Devoured (Audible Audio Edition) D E Meredith Seán Barrett Isis Publishing Ltd Books
Download As PDF : Devoured (Audible Audio Edition) D E Meredith Seán Barrett Isis Publishing Ltd Books
1856, London The specimen-collecting craze is growing, and discoveries in far-off jungles are reshaping the known world. When the glamorous Lady Bessingham is found murdered, surrounded by her vast collection of fossils and tribal masks, Professor Adolphus Hatton and his morgue assistant Albert Roumande are called in to examine the crime scene - and the body.
In the new and suspicious world of forensics, Hatton and Roumande are the best. But the crime scene is not confined to one room. In their efforts to help the infamous Scotland Yard detective Inspector Adams track down the Lady's killer, Hatton and Roumande uncover a trail of murders connected to a packet of seditious letters that, if published, would change the face of society and religion irrevocably.
Devoured (Audible Audio Edition) D E Meredith Seán Barrett Isis Publishing Ltd Books
The premise (and promise) of Devoured and a recommendation from one of my favorite authors, Matthew Pearl, was all I needed to give this book a try. Unfortunately, it didn;t meet my expectations but, hey, 3 stars isn't that bad. What I mean in the title of this review is while the characters of Hatton and Roumande were interesting and sympathetic, I don;t know that the author could decide what the rest of the book should be. Too many characters and misdirection became a bit of a jumble. The letters from Borneo were enthralling and if they gave clues to the evil that lurks in the heart of men they did not give enough clue as to what kind of evil. The supposed importance of Wallace in the book - even featured on the author's website - played no significant role whatsoever. The themes of "dirty cops," human trafficking, and others were very intriguing but came too late to rescue my impression of the whole book. I will say this: the last 1/3 of the book was VERY STRONG and I will definitely and happily give #2 - "The Devil's Ribbon" - a try based on this strength.And can I add: I LOVE my Kindle Fire while reading historical fiction. Part of the fun is the 19th century vocabulary and being able to use the Kindle's dictionary feature or a quick flip to the web on my fire while reading to look up a word or idiom is awesome! Well done, amazon!
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Devoured (Audible Audio Edition) D E Meredith Seán Barrett Isis Publishing Ltd Books Reviews
Sounded good, but once started I found it very confusing. The plot-line was jumpled, without any real direction. The jumps from one character or scene to another was very confusing, and I had to read many passages twice or more to try to figure out what was going on. I don't mind waiting until the end to find out how all the scenes tie together, but each scene should tell us something important, and many times they just came across as random glimpses into people's lives.
Hatton and Roumonde were interesting characters, but there really wasn't that much of them. It was hard to really get a sense of who they were, what they were about, because we were told so much about them but didn't get to see them in action much. There were a lot of flowery descriptions that seemed out of place. And there seemed to be little help for the reader who didn't know some of the era-specific references. For example, when finding the body of a dead girl the 'reclamation men' labeled the young girl's body as 'Pork'. I understood that Reclamation Men must be those of the time to collect dead bodies found on the river shore and the streets, but I still have no idea what labeling her as 'Pork' meant to the body collectors, the Police or Hatton and Roumonde themselves.
I think the book really needs a deft hand at editing, to pull the story together better and improve the flow. It could use with more actual action, less descriptions of scenes and more concentration on character development. And once in a while a bit of that descriptive power to help the reader understand the era better, so that references aren't totally undecipherable to those new to the era.
There could have been a really good story in all this, but the slog through this one has put me off trying to wade through another.
I'm a huge fan of Victorian mysteries. I read all of Anne Perry's books.
I enjoyed this very dark and complex tale which delves into the issues the 19th Century struggled with regarding the evolution of man. As well as a look at child labor and police practices of the day. There is also a fascinating introduction to early forensics here.
A Clause for Murder (Crime Mystery)
With all the outspoken reviews of how good this novel was supposed to be, I was hoping to add to its praise. In all fairness, Devoured is unusually well written with a fresh, clever plot. The story delves into the world of forensic pathology when it was in its infancy, and unlike most historical fiction set in the Victorian era, the underlying theme came through as one that also resonated in today's society - that of hypocrisy and backwards thinking in certain political arenas. I very much enjoyed the scientific aspects concerning the autopsies and the inferences made regarding cause of death based on the principles of forensics. The supposedly main characters, Hatton and Roumande, were likable and as I started out with this book, thought I could enthusiastically read more of these two.
That, however, is about all the positive points I can think of. Unfortunately, the author went on to break so many rules of mystery fiction I am astonished this was even published! It's not avant garde to deviate from basic plot structures... it's confusing, plain and simple. In many instances, Hatton sees clues that were hazy or invisible to the reader. I was left feeling very dimwitted at times, as the explanations towards the end of how Hatton pieced together the puzzle left me saying "Huh?" Events played out not through actions of the main characters, who should have used forensics to piece together the clues all throughout, but because the author just wrote them in. Things happened. Hatton and Roumande didn't do much of anything but follow along and watch as plot points occurred. Had they been extricated from the book, it felt as though any replacement character could have stepped in and taken over for them. Which was a shame, being that I loved the scenes they were in and was constantly hoping they would stop being onlookers and start doing.
I think, though, my main gripe with Devoured is how the main characters were anything but. When the letters come into play, Broderig and an entirely extraneous set of characters take center stage. Then at another point, Madame Martineau does, which in turn gives away aspects of the plot that left me asking why I should continue reading when so much of the mystery is exposed mid-way through. Then occasionaly Inspector Adams' (who was an overdone "bad good guy" character) POV took the reins, leaving the forensics experts in the background for chapters on end at times. It was annoying. There was also a complete lack of true characterization which could have been easily fixed if the author focused more on developing them than giving us unnecessary chapters focused on the introspections of what should have been minor players.
Devoured definitely started out as a five star novel for all its originality and the interesting twists and turns. But the delivery was just so shoddy and poorly crafted I feel even giving it three stars is being generous. That being said, I think if the next book conforms slightly better to the rules of plotting and gives Hatton and Roumande more on screen time, I'd be happy to give another of her books a try. And for all its flaws, I'd still recommend this one to historical mystery lovers, just don't set your expectations too high when going in.
This book was grisly, and a vampire novel. It was also a race against time, to get a precious family member saved. I loved it. It was creepy, but I liked the engrossing story, and mystery. It was very well written.....
The premise (and promise) of Devoured and a recommendation from one of my favorite authors, Matthew Pearl, was all I needed to give this book a try. Unfortunately, it didn;t meet my expectations but, hey, 3 stars isn't that bad. What I mean in the title of this review is while the characters of Hatton and Roumande were interesting and sympathetic, I don;t know that the author could decide what the rest of the book should be. Too many characters and misdirection became a bit of a jumble. The letters from Borneo were enthralling and if they gave clues to the evil that lurks in the heart of men they did not give enough clue as to what kind of evil. The supposed importance of Wallace in the book - even featured on the author's website - played no significant role whatsoever. The themes of "dirty cops," human trafficking, and others were very intriguing but came too late to rescue my impression of the whole book. I will say this the last 1/3 of the book was VERY STRONG and I will definitely and happily give #2 - "The Devil's Ribbon" - a try based on this strength.
And can I add I LOVE my Fire while reading historical fiction. Part of the fun is the 19th century vocabulary and being able to use the 's dictionary feature or a quick flip to the web on my fire while reading to look up a word or idiom is awesome! Well done, !
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