First
Sentence: The following undated document appeared on Wikileaks
and is now the subject of a government investigation.
During
the cast party, someone has murdered the theater owner’s
infant son. The bedroom is locked from the inside and neither
blood nor fingerprints are found; only the life-sized puppet
of Mr. Punch, lying on the floor.
A cast
of characters is always helpful, but usually not very inventive.
From Page One, it is clear this will not be your usual read
with your usual characters and each is fully developed and
fascinating. They are not necessary all people you’d
want to know, but each becomes real in your mind. The Peculiar
Crimes Unit team, including their long-suffering superior
Raymond Lamb, is colorful and imaginative.
You
are immediately caught up in the author’s voice; his
observations of the English and the wonderful wry humor…”People
described Salterton as ageless in a way that wasn’t
intended as a compliment. He seemed to exist somewhere between
post-menopause and post-mortem.” Throughout, the author
punctuates the story with simple statements of truth…”The
gap between rich and poor was not just one of wealth but of
accountability.” His use of language is to be savored…”This,
then, was Arthur Bryant at work, his furrowed forehead bowed
beneath the yellow light of the desk lamp, a shambling Prospero
residing over the desiccated pages of his literary arcane,
stirring fresh knowledge into the heady stew of ideas that
filled his brain.” The dialogue is excellent with some
of the exchanges between Bryant and May left to flow unhampered
by interruptions of so-and-so said.
The
crime itself is anything but ordinary. It is, at times, gruesome.
It is also a wonderful entre into the behind scenes working
of a theater and the history of Punch and Judy. Fowler is
particularly good and teaching the reader about things you
didn’t even know you wanted to know.
Memory
of Blood is a very good book, filled with humor, imagination,
suspense, and wonderful characters. I am very happy to say
there are, as of now, two more book after this…and eight
wonderful books before it.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Full
Dark House #1
The
Water Room #2
The Memory of Blood # 9 [review1]
[review
2] [review
3]
Invisible Code #10 [review
1] [review
2]
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