Checkmate

What a layered and complex drama! . . .and how strange it seems, objectively, how little a murder committed very nearly on the page early on features in the following twists and turns, almost as though quite fallen out of mind of those affected by the investigation. Within the narrative, however, it is quite sensible how the focus turns to other things, more pressing and immediate, and how well wrapped up even more disparate threads eventually became all together by the end - and for such a slow-paced novel, how rapidly that very last peak of drama seemed to occur.

Sometimes I read a book like this and wonder how it can have been so thoroughly forgotten ... and sometimes I read one and think there's a pretty good reason not many people read it. This was one from the latter category. Unless you're a very committed le Fanu fan, this one's probably safely skipped.

Checkmate is the story of a disfigured man and his unknown past, and how he comes to involve himself with a prominent family. Set in Victorian England, the story moves along quickly and comes to resolution only at the very last.

A most excellent novel in the gothic tradition; Le Fanu is one of my favorite writers of all time. Recommended