Ruler of the Night by David Morrell

First Line: On Thursday evening, 22 march 1855, a frowning gentleman studied a two-page document that lay on his substantial desk.

1855. The railway has fueled the industrial revolution and changed English society forever. An entire day's journey can now be completed in a matter of hours. People love this newfound freedom. 

Thomas De Quincey and his daughter Emily are leaving London on the train. As a safety precaution the compartments are locked before the trains begin to move, so when the De Quinceys hear terrible noises from the next one, there's nothing they can do until the train stops and everything is unlocked. What they find is that a man has been stabbed to death-- and the killer is nowhere to be found. Joining forces with Inspector Flynn and Sergeant Becker of Scotland Yard, they pursue this ruthless killer back to London, hoping to bring the person to justice before more murders are committed.

Ruler of the Night is the brilliant conclusion to David Morrell's Victorian mystery trilogy. I cannot recommend these books highly enough. Each centers on a crime that changed how the public viewed the world. Murder As a Fine Art centered on the unsolved Radcliffe Highway murders; the second, Inspector of the Dead, on the numerous assassination attempts on the life of Queen Victoria; and this third and final book on the first murder on an English train. Morrell also changes up how each book is written. The first is a completely Victorian novel; the second only partially so; while Ruler of the Night is written as a modern novel. This mirrors how rapidly society was changing at the time.

Like the first two books in the trilogy, Ruler of the Night immerses the reader in the world of Victorian England-- its sights, its sounds, its smells. Incidents in the book-- like De Quincey's translation of a German edition of Sir Walter Scott-- actually happened. Action scenes are vivid, and it's wonderful to see how the many delicate strands of the plot weave together.

But Morrell is not content to focus on period detail and action scenes. His characterizations are what make this trilogy so very special. Thomas De Quincey was an amazing man with a prodigious addiction to laudanum. It's safe to say that most drug addicts are not sympathetic characters in fiction, but "the Opium Eater" is. This is due in large part to the character of Emily, his daughter. Emily is a person worthy of trust and affection. She sees her father for whom he is, and she loves him deeply. Her clear-eyed love allows us to care for him, too.

The police officers also shine. By the time of Ruler of the Night, Inspector Flynn has basically taught Sergeant Becker everything he needs to know to become an excellent detective. Their changing attitudes toward Thomas and Emily mirror those of the readers.

In reading books, I've finally made reading the author's notes and acknowledgments a habit. You never know what nuggets of gold you'll find. In the case of David Morrell's Thomas De Quincey trilogy, you'll find fascinating tidbits on the history behind the stories as well as recommendations on other authors and books to read. 

If you are even the slightest bit interested in historical mysteries-- especially those set in Victorian England-- you simply must read these three Thomas De Quincey novels. They are marvelous.

      

Ruler of the Night by David Morrell

ISBN: 9780316307901
Mulholland Books © 2016
Hardcover, 352 pages

Historical Mystery, #3 Thomas De Quincey mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.  


 

Inspector of the Dead by David Morrell

First Line: Except for excursions to a theater or a gentleman's club, most respectable inhabitants of the largest city on earth took care to be at home before the sun finished setting, which on this cold Saturday evening, the third of February, occurred at six minutes to five.

It's 1855. News of the incompetence of British commanders in fighting the Crimean War has caused the fall of the government. Thomas De Quincey and his daughter Emily have worn out their welcome at the London home of Lord Palmerston, but just as Palmerston is getting ready to stuff them both into a coach and send them far, far away, De Quincey's skills are suddenly in great demand. 

Two Scotland Yard detectives, Ryan and Becker, know how brilliant this little opium-addicted man can be at finding and interpreting clues-- and looking deep into the minds of killers. Now there is a mad man on the loose who's killing members of the upper class. With each corpse is the name of someone who had previously tried to kill Queen Victoria. All the evidence points to one conclusion: this killer will not stop until Victoria is dead.

Using some popular Victorian writing techniques to brilliant effect, David Morrell once again immerses us in Victorian London. As a result of his meticulous research, London comes alive-- sights, smells, sounds-- and readers will easily be able to put themselves right in the streets and buildings of the city. 

