Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough

Setting: Victorian London. Jack the Ripper is capturing all the headlines, but there's another murderer loose in London: the Thames Torso Killer...and he's even more dangerous than Jack.

Cast of Characters: police surgeon Dr. Thomas Bond, the police inspectors of Scotland Yard, a mysterious Jesuit priest, a young Polish immigrant who sees portents and visions, and, of course, the killer, his innocent victims, and the demonic myth from whence he sprung.
"The Jack they seek--this rabid killer of women--he is nothing. What I seek--the thing I seek--brings mayhem and wickedness in its wake, spreading it like this choking fog across the city. It runs in the water of the river, and it will destroy men's souls."
My thoughts: The way this story is told reminded me a lot of Bram Stoker's Dracula; so if you like that book, I think you'll like this one, too. It's part historical fiction, part detective/mystery story with a supernatural twist. And it's so well-written! I had never heard of the Thames Torso murders, but they actually took place in London in the late 1880s. Mayhem is the first of two books Pinborough plans to write based on real-life police surgeon Dr. Thomas Bond. I enjoy books set in Victorian England, and I found this one, with its Jack-the-Ripper backdrop, especially interesting. Mayhem is an otherworldly mystery that's deliciously suspenseful.

Happy Reading!

Recommended by the author:
     The Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London by R. Michael Gordon

4 comments:

  1. Oh, this sounds good, I like books set in 19th centrury London. I'll write the title down, so thank you!

    Kind regards,

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    1. I picked it up because of the time period--Victorian London makes for a fun setting--but I really liked the mystery and the main characters, too. I hope you enjoy reading this one as much as I did. :)

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  2. Love Dracula. I may have to read this one.

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    1. It's got that Bram Stoker feel which made for a great read.

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