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James McCreet
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Book
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Publisher | Pan | ||
ISBN | 978-023074340 | ||
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Reviewer
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Wendy
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Synopsis
Murder is rampant in Early Victorian London. Detective Inspector Newsome of the new Detective Force decides to recruit a recently-apprehended master criminal to help bring the culprits to justice. A polymath with a mysterious past, the man is no eager volunteer. And when the ghastly murder of conjoined twins galvanizes the city, Newsome blackmails his prisoner - Noah Dyson, as he calls himself - into working with the Force's finest: Sergeant George Williamson. Unknown to the policemen, the criminal genius behind the murder shares a dark past with their new associate. It is not justice that is on Dyson's mind, but retribution. As Williamson and Dyson together close the net, the murder-rate soars and the streets of London begin to burn. Ingeniously plotted and seething with grotesque characters, James McCreet's striking debut will grip readers from its first dark pages.
Review
This is the first book by James McCreet about a murderer on the loose in Victorian London, who loves burning down buildings, and is creating havoc among the inhabitants. His vivid descriptions of the low life of London, and the public hanging of a murderer are quite harrowing. The relationship between the top brass of the police and the new detective force is very interesting. The only thing that really irritated me was that the author seemed to be leading the reader by the hand. I quote: "We will step momentarily away from the case" etc etc
His constant references to "the reader" and "we" completely detracted, for me, from the flow of the story. Otherwise a rather grisly book but written with great style and panache.
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