Amy B. (BaileysBooks) reviewed The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective on + 491 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
What a laborious and tedious trudge through potentially interesting (but poorly rendered) information.
I am always fascinated by tales of murder and mystery from 19th century London. I also have a pretty high tolerance when it comes to reading somewhat dry material. But this book was neither fascinating nor suspenseful and I found it to be a total disappointment.
This book read more like a term paper. It was an endless parade of well-researched quotes and information surrounding the murder at Road Hill House. It was also filled with endless rabbit trails that veered off to parts unknown regarding the histories, back stories, and side stories of several main characters. In short, the book was a mess.
There were a few interesting nuggets thrown in regarding the evolution of the Victorian-era detective and crime novel, but even that was not enough to save this disaster of a book.
There is no real suspense in this book. A confession occurs about 2/3 of the way through, leaving the final 1/3 of the book as just random information. There is no real character development. No sense of cohesiveness in the story. No creativity.
I am an incredibly stubborn and optimistic reader in that I will continue reading bad books until I finish them in the hope that it will be worth it in the end. This one wasn't. I ended up skimming the final half of it, something that I never do.
The premise of this book was interesting, but it failed miserably in its execution. I give it two stars, which is probably one more star then it really deserves.
I am always fascinated by tales of murder and mystery from 19th century London. I also have a pretty high tolerance when it comes to reading somewhat dry material. But this book was neither fascinating nor suspenseful and I found it to be a total disappointment.
This book read more like a term paper. It was an endless parade of well-researched quotes and information surrounding the murder at Road Hill House. It was also filled with endless rabbit trails that veered off to parts unknown regarding the histories, back stories, and side stories of several main characters. In short, the book was a mess.
There were a few interesting nuggets thrown in regarding the evolution of the Victorian-era detective and crime novel, but even that was not enough to save this disaster of a book.
There is no real suspense in this book. A confession occurs about 2/3 of the way through, leaving the final 1/3 of the book as just random information. There is no real character development. No sense of cohesiveness in the story. No creativity.
I am an incredibly stubborn and optimistic reader in that I will continue reading bad books until I finish them in the hope that it will be worth it in the end. This one wasn't. I ended up skimming the final half of it, something that I never do.
The premise of this book was interesting, but it failed miserably in its execution. I give it two stars, which is probably one more star then it really deserves.
Wendy F. reviewed The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective on + 31 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
I thought this was extremely interesting on several levels. The case is quite unusual so that was part of the interest. I also found the details of how they lived in the mid 1800's fascinating as well as the development of what we know today as detectives both for the police and private detectives. We're so used to hearing about the details of both the victims and the perpetrators lives we don't realize how much we take it for granted. In those days it was considered invasive and unseemly to look into people's private lives. It's also surprising what an impact the press had on the case the lives of those involved. Very absorbing book!
sevenspiders -
Helpful Score: 2
Kate Summerscale brings the hither-to untold story of a gruesome murder that brought the gothic sentiments of the Victorian era to a climax and redefined its views of crime, detection and tragedy. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher unravels the fascinating tales of the crime itself and the effect it had on society as for the first time, an upper-class family suffered an unspeakable crime that could only have been committed from within.
