Jack, Knave and Fool (Sir John Fielding, Book 5)

By Bruce Alexander

Book Overview

In this fifth Sir John Fielding mystery, the legendary eighteenth-century London judge takes on his most difficult case to date. John Fielding was famous not only as cofounder of London's first police force, the Bow Street Runners, but also as a magistrate of keen intellect, fairness and uncommon detective ability. What made this all the more remarkable was that he was blind. Now the blind magistrate and his young assistant and ward, Jeremy Proctor, face a baffling pair of deaths. A lord dies suddenly while attending a concert. A disembodied head washes up on the banks of the Thames. While investigating both, Sir John and Jeremy learn more than they ever cared to about family, greed, deception, and the peculiar nature of homicide, high and low. "This is a wonderful series . . . In addition to giving us a marvelous parade of Georgian-era high and low characters in the London of Johnson and Boswell, it is packed with history and lore, and it's altogether much fun."-- Washington Post Book World

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425171205
• ISBN13: 9780425171202
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Have enjoyed the entire series

I have enjoyed the entire series, am in the process of rereading most if not all the books. They stirred a desire to learn more of that time in history. Would highly recommend these books to anyone who loves old England, in a "family" type setting. Bruce makes you feel you are there with them setting at the table, or setting in the courtroom with the "Blind Beak". Extremely sorry when I found out Bruce Alexander had passed away. Keep hoping they will find another unfinished volume. Have found nothing that can begin to compare with this series.

tightly written

I enjoyed this book the most and have read five in the series. This one seemed tighter. It had several plot lines, but they all moved. I was never bored while reading the book. The new characters (and some of them were characters) were very well drawn, and the plots moved quickly. Alexander set a high bar with this book for me.

A charming historical novel

I've enjoyed all the Sir John Fielding novels I've read to date, but felt this was one of the best ones. Alexander's plot held me till the end and I find all his characters quite engaging. This series lacks some of the blood and gore that other mystery writers give us; they are in the tradition of the the older British mysteries.

Best of the first five in the series

These stories are well written and very interesting reading. Slow at times, but with fairly intricate plots. The glimpse into many aspects of 18th century London, its high life and its low life, is what makes them so interesting. I have read the first 5 of this series and have to pronounce this one the best so far. An additional main character is added and the young protagonist's character is being developed well. In spite of this being the longest of the stories thus far, the story line in this one hangs together a little better than in the others. Some reviews of this story are surprisingly down on it, which I attribute to expectations. If you want a fast paced thriller mystery or a surprise ending, or if you think teenage main characters are only for kid's stories, then I can see why. This series won't meet those expectations.

I beg to differ

As someone who has been following this series since the beginning, I found this to be an enjoyable installment. Many of the secondary characters are developed more fully, and some new regulars are introduced, including a spirited love interest for the narrator, Jeremy. The prose style is a bit stilted, but less so than texts actually written in the 18th century, and if the word choice sometimes seems a bit modern, well, this is a work of fiction written for a contemporary audience. All in all, I found it a fun, lively read with many fascinating and authentic glimpses into 18th century London along the way.