Elizabeth Redfern

Fairly well done murder mystery set in London in 1795. Its most profound flaw is the choice to use an omnipotent narrative voice, which simply does not work in a mystery: if the narrator knows all, why is certain information being withheld from the reader? And the connection with the protagonist is lost when the reader is not looking at the clues from his point of view.

Set in 1795 London against the backdrop of the disastrous English-backed Royalist invasion of Revolutionary France, Elizabeth Redfern's first novel, The Music of the Spheres (2001) is a dark, rich tale of international espionage, astronomical observation, and diabolical murder. All three of those themes combine to create a very creepy literary thriller, best not read immediately before bedtime (which was, naturally, when I read most of it).

None of Redfern's characters are very likable (in show more fact they are to a person rather the opposite), but that only adds to the murkiness of the book. The author has, though, captured the essence of her time period and setting very well, and she's written a book which is sure to hold its reader's attention (even if it's only to find out what horrible thing happens next). The ending may be apparent somewhat in advance (it was for me), but even having guessed what was coming I had no idea how Redfern was going to get us there.

If you enjoyed The Alienist, or Instance of the Fingerpost, or The Interpretation of Murder, I'd recommend this one as well.

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The mystery kept me interested and engaged. The author has a nice style and knows how to interweave characters and historical events.
I found the sexual threads unnecessary and distracting. Why must so many of the characters be deviants? Why and how does Augustine wield so much power over so many? Nothing in the story leads me to a reasonable understanding of this.
This novel is ok. What makes me sad is that I think it is just steps away from being good. I doubt I would select another of her show more books. Time is an investment and this did not have enough of a payoff in my view. show less

A jack-the-ripper-flavored story, set in 18th-century London - but with
enough original elements to make it a more than worthwhile read.
Jonathan Absey is a government clerk whose career has not been going very
well since he went out on a limb to get his estranged brother a pardon for
homosexual acts - and it's gone from bad to worse as he becomes obsessed
with finding the killer of his daughter. Since the girl, also estranged,
was a prostitute at the time, he's officially discouraged from show more pursuing
the case... but when more and more women of his daughter's description
keep turning up dead, it's hard for him to concentrate on his offical
assignment: scouring the mails for signs of French espionage.
But both murders and spies seem to lead to a group of odd and enigmatic
astronomers, obsessed with finding a new planet that they call Selene.
Cover-ups, betrayals, madness, perversion and violence will ensue before
all is revealed in this dark and gripping mystery. show less