Oh for the days of yore when a mys­tery was chal­leng­ing, sophis­ti­cat­ed, and lit­er­ary; when echoes of his­to­ry resound­ed as the pages qui­et­ly rus­tled. Well, rejoice, mys­tery lovers, this young adult to adult detec­tive tale, British to the bone, is redo­lent of Jane and her draw­ing room, Sher­lock and his irregu­lars, Agatha and her sleuths, Oliv­er and his orphans, Napoleon and his armies, and maybe a touch of blood libel for good mea­sure. There are poi­son­ings, miss­ing jew­els, medi­cal exper­i­ments, con­test­ed wills, reopened graves — not an ele­ment has been missed! Atmos­phere abounds; sus­pense is pal­pa­ble. Jew­ish detec­tive Ezra Melamed, true to his name, once again wise­ly saves the day. This high­ly rec­om­mend­ed page-turn­er is the third in a series which this review­er hopes will have a long, healthy, and hearty run. Ages 12 and up will love this one.