Under the Dragon's Tail

In the second of Jenning’s Detective Murdoch books, a midwife and abortionist in late 19th century Toronto is found dead by her foster sons. It soon comes to light that many of her clients have come from high-class society, and Dolly (the midwife) had a habit of getting every little penny that she could from her clients, even years after they have had need of her services – sometimes in the form of blackmail. Acting detective Murdoch is on the case, trying to find out exactly who murdered Dolly, and one of her foster sons who soon turns up dead as well.

I’m still new to the mystery genre, and I don’t know if I would really get into the genre if it wasn’t for Murdoch. I haven’t enjoyed any other mystery book quite as much as show more the ones in this series, I have to say. I find it unpredictable and thoroughly readable. The setting is so much fun – Victorian Toronto! – and the characters, oh! the characters. Love love love them all! Especially Murdoch himself.

Oh, Murdoch, how much do I love you? I don’t even know where to begin. You ballroom dance! You race bicycles. You are oh-so-smart. You feel guilty about being attracted to one of your fellow boarders, and it is so adorable. You are a practicing Catholic in a Very Protestant Toronto, and must go through so many struggles because of it. I do love you, and I think every book will make my love for you grow. In fact, I haven’t loved any fictional character this much since Horatio Hornblower and Lieutenant Bush.

As mentioned, I love that Murdoch is a very devout practicing Catholic in a very Protestant Toronto – it gives a bit of an insight to the struggle it must have been at that point in time, as well as how hard it must be to be a part of a minority group in the present time. And you can see how his beliefs have an impact on his daily life - especially when it comes to a fellow boarder that he seems to have a bit of a crush on. He believes he could never be with her because she isn’t Catholic, but he still likes her anyway (and it’s so cute - especially the part in the epilogue where he’s got women he finds attractive on both sides of him and he’s rather flustered).

I especially loved the interaction between Murdoch and Annie Brogan, a young stage performer who gets involved in the case. She’s a lot more outgoing and revealing than the women Murdoch is used to. It is quite amusing to see Annie go from being wary of Murdoch to trying to embarrass him constantly, and I would have loved to see more of her.

The Bottom Line: Definitely loved this book. Devoured it. Would highly recommend it, and I’m very much looking forward to reading the others in this series. show less

My wife got into a show called Murdoch Mysteries, a cozy Canadian mystery show that takes place in 1900. Then she got our kids into it (we have strange kids). So I often have to hear the dinner talk with the detective and coroner’s relationship, the lieutenant’s quest for a promotion, the gruff police chief’s drinking habits, etc. It’s a pretty good show if you like Castle or Monk or The Mentalist and so on. But it started as a book series, so I thought I’d check that out.

The book is quite different. Like you’ve probably gathered from other reviews, it’s grim and gritty, not shirking from the terrible dirty parts of living at the turn of the century–disease, child abuse, orphans, classism, lack of women’s rights, etc. show more Themes circle issues you can’t deal with on nice Canadian TV. For example, in the TV series, they’ve, through necessity of the cases (and the necessity of the writers probably) accidentally created things like the polygraph and night vision goggles and luminol. In the book, he’s struggling to stop from masturbating he’s an adult male Catholic.

I’m not sure people who like the series will like this, especially if they have delicate sensibilities (for example, this one has a lot of abortion and “promiscuous women” and child death). They are two different things–much like Song of Ice and Fire vs. Game of Thrones. Or Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories vs. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock. I liked it, but that’s because I can separate Book Murdoch from Television Murdoch.

However, I don’t think I’d read any other books in the series. It lacks what makes the TV show charming (Murdoch’s boyish curiosity, the strong female presence, the anachronistic plots like the “Wrestlemania” one). If I need grim and gritty detective novels, there are plenty of others I can go to. Frankly, I’m surprised whoever created this show found a kernel of what it became. But shrug. show less

Toronto police detective, William Murdoch, is called to investigate the sudden death of a woman with a shady past. Her two young foster sons claim to have seen and heard nothing during the night she died. Do they know more than they're revealing? The dead woman's deaf and mute daughter flees as soon as she spots the police. Was it from guilt or fear? Murdoch's investigation leads him to the wife of a prominent judge. What is her connection to the dead woman, and to a dance hall singer of questionable reputation?

