne, Prince of Wales, and all that jazz, takes a turn as a detective investigating the suicide of Fred Archer, the greatest jockey of the age. As an avid Turfite, Bertie would know. In any event, Archer's suicide doesn't sit well with Bertie and he begins to dig into the Archer's personal life to uncover what or who drove him to kill himself. (Fred Archer was an actual jockey, and he really did commit suicide. The Price of Wales, of course, was never involved, at least not as far as anyone knows!)
Quirky and rather endearing, this is a book that doesn't ask much of its reader, other than a bit of indulgence as far as Bertie is concerned. Peter Lovesey's premise is that Bertie is recording his memoir shortly after solving the case, and addresses his dear reader secure in the knowledge that all involved will have met their maker long before the manuscript is released. It sounds contrived, but it works, and makes for a fun and lighthearted diversion. In a world where something as solid and anchored to the past as Notre Dame can be consigned to history in a matter of hours, there's something to be said for that.
Four stars.
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