Mayhem in Fantasy-Faction.com

Aug 22, 2013 Mogsy rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, horror, review-copy, mystery, paranormal, favorites

4.5 stars. Posted at: http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...

Interestingly enough, well before this book came into my life, I'd happened to be browsing through the many publishing-related newsletters in my email inbox one day when a deliciously creepy animated gif banner in one of them caught my eye. In fact, it was an announcement for this very title, bearing the tag line:

"Jack the Ripper is terrorizing London. Now a new killer is stalking the streets, the victims' bodies are dismembered and 4.5 stars. Posted at: http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...

Interestingly enough, well before this book came into my life, I'd happened to be browsing through the many publishing-related newsletters in my email inbox one day when a deliciously creepy animated gif banner in one of them caught my eye. In fact, it was an announcement for this very title, bearing the tag line:

"Jack the Ripper is terrorizing London. Now a new killer is stalking the streets, the victims' bodies are dismembered and their heads are missing...the killer likes to keep them."

It gets even more intriguing than that. The book's blurb also describes it as a supernatural thriller, and given my penchant for historical horror novels (particularly those featuring a paranormal angle) I just couldn't resist. So you can imagine my excitement when I received Mayhem for review from Jo Fletcher Books, and remembering that banner with its promise of a hunt for a serial killer in Victorian London, I needed little convincing to start this right away.

Still, Mayhem isn't really a story about Jack the Ripper. Between 1888 and 1891 there were a series of murders in or around the Whitechapel area, and the modus operandi of some of these were different enough that investigators theorized that they could have been committed by another person other than Jack. The idea of a separate "Torso Killer" in these "Thames Mysteries" is what forms the basis for this book, and in Sarah Pinborough's version of the events, he takes his victims' heads as trophies.

Though Jack the Ripper doesn't take center stage in Mayhem, his name and his crimes are referred to frequently, and his terrifying hold over East London is part and parcel to the creation of the setting. Establishing that there's the possibility of not just one but two killers stalking the streets creates this sense of dread that is pervasive throughout the novel. Because of the way the plot is set up, even when nothing suspenseful was happening on the page, the book always had me steeling myself in apprehension for something horrible to come along -- that's what a good horror novel does to me.

The supernatural aspect also helps in this regard; as I've said before in my past reviews, I like a touch of that in my horror. In Mayhem, it adds a whole new dimension to the story, making it a lot better than if this had been just a straight-up hunt for an ordinary mundane killer.

In spite of this, much in this book is rooted in reality. The author did her research, and even included events like the true instance of a reporter's dog used in finding a severed leg during the Whitehall Mystery. Also, a couple of the book's chief characters, like those involved with the investigations, were actual historical figures -- the police detective Henry Moore and the British physician Thomas Bond, for example. The latter comes closest to being our main protagonist, with his chapters being the only ones written in the first person, while the others are in the third person. Initially, I found this point-of-view switching to be quite bizarre, but ultimately it worked for me.

Reports from news articles about the killings are also interspersed between the narratives, which not only establishes the timeline but also provides historical context. A work of fiction this may be, but the book never lets you forget that the Whitechapel murders, their victims and their grisly circumstances (especially in the case of Mary Jane Kelly) had really occurred, that at least one insane and very real killer had actually once terrorized London's East End, and I think that's what unsettled me the most as I was reading.

This was a very dark tale, chilling and disturbing without being overblown or excessive. The atmosphere of tension is subtle and builds gradually, but things peaked for me during that terrible scene at the dinner table involving Dr. Bond's revelation. I didn't realize until then that I was just like him -- bracing myself for the inevitable macabre conclusion. This is highly recommended for those who like historical mysteries and crime fiction, particularly if you don't mind a little paranormal thrown into the mix.
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Jul 15, 2013 Patremagne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: wwe-women-fiction-challenge

http://abitterdraft.blogspot.com/2013...

Jo Fletcher Books is publisher to many good authors, including Tom Pollock, Snorri Kristjansson, and one Sarah Pinborough. Sarah is author to many dark stories, including her Dog Faced Gods horror series, as well as rewritten fairy tales, one being Poison (Snow White) and another being Beauty (Sleeping Beauty). I've yet to read any of her other work, so Mayhem was a first for me in a few ways. Prior to reading it, I hadn't really read any novels that could http://abitterdraft.blogspot.com/2013...

Jo Fletcher Books is publisher to many good authors, including Tom Pollock, Snorri Kristjansson, and one Sarah Pinborough. Sarah is author to many dark stories, including her Dog Faced Gods horror series, as well as rewritten fairy tales, one being Poison (Snow White) and another being Beauty (Sleeping Beauty). I've yet to read any of her other work, so Mayhem was a first for me in a few ways. Prior to reading it, I hadn't really read any novels that could be categorized under mystery or crime; I'd read some with elements of each, but never something strictly one or the other.