This is the second book in a series set in Victorian Toronto. I liked the detective well enough in the first book to try another one in the series, but I don't think I'll be continuing with the series. Jennings overdoes it with show more the crude language, not-so-subtle innuendos, and descriptions of squalor. Murdoch's investigation didn't seem to be going anywhere, and the sudden conclusion of the case didn't seem to have much to do with Murdoch's work. I'm not sure who the target audience is for this series. A lot of cozy readers will be put off by the crude language and stomach-turning descriptions of corpses, surroundings, and personal hygiene of various characters. It seems to be below average as a police procedural, too. Not recommended. show less

It's not as much of a page-turner as the first book in the series, but it's still an enjoyable read. If you're looking for a very plot-driven police procedural, this isn't it, but if you're more interested in immersing yourself in 1890s Toronto, I think it is a worthwhile read. I found the ending too open-ended and just not enough closure for my preference (you do more or less find out who the murderer is; it's just not dealt with in the story directly), but I still enjoyed it - it was a good, easy read to get back into reading after exams and make use of the time I've spent visiting some relevant places in person.

This is the second book in the Murdoch Mysteries series, set in Toronto in the late 1800s, and featuring Detective William Murdoch. The series spawned three movie length television films, and a five (so far) season television show. The television show is one of my favourite programmes, and I was eager to read the books. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series, and this one is no disappointment either.

In this installment of the Murdoch Mysteries, a woman named Dolly Merishaw is found murdered in her home. Murdoch discovers that she was a former midwife, who provided a place for unwed mothers to have their children, as well as providing drugs to aid abortion, but that her mean and greedy nature caused a lot of anger and show more resentment among the women whom she ‘helped’. He quickly discovers that she is the victim of murder, and there are no shortage of suspects. However, when one of her young foster sons is also discovered dead a week later, he has no idea whether he is looking for one murderer or two. His investigation takes him to some surprising places, and he realises that a lot of people have secrets which they wish to remain hidden.

As with the first book, the story is pacey, and kept me guessing throughout. (There were clues to point the reader in the right direction, but Maureen Jenning is capable of throwing in some surprises as well!) I really like the character of Murdoch, although he is quite different from the Murdoch of the tv series. As portrayed in the book, he comes across as less sensitive and somewhat coarser. His faithful sidekick Constable Crabtree is as amiable and likeable as viewers of the show know him to be, although in the book, his physical description is very different, and he has a wife, whereas in the tv show, he is a bachelor. Brackenreid barely appears in the book, and is not a very likeable character when he does(!). This book gives the first mention of Doctor Julia Ogden – a main character in the tv show.

This particular book takes Murdoch through the upper and lower classes of Toronto, and I thought the portrayal of the city in the late 1800s was particularly evocative and enjoyable. Clearly, the author has researched her subject extensively.

Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable read, and would definitely recommend it, especially to fans of crime and/or historical fiction. show less

PLOT OR PREMISE:
Murdoch gets to investigate the death of Dolly Merishaw, a drunkard, a midwife, and an abortionist. She lived with two boys that she treated horribly, as well as a young woman who is also a little unbalanced. It doesn't take much for Murdoch to realize there was blackmail involved, the question being of who?
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WHAT I LIKED:
Murdoch's investigation is relatively straightforward, but the fun part is seeing him trying to figure out the morals of dating and ballroom dancing when he still grieves his fiancee's death. He's also training for a bicycle race. It's a good introduction of some supporting characters too.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The view of the young woman being unbalanced is far too simplistic and poorly show more portrayed.
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BOTTOM-LINE:
A good addition to the series, but not the best
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media. show less

3.9, I liked the ending almost enough to give it a 4. Also liked the reserved tone and the meting out of justice that the author accomplished. Not a deep story but diverting.