Amy B. (BaileysBooks) reviewed on 8/29/2009 + 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.

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