However, the setting isn't the only marvelous thing about Inspector of the Dead. This is a fast-paced book that grabs hold of you and won't let go. The action scenes (especially one in which a policeman goes home for the night) can actually scare the stuffing out of a person, and as long as you can read while sitting in a corner so no one can sneak up on you, you have to admit that it's a wonderful way to be frightened!

The pace is so fast that readers can be forgiven for getting caught up in the narrative and forgetting to try to deduce the identity of the killer, but it's not just the pace and the pitch perfect setting that causes such forgetfulness. Morrell has created a living, breathing cast of characters, especially the brilliant but much maligned Thomas De Quincey. Few writers have such a special way with historical characters as David Morrell. 

De Quincey was fifty years ahead of Freud, and it's fascinating to watch him use psychology to solve crimes. It's also fascinating to watch others watch him. In the first book in this series, Murder As a Fine Art, readers got to see those two Scotland Yard detectives (Ryan and Becker) ridicule De Quincey's methods. Now in Inspector of the Dead, they are believers and have to convince others to let the little man be so he can do his work. An added bonus is the fact that readers get to learn more about his strong-willed, unconventional daughter Emily, and Lord Palmerston also has his turn under the microscope.

I was sad to see this book end. My only consolation?  The next book in the series, Ruler of the Night, will be available in November 2016. I can't wait!
   

Inspector of the Dead by David Morrell

ISBN: 9780316323932 

Mulholland Books © 2015

Hardcover, 342 pages

Historical Mystery, #2 Thomas De Quincey mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet


    

Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell

First Line: Titian, Rubens, and Van Dyke, it is said, always practiced their art in full dress.

In the London of the 1850s, a series of murders has almost brought the city to its knees. Not only are these killings horrific, they mirror crimes that were committed decades earlier... and they also seem to have the same blueprint: Thomas De Quincey's essay "On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts." 

Two Scotland Yard detectives are working against the clock in order to capture the killer, and whether they like it or not, they find themselves working with De Quincey and his daughter Emily. Crippled as he is by his addiction to opium, this frail man in his sixties still has a brilliant mind that can look into the thoughts of a brutal murderer and know he must be stopped at all costs.

While I was in college, I read Thomas De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater. When I recently learned that David Morrell had written a mystery with him as a sleuth, I thought back to De Quincey's Confessions and knew what a marvelous character he could be. To my delight, Morrell has done him justice. And then some.

During this investigation, Scotland Yard detectives Ryan and Becker do the hard work while De Quincey is the ideas man. De Quincey was saying things about dreams and the subconscious (he even coined the word) many decades before Freud, so it is a definite battle of wills between this frail, brilliant, and odd little man and the detectives who are used to a more physical style of investigation. Ryan and Becker also have to get used to the bloomer-wearing Emily De Quincey who has been raised to think and speak for herself. As much as she shocks the two young men, she isn't the hindrance they're convinced she'd be. Quite the opposite in fact, and one of the pleasures of reading this book was watching the two men begin to admire her.  Is there a budding romance in Emily's future? And with which of the detectives will it be? This is only one of the many reasons why I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Morrell brought Victorian London to life, and the action sequences were excellent. (Any time I read an action sequence and become worried or frightened, I know it's good.)  We are treated to excerpts from Emily's diary throughout, and although these entries bring a needed break from tension, I have to admit that Emily's eye for detail had me wondering if she had a photographic memory.

Occasionally Morrell would change to a third person omniscient point of view to share facts about Victorian England that were important to the plot. As interesting as these passages were, I found that they took me out of the story, although I haven't got a clue how the author could've imparted this information in a less intrusive way.

With a hair-raising story, excellent action sequences, perfect period detail, and a marvelous cast of characters, I can't wait to get my hands on the next Thomas De Quincey book, Inspector of the Dead.
    

Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell

ISBN: 9780316216784

Mulholland Books © 2014

Paperback, 384 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Thomas de Quincey mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.