A Victorian mystery that gets many of the day to day details of life right, if you overlook the character of DeQuincy’s daughter. A bit Grand Guignol for my taste, but it kept my interest ( )

This review originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbook.com.

Once again author David Morrell has produced a winner. INSPECTOR OF THE DEAD has the wonderfully grim De Quincey as a main character, wintry Victorian England as a backdrop, and a plot full of double and triple crosses that will delight and confound the reader.

I’ll admit, this book started off slow. Truly slow. Morrell’s writing style took a bit to get used to–but as I progressed I noticed his sly use of sarcasm in the dialogue, the fatalistic attitude of De Quincey (which endeared me to the character quickly; no overly macho man here), and the on-point description of gaslight England, down to the terrors lurking in the Seven Dials district.

More on the style of writing: Morrell uses the third party omniscient narrator for the bulk of the book–but includes a first person narrative under the guise of De Quincey’s daughter Emily’s journal. There are also flashbacks contributing to the unsettling way the story is told. As you get drawn into the plot, it gets easier to roll with the narration switches and flashbacks.

The plot is taken from true events and embellished. Wherever he goes, De Quincey is simultaneously self deprecating and larger than life, openly drinking from his omnipresent laudanum bottle and quoting Emmanuel Kant. Emily keeps him quietly in check most of the time, but there are instances where the Opium-Eater runs off at the mouth, confounding his audience. Some of the best dialogue came from De Quincey’s talks with Lord Palmerston, the British statesman who becomes Prime Minister. Morrell also captures the class differences quite well, contrasting the stiff upper lips of Mayfair with the street urchins of the London slums.

INSPECTOR OF THE DEAD was such a joy, it made me want to read the first De Quincey book, MURDER AS A FINE ART. When I finally get to it, I’m sure I’ll be delighted.



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I enjoyed the first book in this series more than this one. While lauding the writer’s impeccable research (in some ways, the afterword excited my imagination more than the novel) some portions of the tale grated on me, and the ending dragged. I am fascinated by the setting and era, but won’t continue with the third book. Well done and likely enjoyed by most readers, just not me. ( )

In 1855 the Crimean War is continuing and the British government has collapsed. But the De Quincey's with their police friends - detectives Ryan and Becker - are faced with a killer of the upper levels of society. With each corpse he leaves the name of a person who had previously attempted to assassinate the Queen.
Really enjoyed with very well-written mystery with great characters. ( )

My favorite historical mystery series and it keeps getting better. Seriously, this series demonstrates how a historical mystery should be done. You drop down a rabbit hole and wander around in the damp dangerous world of Victorian England. The amount of research Mr. Morrell must have done is staggering, yet he weaves the historical elements and the lives of real people seamlessly into a breathtaking mystery thriller without sparing one ounce of tension.

Several times along the way I found myself stopping to delve into the historical story lines because Morrell made them so interesting.

Please, someone make this into a movie or, better yet, a series.

5 stars. 6 stars. However many—just read it. ( )