Customer Reviews
If she'd only kept to the plot .... - By: Amsterdamned, 26 Aug 2008 
This book exists of three interwoven strands: a recounting of a murder, a social history of the period that the murder occured, & discussions of contemporary crime fiction.
The first strand worked fine, & I appreciate the necessity of the second, but the detours into the contemporary crime fiction completely ruined the rhythm of the book for me. Where I had been hooked, I found my mind wandering, hoping the book would get back on trackin as short a time as possible.
The prose was also, at times, rather too flowery for my liking.
I would have enjoyed the book more if it were a straight account of the murder which, it must be said, the author has researched very well.
Gripping - for a while - By: Supertad, 25 Aug 2008 
Initially, I loved this book. It was gripping, & Summerscale is a great storyteller, able to pack her narrative with detail without becoming tedious. But about halfway through it just ran out of steam for me. Having not been able to put it down, I suddenly did, & couldn't be bothered to pick it up again.
interesting, but not gripping enough for me... - By: L. Bretherton, 23 Aug 2008 I found this book a bit of a chore, I'm afraid. It is very informative regarding the birth of the detective novel & the history of crime detection, but we know quite early on who the murderer is, so there is no suspense. Every page is littered with endless names of people & places, & I ended up flicking through pages to get on the with main business of the book. Very well written & researched, but not one for your holiday luggage!
Fascinating and truly gripping - if not quite perfect - By: unlikely_heroine, 18 Aug 2008 
"The Suspicions of Mr Whicher" is a fascinating account of a Victorian murder mystery. I was not familiar with the Road Hill House murder case, but it appears to be well-known - which means I had a significant gapin my knowledge of British true crime stories. In 1860, the gruesome & tragic killing of a young boy, Saville Kent, at his countryside home &in the dead of night, gripped the nation, with everyonein Britain, it seems (including, for example, Charles Dickens) having their opinion as to who had committed the brutal murder, & with what motive. The newspapers carried daily reports of developments (or rumours)in the case. Most people were convinced, like the detectives assigned to investigate the boy's death, that the answers lay notin a mysterious intruder with nefarious intent, but with the residents of Road Hill House itself. Kate Summerscale describes how the investigation developed, & fleshes out the central mystery, which if truth be told turns out to be rather slight, with fascinating detail about the 1860s, the Kent family, Mr. Whicher & his fellow detectives, & public reaction to the crime. Some reviewers seem to feel that the level of detail applied by Summerscale here amounts to "padding", but to my mind, it gives the story a real context & a sense of time & place & means the reader is fully immersedin the period as well asin the central mystery. I enjoyed learning about the development of the early detective force, & this discussion feels entirely appropriatein a book about a case that was one of the first to involve such detectives.
Summerscale's narrative style is both highly readable & completely gripping. I read this bookin a day, eager to know how (and indeed, whether) the mystery of the young boy's murder would be resolved, & keen to continue enjoying Summerscale's prose. Many true crime - & even historical - books fall far short of the level of research & insight that Kate Summerscale displays here, not to mention the quality of writing, which is first-rate.
One point I must mention is that it is somewhat surprising thatin such an obviously meticulously-researched book overflowing with examples of attention to detail, there should be errors. However, I noticed two, without looking for them. Firstly, on page 75 of the paperback edition, Summerscale tells us that the second Mrs Kent had a stillborn babyin 1854, & it was suggested by some that her stepson might be the father, though this was not possible as he had not beenin the country at the right time. This explanation worked for the stillborn child "although it suggested nothing about the paternity of her next two children, Saville & Eveline". As the family treein front of the book shows & the text makes clear, the next two children were Mary Amelia (born 1855) & Saville (born 1856). Eveline was bornin 1858. Secondly, on page 92, Summerscale quotes a newspaper report that refers to Constance Kent as William's younger sister. Constance was William's elder sister by a year (Constance born 1844, William born 1845). The mistake is of the 19th-century reporter, not the author, but it is customary when an author quotes an incorrect account to point out any errors (with a "sic", footnote, etc), which is not done here.
A bit disappointing, & perhaps a closer read of the book would turn up further inconsistencies.
In any case, the book gets five stars from me, because rarely has a bookin any genre gripped me as this one did. Highly recommended to those interestedin true crime & the Victorian era,in particular.
Enchanting, facinating and a great read - By: Champollion, 04 Aug 2008 All the superlatives have been done but I have to say that this book is excellent. It has real life characters straight from Conan Doyle with a plot to match. Wonderfully written.It is also a beautifully produced book. Sit back & enjoy. Highly recommended.
