The Long-Lost Jules
A Novel
The Long-Lost Jules is an absorbing mystery novel centered on a lost royal descendant and contemporary money laundering schemes.
A determined professor searches for a Tudor descendant in Jane Elizabeth Hughes’s complex mystery novel, The Long-Lost Jules.
Sudeley Castle is about to be sold to a Russian billionaire, who plans to turn it into opulent homes and vacation properties. Leo, an Oxford historian, hopes to track down Catherine Parr’s last descendant who has the power to stop the sale. His research leads him to Amy, a private banker with affluent Saudi Arabian clients who is astounded to learn that she could be of royal lineage.
The surprises continue when Amy’s headstrong stepsister, Kali, arrives in London with little warning. Amy also receives notice that the FBI has commenced an investigation into one of her clients for money laundering and tax evasion. Brief but tense action scenes find Kali, Amy, and Leo in danger; they are attacked on a country road and in a pub’s hallway.
As Amy helps Leo on the matter of Sudeley Castle, a thrilling romance forms; it volleys with the intriguing historical details about the wives of Henry VIII, and the tragic conclusions of their marriages, that arise in the course of their investigation, though the details of Catherine Parr’s life and successors are covered repeatedly. But both Amy and Leo guard powerful secrets. Amy’s work and personal lives impede each other as she grapples with the demands of her clandestine work; lying to Leo may be required.
Amy narrates, and her internal dialogue is humorous. As the office outsider, she’s free to make droll observations about her clients and colleagues; she mocks her coworkers’ devotion to her narcissistic boss, and bestows nicknames on their boring clientele. On the outside, she is shy and reserved, so these inside views to her perspective become critical to the story. Her conversations with Leo are also entertaining, bringing forth his personality; he proves to be attentive, intelligent, and friendly, and establishes a rapport with Kali with ease.
Apart from its historical mystery, the book handles the murky, dangerous world of international money laundering crimes well. The risky work of the agents who strive to apprehend the culprits of such schemes is covered in in-depth, captivating terms.
With a satisfying ending that resolves all of its mysteries, The Long-Lost Jules is an absorbing novel centered on a lost royal descendant and contemporary money laundering schemes.
Reviewed by
Edith Wairimu
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