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Inspector Abberline and
his reporter sidekick Thomas Lloyd are hot on the heels of
a murderer in a most extraordinary place, the Isle of Faxfleet.
This Yorkshire river island might be small, but through the
whim of an 18th century monarch, has its own king. King Ludwig
has made the island a home for inventors, poets, painters
and thinkers, but somebody has murder in mind?
I seem to have read quite a few books lately that hit the
ground running, but this one does not run out of steam and
keeps on running all the way to the end. In the first few
pages we have had a drowning, chase and interesting interrogation,
and this sets the pace for a highly imaginative and lively
tale. The kingdom of Faxfleet does not exist but in Mr Clark’s
hands it comes to life and is not impossible to imagine. I
didn’t even guess whodunit, and anybody who can manage
to have a murder where a man spots a strange creature high
in a tree and gets shot out of it by an arrow, as well as
Jack the Ripper, gets my vote. Many people would do this rather
over-the-top story very badly, but this author makes you care
about the characters and keeps the pages turning at a rapid
rate. This is the second in the series after 2014’s
Inspector Abberline and the Gods of Rome and an improvement
in a series that was already good. The first tale was very
enjoyable, but somewhat marred by a superfluous supernatural
aspect; this is 100% mystery and detection. If you like Sherlock
Holmes and enjoy fast paced historical crime you ought to
love this one. Very highly recommended.
Reviews of other titles in this series
Inspector
Abberline and the Gods of Rome #1
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