British author Gleeson's tepid second historical mystery follows the same fundamental formula as 2003's The Grenadillo Box
: a skilled craftsman (there a cabinetmaker, here a portraitist) is ensconced at the estate of a wealthy British family when a brutal murder occurs. In both cases, the tradesman is charged with finding the culprit. Joshua Pope is commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of Herbert Bentnick and his betrothed, the luminous Sabine Mercier. During the sittings, Sabine insists on wearing an unusual emerald necklace fashioned into the shape of a serpent, even though it's reputed to bring disaster to any who wear it. When a stranger is found dead in the conservatory and the necklace disappears, Joshua, suspected of the theft, is forced to investigate. He stumbles about in a sea of red herrings, eventually uncovering the truth some chapters after many readers have done so. The author's depiction of Georgian England rings true in every lush detail. But the crucial elements that define a mystery—plot, character, passion—never rise above the ordinary. Indeed, the novel puts one in mind of an 18th-century quadrille, full of elaborate turns and repetitious step sequences—beautiful, stately, mannered, but lacking in depth. Agent, Christopher Little. (Feb. 22)
