New Book Alert: The Dark Shadows of Kayserberg by Michael Stolle (Book Six of the French Orphans Series); Brilliant Adventure Romance Covers Scandal, Murder, and Conspiracy in 18th Century France

 

New Book Alert: The Dark Shadows of Kayserberg by Michael Stolle (Book Six of the French Orphans Series); Brilliant Adventure Romance Covers Scandal, Murder, and Conspiracy in 18th Century France

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Michael Stolle's The Dark Shadows of Kayserberg is the sixth novel in the French Orphan series in which Pierre, a young impoverished orphan ascends to the title of the Marquis de Beauvoir and makes an advantageous marriage and very powerful dangerous enemies set against the backdrop of 18th century France in the years of corrupt nobility before the Revolution. The books are tied together to Pierre's life and struggles, so it's hard to separate them. However, the sixth book, The Dark Shadows of Kayserberg changes tactics by presenting a different lead protagonist and making Pierre a supporting player.

 That is all for the better if you, like me, haven't read the other novels in the series. Recurring characters show up but do so in a way that explains their previous connections to the other novels or make you think that you met them for the first time. Plot points are summarized clearly as though these were characters who spent their lives having adventures that you might not have known the full story but would not feel lost if you didn't follow it in the first place.

Rather than Pierre, the main character is his best friend Armand St. Paul, son of the Marquis de St. Paul. The St. Paul Family has made a lot of powerful enemies, most particularly Cardinal Mazarin, a corrupt man of the cloth who studied under the Cardinal de Richelieu (The Three Musketeers'  best fiend). Mazarin may have been responsible for the death of Armand's oldest brother. Since his middle brother has become a priest, Armand is left to inherit not only the title, money, and estate, but the target on his back that Mazarin wants to fire upon. 

When another nobleman taunts Armand into having a duel and the hot headed and not quite bright Armand reciprocates, it's time for some damage control and life saving (not to mention a few clunks on Armand's head for being an idiot to walk into such an obvious trap and nearly either getting himself killed or wanted for murder). Pierre, Armand's father, and Pierre and Armand's friend, Francois arrange for Armand to go incognito to Kayserberg, where an old friend of Armand's father resides. Armand can hide out there while Mazarin's men chase a look-alike of Armand's elsewhere.

Unfortunately, Armand learns that corruption, scandal, and murder can be found anywhere. When he resides at the home of Guillaume, Count of Kayserberg, he finds himself falling in love with Elisabeth, Guillaume's ward and getting caught in a power struggle between the count, his scheming younger wife, Catherine, and his abusive brutal brother, Otto. Armand's stay in Kayserberg is not bound to be a long one.

The Dark Shadows of Kayserberg has all of the adventure of an Alexander Dumas novel with the scandal and gossip of Laclos' Dangerous Liaisons. It's hard to tell which is more numerous in the book: thrilling one on one fights and daring escapes from traps or bickering nobles playing musical beds and plotting to do away with each other. The characters are an adventure seeking roguish bunch who will either fight with you or bed you, some would do both within an hour.

The opening gives us an idea of the world that we are in and the type of characters that we meet. Armand is waking up in the boudoir of the beautiful and very married Countess Eloise de Verneuil. Neither Armand nor Eloise harbor any illusions about true love. For Armand, he gets to bed a beautiful woman and maintain his status as a rogue. Eloise gets to be in control as the elder party and gets pregnant since her impotent husband cannot provide a child. As for her husband, he just wants an heir. This open relationship is emphasized when after Armand is exiled, Eloise tells his parents and expresses concern the way one would about an old acquaintance that they barely know who's in trouble. Eloise wishes him well, but moves on. He did his part by giving her a child that will be raised by her and her husband. Armand's work is done.

This book is full of characters like that who have hidden agendas and are concealing whatever schemes that they are doing. Mazarin plays a loyal man of the Church and an upstanding individual but he is carrying on an affair with the queen and orders the assassinations of rivals as assuredly as a mob boss.

 Catherine acts like a loving wife to Guillaume and adopted mother to Elisabeth, content to be stuck in a small kingdom when in reality she tries to seduce her hot young houseguest, abuses her husband's ward, and plots Guillaume's death with his brother. 

Even characters like Armand and Elisabeth have dark agendas. Armand is a womanizer and has a violent temper against people that he doesn't like while Elisabeth, longing for freedom from her isolated castle, doesn't mind resorting to um explosive means to engineer hers and Armand's escape. 

This is a world where if this is the usual behavior of the average royal, noble, and church member then it's easy to see the French Revolution knocking on the door a few years later. Tellingly, we don't see many poorer characters except servants, mercenaries, innkeepers and others whose job it is to serve the nobility. The servants like Elizabeth's maid, Amelie and Armand's valet, Mathieu are very helpful to the plot and good characters in their own right. (Amelie and Mathieu even develop a romance the same time Armand and Elisabeth have theirs). But the actual suffering of the poor is far away from these characters, exploring the wide socioeconomic gulf that this time provided which allowed no real interaction between rich and poor. The wealthy nobles of the time resort to decadent distractions and devious plots to keep their hold on a way of life that is in the process of dying around them.

There are also plenty of daring suspenseful moments that hearken to the French adventure novels like The Scarlet Pimpernel or The Three Musketeers. From the beginning where Pierre, Francois, and Armand's father use subterfuge to hide Armand from Mazarin and his associates, the book is an exciting ride of suspense, disguises, duels, and characters who outfight and outthink each other. When Elisabeth and Armand leave Kayserberg through the mountains, Pierre helps them sneak away with assistance from hired mercenaries and helpful villagers while Mazarin gets his own spy into the works. Pierre, Francois, and Armand are a clever trio who tease each other with witty repartee but will use muscle and or brain to defend each other.

Elisabeth also proves to be a valuable asset to their team. When Armand is accused of a death in Kayserberg, Elizabeth sets fire to a wing, a fire which gets out of hand, to help him escape. She also manages to get out on her own when Catherine and Otto resort to kidnapping her. She instantly fits in with Armand, Pierre, and their friends when true to his teasing nature, Pierre says that anyone who sets fire to a building is perfect for Armand.

The Dark Shadows of Kayserberg is a brilliant novel that captures not only the adventurous romance of 18th century France but it's decadent scheming and conspiracies as well.