Murder

I was excited to read this and Pinborough did not disappoint. I loved that it is written around the infamous Jack the Ripper and Thames torso murders. Factual cases and legit historical elements make up the heart of this story. Pinborough displays incredible investigative research, about not only the murders that took place, but the environment, city, people, issues, etc for the period in which this is set. The fictional elements and characters Pinborough added, blended seamlessly with the reality to create a wonderfully frightening story.

This sequel is just as delightful as the first and reads as a singular story, so this review will serve for both.

I highly recommend this duo, Mayhem and Murder, for anyone who loves this genre, show more especially those fond of historical reads. show less

If Mayhem was a solid supernatural take on Jack the Ripper, Murder is an outstanding psychological horror novel that deepens the mythology of the monster and carries it to its logical (and unthinkable) conclusion. (I keep calling this a horror novel; it's really closer to a psychological thriller that happens to have a supernatural monster in it.)

A big complaint in genre fiction these days is that everything is a series. I know I myself have moaned about series burnout on more than a few occasions and expressed a desire to see more stand-alones. However! Every once in a while the news of an unexpected sequel will make me jump up and down for joy! This is most definitely one of those times.

Murder can be viewed as the follow-up to Mayhem, the chilling paranormal horror novel by Sarah Pinborough that was published last year from Jo Fletcher Books. Sort-of-but-not-really about Jack the Ripper, the clever combination of historical fact and fiction intermixed with supernatural elements quickly made the first book one of my all-time favorites.

I should probably mention too that Mayhem show more works perfectly well as a stand-alone, but I was also thrilled when I found out about Murder, for reasons beyond simply loving its forerunner. Sarah Pinborough clearly had a lot more in store for Dr. Thomas Bond, the protagonist in these books. The real Dr. Thomas Bond was also a very important figure in British crime history, best known for his work as the police surgeon on a lot of the Whitechapel murder investigations between 1887-1891. I’ve always believed that the best horror stories are rooted in reality, and being aware that Bond’s career and later years also contained a lot of shocking turns made me really excited to see what the author would do next.

Once again, Sarah Pinborough succeeds in bringing life and depth to her characters, several of whom were real people from history. A lot of the gruesome events described in this novel also actually happened, even the line in the description about bodies of children being pulled from the Thames (see the Victorian England baby farm murders). Pinborough flawlessly weaves a supernatural aspect into the story, but even then things can sometimes get too real. I think that’s why historical horrors are often so effective at terrifying me!

So now I’ll try my best to explain why I simply adored this book without giving away any spoilers for Mayhem: First, I love how these books aren’t about any one killer or murder case. Rather, all that serves as a backdrop, whereas the main focus is on something a lot more otherworldly and evil. Malevolence has settled upon London, and Dr. Thomas Bond is inextricably linked to it; try as he might, he can’t escape the pull of the past. Because of this, Bond becomes an increasingly unreliable narrator, and having been familiar with his steadfast pragmatism up until this point only makes his downward spiral even more disconcerting. Like Mayhem, Bond’s chapters are the only ones written in the first person, while others are in the third person. This point-of-view switching allows us see a fuller picture, and works even better in this book since our main protagonist’s credibility has been compromised.

Ms. Pinborough also doesn’t hold anything back. Despite the kind of character Bond becomes, I felt for him; I really did. But the author knows what needs to happen, and carries it all through mercilessly. And it honestly made for a better book. There were some truly unexpected turns in the plot; sometimes I couldn’t even believe it. You’ll be appalled and filled with hatred. Your heart will break. And you’ll also marvel at the amazing things the author accomplishea with character development.

This book was just so good. Dark, disturbing, and full of tension -- just the way I like my horror. It was not a fast-paced book, and yet the story had this way of worming into my mind. This is definitely the kind of book that makes you think about it even when you’re not reading, and hope that it won’t be long until you can pick it up again. show less

If Mayhem, the previous book in this fascinating series, had its roots in the darkness generated by human wickedness and by supernatural forces, Murder stands mostly on the horror of a soul headed on a downward spiral to Hell. For this very reason it's more terrifying than its predecessor, even though the gorier elements are kept to a minimum: the hopelessness and unavoidable evil permeating the pages are far worse than the trail of body parts that was the focus of Mayehm, or the number of little children's bodies that are fished out of the Thames here.

FULL REVIEW AT my link text">SPACE AND SORCERY BLOG

“Dr. Thomas Bond, Police Surgeon, is still recovering from the event of the previous year when Jack the Ripper haunted the streets of London - and a more malign enemy hid in his shadow. Bond and the others who worked on the gruesome case are still stalked by its legacies, both psychological and tangible. But now the bodies of children are being pulled from the Thames... and Bond is about to become inextricably linked with an uncanny, undying enemy.”

Pinborough has done it again and with a completely different English murder mystery. The Baby Farm Murders isn’t a highly acclaimed murder mystery like Jack the Ripper or others from that time, but Sarah found it. Then, she worked her horror/paranormal magic on it, and viola. I was show more prepared for the switching of narrative styles in this book, which put some off in the other. I have even grown to appreciate what this can show about the world and plot. Reading through Dr. Bond as he spirals gave the story a good edge. I liked the vampire/non-vampire and loved how Sarah’s unique twists gave the story a paranormal feel without the tired and overused stereotypes. The only common things Sarah did induce was a love triangle. And although it did take away from the overall story (in my opinion), it was still a great read. show less

Dr Thomas Bond, Police Surgeon, thinks he has finally recovered from the terrible events of years before. He no longer has nightmares about Jack the Ripper - or the other monster, an enemy even more malign who hid in Jack's shadow and haunted the streets of London at the end of the 1880s. He had made his peace with his part in bringing calm back to the East End. His fame as a profiler of criminals is increasing, his practice is steady, and Dr Bond is beginning to dream of marriage, and children. Life is good. But when a woman's body is found brutally beaten to death in a railway carriage and a letter written years before is discovered by the police, the past he has fought so hard to put behind him begins to taint the present, and he can show more no longer fight his new suspicions. Just when he thought life had returned to normal, Dr Bond is about to discover that some things will not remain buried: once again his uncanny enemy is loose on the streets of London... and this time Dr Bond is alone.

Gruesome, grim, gripping book, you would read through your fingers (if you could). Excellent sense of time and place coupled with sublime storytelling makes for an exciting, if unnerving read.... show less

Dr. Thomas Bond, Police Surgeon is back in Murder the sequel to Mayhem. It's been years since Jack the Ripper and The Torso Killer roamed, but now something evil is back in London. Dead bodies of children are being pulled from the Thames, could the Upir be back?

I like how Sarah Pinborough uses a combination of fantasy and real events and persons in her books Mayhem and Murder to tell a story. The Upir is an interesting creation and I like that it's a vampire, but still quite different. Vampires have become too popular in my opinion and that has made them quite boring to read about.

The story in this book takes place a couple of years after the first book and Dr. Thomas Bond is back, but he is still haunted by the memories of what show more happened years before when Jack the Ripper and the Torso Killer roamed the city. But now something is stirring in the city, there are dead children being pulled out of the river Themes is the evil back, didn't the priest manage to get rid of the Upir when they took care of the Torso Killer in Mayhem?

It was an interesting book to read, but not totally engrossing for me, I had some trouble getting really invested in the story and the love triangle made it not easier. The rivalry between men over a woman can be interesting, but, in this case, the outcome was not that surprising and even though it was a logical part of the story I just didn't care for it so much. The book did manage to make some surprisingly turns even though I did guess the outcome right in the end and it was a perfect ending to a setup for a third book!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! show less