Amy R. (AmyMarie) - , reviewed on 6/22/2015 + 46 more book reviews

I was really unimpressed with this book. It isn't a mystery, since the killer is revealed very early on. It doesn't really qualify as a thriller because, well, it's not thrilling in the least. A couple of the characters are mildly interesting, but it isn't enough to carry the book. There are a lot of cliches (the wife's mysterious "illness" and the brilliant, forward-thinking doctor who comes up with the idea of using fingerprints to solve the crime) (and then explains it in excruciating detail over and over again). The characters make ridiculous decisions (like splitting up when they've just been told not to, or throwing away evidence on a whim). There are too many POV shifts, too many subplots that go nowhere, and too many flashbacks that serve no purpose whatsoever. By the time I got to the last hundred pages, I was disgusted and annoyed. I only finished because it seemed a shame to stop after slogging through the previous 300+ pages. (And although I'm not a stickler for historical accuracy, anybody who is will undoubtedly be annoyed by the many inaccuracies in Victorian London.) Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book.

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