The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective in Obsessed with True Crime

Jun 16, 2008 fleegan rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

I wasn’t sure if I would like this one, I checked it out because I liked the title and the artwork on the cover, and because I’m a sucker for the true crime, but I was concerned because Victorian England is my least favorite thing to read about.

This awesome book went above and beyond the ol’ true crime genre. Sure there’s a “unsolved” murder in the book, but what makes this book so different is that it goes into the history of the detective as well as the literary history of the detective novel. ...more

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Feb 06, 2011 Robin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Utterly absorbing true story of the murder at Road Hill House in 1860. The first locked house mystery gripped Victorian England, with everyone having theories about who callously cut the throat of four-year-old Saville – his parents, the well-to-do owners of Road Hill House, their teenage children or the servants. Author Kate Summerscale provides plenty of context for this incredible saga, focusing one of the first London detectives, Insp Whicher, who was called in to solve the crime. He had his ...more

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Jun 16, 2025 Beth Windle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: true-crime

Absolutely gripping true crime/history. There were points at which I wished Summerscale wouldn’t veer offtrack to other cases at such length, but those parts of the narrative were certainly important for developing the personalities of the people and the characteristics of the times.

I really enjoyed how the whodunnit is solved (and fairly early on, too) but there’s still ambiguity about the how and why.

Well-researched, well-written. Total gem.

EXCELLENT choice for fans of Killers of the Flower ...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Jennifer Melnyk rated it did not like it

Shelves: own, fiction, unfinished-by-choice-horrible-book

This is, quite honestly, the most boring book I have ever attempted to read. I started it over a year ago and cannot seem to bring myself to try and find the desire to finish it. True crime books are, usually, my favorite genre to read. This book, though, hasn't managed to make me feel ANYTHING for the characters in it by 121 pages in. By now, I should be dying to find out who murdered poor little Saville Kent. But I just can't seem to figure out how to WANT to finish this book to find out. ...more

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Jun 19, 2008 Jennie rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime, non-fiction

I really enjoyed it, but at times I wish she had separated the interesting elements of her telling better i.e. word etymology, literary history etc. I was happy to learn these things and it was well-written, but at times it felt like too much all at once, almost a distraction from the murder and detective at the core of the book.

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