Synopsis: Thomas De Quincey, infamous for his memoir Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, is the major suspect in a series of ferocious mass murders identical to ones that terrorized London forty-three years earlier.
The blueprint for the killings seems to be De Quincey's essay "On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts." Desperate to clear his name but crippled by opium addiction, De Quincey is aided by his devoted daughter Emily and a pair of determined Scotland Yard detectives.
In Murder as a Fine Art, David Morrell plucks De Quincey, Victorian London, and the Ratcliffe Highway murders from history. Fogbound streets become a battleground between a literary star and a brilliant murderer, whose lives are linked by secrets long buried but never forgotten.
My Thoughts: I loved this book! It is the perfect mix of historical fiction and murder mystery and is guaranteed to give you the creeps. I haven't read such a good mystery in a very long time and I enjoyed every last page.
I liked all of the characters in this book. They all were really interesting which doesn't always happen when there are a lot of main characters. Thomas De Quincey was such a noble character despite his issues and addiction; he seemed like such a truly good person who simply made bad life choices. You really couldn't dislike him and I liked him more and more as the story progressed.
The best character in this book was the murderer. I am not going to say to much about him except that he was so perfectly evil. His crimes were so planned out, violent and without mercy; it was almost scary to read about him. I loved that the author gave him such an elaborate backstory, explaining who he was and why he did the things he did. I also loved that I couldn't figure out who the murderer was until it was revealed in the story. There were very few hints given about who the killer might be and why he was committing his crimes so I had no clue who it would turn out to be and the surprise was so shocking!
Murder as a Fine Art was such a fast-paced story; once I got pulled in, I had to keep reading. The descriptions of London's darker side added to the creepy factor and it was just a great story overall. Honestly, I was surprised by how good this book was and am so glad I read it! 4 stars.
About the Author:
David
Morrell is a Canadian novelist from Kitchener, Ontario, who has been
living in the United States for a number of years. He is best known for
his debut 1972 novel First Blood, which would later become a successful
film franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. More recently, he has been
writing the Captain America comic books limited-series The Chosen.
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"The best character in this book was the murderer. I am not going to say to much about him except that he was so perfectly evil. His crimes were so planned out, violent and without mercy; it was almost scary to read about him."
ReplyDeleteI thought so too!! Best murderer I've read about in a long time!! Enjoyed your review!