Sir Oliver Craston, a diplomat at the Foreign Office, finds himself offering friendship to celebrated artist Claude Monet and Claude’s son, Michel.  Anti-French sentiment is running high, and the Foreign Office hopes Oliver can keep an eye on Monet and Michel while Monet is in London painting his famous Thames River series.  Staying at The Savoy, the floors above Monet house officers wounded at the Boer War.

When a woman’s body is pulled from the Thames, Craston finds himself equally pulled into a baffling murder mystery. Inspector Will Garrety delves into the case with some trouble.   Higher-ups are asking him to stay away from upper-class suspects.  Two stories begin to emerge from this point.  Seemingly at the forefront is the history of Monet and his family.  Secondary is the mystery that delves into many dark corners from Jack the Ripper connections to infertility, as faced by Inspector Garrety, and his wife.

Jane Jakeman’s writing is lush; it crawls deep into your mind and really makes you think about the characters, their surroundings, and the events that occur.  The killer is made apparent early on, but I have to say for me the actual murder mystery was less impressive than Monet and his family and Will and Aline’s infertility problem.  I found the medical practices dealings with infertility, as well as the characters’ dealings with their problem, to be fascinating.  Those aspects were what kept me glued to the pages.

If you enjoy historical mysteries or are a fan of Monet, IN THE KINGDOM OF MISTS is a book that you should not miss.  Cozy up with a hot cup and tea and let Jane Jakeman take you to a time not so long ago.