The Lamplighter (original 2003; edition 2004)

It's Victorian Edinburgh and several well-known people in the area are dying. Inspector Carus Groves is assigned to the case and is hoping that this will prove what he sees as his superior investigative powers. He's baffled by the power of the murderer. He enlists the aid of Thomas McKnight a Professor of Logic and Metaphysics to help.

Evelyn Todd claims to have dreams of this and the questions start.

It's strange and surreal story and I did find it interesting. The descriptions of Edinburgh rang true and felt real, however the story didn't really work for me. ( )

I read this in one sitting, unable to put it down once I'd started. This was quite different than anything you'll read again, and sort of reminded me of The Testament of Gideon Mack. (If you haven't read that one, run, do not walk to your local bookstore and pick it up).

Anyway, it is a difficult book to review, but I'll give it a go.

Set in Edinburgh, during the reign of Queen Victoria, a group of highly-respected citizens are being killed off. The cases are being investigated on two fronts: first, by Professor Thomas McKnight of the University of Edinburgh and his friend Joseph Canavan, a cemetery caretaker; second, by the city police's Acting Chief Inspector Carus Groves. Groves spends much time considering how the actions he takes will be set down in his personal memoirs -- and I'm not sure why, but it seems like the author is poking fun at Groves' character and isn't sure whether he's a bumbler who lucks into things or a detective who's hot on the trail. Nevertheless, to get back to where I'm going, whoever is killing these people is capable of superhuman strength, but the only lead the police have is a young girl who works in a book shop named Evelyn. Evelyn, it seems, knows that the killings are happening because she dreams about them. She tells police that the culprit is someone named Leerie, who is a lamplighter, but she is written off as a crank. Basic outline of story. From there, the author delves into the realm of what I'd label fantasy cloaked in the mysterious and dark underpinnings of a gothic novel.

I spent a LOT of time after finishing the novel trying to understand exactly what the author had in mind here and came to my own conclusions. It wasn't easy. Be open minded as you read it.

So: the question is, into which category do I lump this book? Psychological suspense? Yes. Supernatural, yes. Gothic? Most definitely. Mystery, yes, but not your average historical mystery. It sort of rises above genre, if you want my opinion.

I can recommend it to people who don't mind supernatural tone in their novels; I can also recommend it to those who enjoy the realm of fantasy. As a mystery, it's so-so, but overall, a very good (but challenging) read. ( )

I'm not sure if O'Neill's concept was original overall but it was original to me. Never read a story quite like it. You feel sorry for Evelyn and her predicament. You feel contempt for Carus Groves, who seems to figure out the villain despite his arrogance. Thomas and Joseph are the ones I ended up rooting for. They seemed to have a handle on things (for good reason).
This book takes a look into the mind and what it will do to preserve itself.
It took me awhile to get through it, not that I didn't understand it, I've just become so used to romance (serial) books, reading a real book threw me off a little. ( )