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The Tainted Snuff Box
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Plot Summary of The Tainted Snuff Box
"
Rosemary Stevens
Berkley Prime Crime, May 2001, 21.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 0425179486

    In 1805, Mr. Beau Brummel, the arbiter of style and good taste, joins the Prince of Wales in Brighton. The Prince fled London out of fear for his life after receiving several threatening notes. Mr. Brummel takes the Prince's theatrics so seriously that he continues to work on the perfect knot of his cravat. At the Prince's Pavilion, Sir Simon, a throwback to an age of ostentatious overkill, serves as the food taster to his Highness. In a short time, Simon insults Beau and his friend Lord Perry, who threatens to kill the pompous butt licker.

    Lord Petersham mixes some snuff making a new blend. As expected, he offers the first taste to the Prince of Wales. However, Sir Simon adamantly demands to test the snuff to insure no poison has been included as an ingredient. Simon dies. Everyone except Beau believes that Petersham tried to assassinate the Prince. Beau begins to investigate because he knows the Prince has several enemies and so did that odious cow Simon, including Brummel's friend Lord Perry.

    THE TAINTED SNUFF BOX, the sequel to DEATH ON A SILVER TRAY, is an entertaining historical mystery that showcases an intriguing era in the English aristocracy. The characters seem very real as if the audience is witnessing the regency period first hand. Beau knows more than wardrobe as he makes an intelligent amateur sleuth because he understands people so well. Rosemary Stevens provides more than just a cleverly drawn who-done-it, she gifts her fans with a powerful period piece wrapped inside a strong mystery.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Tainted Snuff Box
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 19th century
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 50%
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - unemployed
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - power
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 1
Unusual forms of death - poisoning
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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