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What Members Thought
I'm so disappointed in this book. I happened upon it at the library and thought it looked fantastic. Who doesn't love a Victorian murder mystery?
YET, it was much less riveting than my beloved Death at the Priory. It was impossible not to compare the two Victorian murders and Death at the Priory wins hands down. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher was dry as dust and spent far too much time comparing the historical person, Mr. Whicher, with the development of the burgeoning genre of detective novels l ...more
YET, it was much less riveting than my beloved Death at the Priory. It was impossible not to compare the two Victorian murders and Death at the Priory wins hands down. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher was dry as dust and spent far too much time comparing the historical person, Mr. Whicher, with the development of the burgeoning genre of detective novels l ...more
I listened to this. It was extremely detailed and seemed to be meticulously researched. The crime was horrifying but interesting. The main problem with the book was the copious detail. Three discs in and I thought, "How is this story going to make it to 8 CDs?" The answer is with a lot of extraneous detail.
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Anyone who like mysteries might want to read this nonfiction book that relates the story of the cases and the detectives that provided the foundation of some of the first mystery fiction. The story drags sometimes, but overall it's fascinating not only as a mystery but also as one window into domestic life in Victorian England.
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This started out really strong, but about halfway through I really just wanted to know the outcome. I skimmed the second half. My favorite thing about the book is the connections between this case (and others of its time) and the development of the detective novel.
This isn't your typical true crime novel. The author tries to bring to light how new the field of detective work was during the mid 19th century, how detectives were looked down upon because Victorian life in general treasured it's privacy and detectives had a tendency to threaten that lifestyle. So you have to read it more as an account of the history of detectives and see it less as a juicy horror filled true crime novel. Don't get me wrong, it tells the true story about the horrible murder of
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Jan 04, 2009
Heather
marked it as to-read
Jan 05, 2010
Shelley
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
history,
looks-interesting
Nov 04, 2014
Arianna
marked it as to-read
Dec 19, 2014
Laura Watkins
marked it as to-read
Apr 21, 2017
ellen
marked it as to-read
Mar 30, 2018
Melissa
marked it as to-read
Mar 29, 2019
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read
Mar 31, 2021
Natalie
marked it as to-read
Sep 03, 2022
Breehasbooks
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
current-tbr,
true-crime