Two things drew me to Mayhem. First, there was the cover - exceptionally elegant and very fitting of the 19th century tale that is told. Second, Jack the Ripper. If for some reason you are unaware of who he was, Jack was a serial killer in late 19th century London who targeted female prostitutes and murdered them in brutal ways. He killed at least five women, likely more, but get this - he was never caught. This anonymity led to widespread terror throughout the area for years to come. Mayhem is not a story of Jack, though, but one of a new killer, dubbed by some as The Thames Killer and as The Torso Killer by others. Though there are similarities between Jack's killings and those of the newcomer, primarily that they both target women, the protagonist, Dr. Thomas Bond, knows that there is indeed a second killer in the London slums who keeps his victims' heads as trophies.

Dr. Bond is a middle-aged man hired as a police surgeon to aid the police in investigating the killings of Jack, and after the limbs of a woman are recovered from the Thames river, he's forced to help track down two killers. Bond's life has become increasingly stressful and sleepless since he began the investigation, leading him to bouts of anxiety and an addiction to opium. Opium is his escape - when he can't sleep he heads to the dens to smoke some poppy and close his eyes, though he usually ends up having terrifying dreams brought on by the drug and his contact with the victims. Throughout Mayhem we see Bond fall into deeper and darker places, and his characterization and development are fantastic.

Alongside Dr. Bond, there are two characters who get a smaller amount of face-time - Inspector Henry Moore and a Polish refugee and hairdresser known as Aaron Kosminski. This is where Mayhem partially fell short for me. Dr. Bond's chapters are told in the first person, which is perfect for the premise of the story, and what I expected the entire story to be, whereas Inspector Moore and Aaron Kosminski's chapters are told in the third person. Although the insight from different characters was interesting - especially seeing their thoughts on Bond's drastic changes throughout the story - I felt that it disrupted the flow of the story and a little distracting. Maybe it was because I hadn't read a story that switched from first to third person throughout the tale before, but I think it could have been beneficial to commit to one or the other. Due to the nature of the story, though, it would not have been complete and the reader would be left wondering what was happening if Kosminski wasn't a point-of-view character.

Much of what you'll get out of Mayhem is dependent upon your expectations going in. Due to this being my first real crime novel, I had expected a fast-paced story where the investigation was always one step behind the killer until some sort of culmination at the end, and the initial chapter convinced me that's what I was getting. The first chapter was a dark and gripping recount of the Torso Killer's first murder. But after that, the pacing proceeded at an average pace, picking up at points where a new lead or a new victim is found. Despite this, Pinborough's elegant prose, as with the cover, perfectly fit the time of the story and created a sort of fog and feeling of claustrophobia around the darker areas of London. Now and then the story jumped ahead days, weeks, and even months and thus the reader can be left either okay with nothing happening in those intervals or wondering if the time frame could have been condensed to improve the pacing, though that may have thrown off the backdrop of Jack's murders, so take from that what you will.

Another strong aspect of Mayhem is Pinborough's use of news articles and police reports between occasional chapters. When there's a new victim, we're given a chance to read what the citizens of 1887-1889 London read and feel what they felt. Pinborough also shows her skill in writing in revealing the killer around halfway through the story and avoiding the cliché of his immediate capture, but without harming the pacing in any way.

Sarah Pinborough's Mayhem is a dark, elegantly written tale with some particularly gripping scenes and a well executed supernatural aspect that led to a solid, if not slightly rushed ending. There is a definite air of mystery throughout the story and even though it was not the story I expected, it was still an entertaining read and I am looking forward to the 'further adventures of Dr. Bond' in May 2015, when Sarah will be releasing Murder. ...more

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May 14, 2014 Nathan Marchand rated it liked it

Shelves: ff2014-challenge

This is a dark, grim, paranormal, mystery taking place in London during the late 19th century. consciously parallels Jack the Ripper series of murders as if demonic forces are at work.
As a period piece it works well showing how police investigations worked back then and understand why Jack the Ripper was hard to catch.
However, I have issue with the structure or narrative of the story. Starts off as a mystery but reveals the villain before you have any real chance of guessing. The whole story i ...more

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Apr 24, 2014 Lisa rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2014-ffchallenge

Full review: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2014/0...

I enjoyed Pinborough’s fairy tale retellings and while this looked quite different, I was hoping I would still enjoy it as much as I did those. After reading Mayhem, I do think it is well written and it I believe it has a good audience out there, but unfortunately when it came down to it, I don’t think I am a part of that audience. There is some grim humor in this, which I quite appreciated, but it just wasn’t enough to hold me.

I want to be co ...more

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Aug 13, 2015 Elise rated it it was amazing

I loved this book! It was the perfect blend of Victorian London, crime and the supernatural. The ending was fairly abrupt; there are a few unanswered questions I have but I know there is a second book with these characters so I'm hoping that will fill in some of the gaps or wrap up some of the questions I have left from number one. The writing was amazing and I found myself really enjoying the POV of Dr. Bond and the atmosphere of the book, with the back drop of the Jack the Ripper murders reall ...more

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