The Queen of Bedlam

The Queen of Bedlam is book Number 2 in the excellent historical fiction thriller adventure Matthew Corbett series by Robert McCammon. It does not disappoint. Again set in Colonial America, as you would expect after reading Speaks the Nightbird, the historical attention to detail and the research that has gone into this is outstanding. The action has moved to a young and burgeoning New York this time with forays to a few surrounding cities. The protagonist, a young man of uncommon intelligence, is employed as a clerk to the magistrate to whom he was recommended by his first employer, magistrate, and father figure, from Book 1. His successful resolving of the dire situation in Book 1 has given him a slight reputation on which to build show more and advanced his position in life by just a touch. As always, he questions everything around him and is determined to find answers no matter what. And as always, this lands him and those who dare to become close to him in boat loads of trouble and danger.

Crime is starting to take root in the young City and the system of law and order is not at all prepared to meet the challenge Matthew observes. His bright, analytical mind has come up with a number of solutions and helpful suggestions that he advances at a local town meeting. His ideas are not welcomed by the incumbent constable and his underlings and sets them at odds with each other. As it turns out, Matthew is about to embark on a new career path. The magistrate he is employed with is moving away under somewhat mysterious circumstances and he recommends Matthew for a position with some former friends and colleagues of his in a different line of work. A line of work Matthew is only just finding out about but which fits him to a T.

The dark underbelly of the City is introduced to us as a gruesome serial killer is at work there. Three of the prominent citizens of New York have been mutilated and murdered and Matthew is determined to discover who the perpetrator of the crimes (deemed The Masker) is and why those three in particular were targeted. From there several different branches of storyline are fleshed out which when unraveled all seem to revolve around the same central origin, having to do with The Masker. One of these storylines plays out at Bedlam, a new type of psychiatric facility where we are introduced to the Queen of Bedlam, a wealthy aristocratic elderly woman with amnesia who has been placed there under very mysterious circumstances by someone going to great pains to hide her identity while keeping her safe and comfortable. Her doctors hire Matthew's new employer, The Herrald Agency, to discover her identity, as they think they can help her if they have this information. Matthew agrees to take on the job.

Another much darker situation is unfolding at a magnificent estate grounds far north of New York along the river.

Once again, Mr. McCammon has given us characters who jump off the page to join us in real life, they are so well created. What a master of his craft! The writing is superb. The multiple storylines are so well plotted out and weaved together.

There is violence and some scenes of sexual exploitation and perversion that were not my favorite, but acceptable in the dark realm that these stories enter in to. In fact, while I absolutely highly recommend this book and this series, I will admit it/they are not for the faint of heart. It enters into dark realms of human behaviour. But the plots and characters are absolutely riveting and worth navigating the course through the sometimes twisted, torturous human behaviours and emotions laid bare. In this story, Matthew is exposed to grave danger it seems he cannot escape from, along with a girl he has become friends with. We fully realize he must somehow escape as the series continues on. He refuses to let his romantic interests take hold because he knows his own life is and will be in peril and that the lives of those he becomes close to will be imperiled also. It would seem he's destined to be a loner on his quests. The ending is not fuzzy and warm but leaves us feeling satisfied, nonetheless. We accept the conditions Matthew's life must be lived under and can't wait to embark on the next adventure, wherever that will lead, while fearing for his life every step of the way as he is now a marked man by the vilest imaginable villains out to get him. show less

McCammon!! You make me want to smack my Grandma into a coma! In all forms of the word, you are badass! Once again, masterfully, you delivered another story of epic proportions. This one was a breath of fresh air, as I usually read multiple books at once, this one was paired with Stephen King’s, Cell. The horrendousness of that book only made this one all the better!

So as it is, The Queen of Bedlam lies in her personal asylum, drifting alone in her mental prison. But were she to speak from the depths, what a secret story she would tell! Thus, Mr. Matthew Corbett is at it again. He embarks on a trek to uncover the murders of three profound members of New York City. (Errr, well population 5,000 at the time) Now, I’m not talking about show more the Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick maker, but you get the drift. The night assassin makes quick work of cutting masks into their faces as well as slicing their throats. Which causes the denizens of New York to give the murderer his fitting moniker, The Masker. Here lies the mystery of who is The Masker, and why has he selected these specific targets selected for his nocturnal pleasures? Once again there is mystery, there is adventure and there are comedic moments. Matthew seems to always find trouble at his doorstep, and not only is it there, but it’s thundering loudly against his door with Thor’s hammer!

In this novel, Matthew moves another rung up the ladder and now begins working for the Herrald Agency. Further reeling me in and given me pause to wonder in the next novel will he indeed take on the characteristics of Sherlock Holmes himself? McCammon blends action and dialogue, history and fiction, and intrigue with mystery; throws them all in a bowl mixes them up and serves up the perfect tale of cordon bleu mystery stew! The only puzzling question I have now is at what tender age did Mr. McCammon sell his soul to the Devil for such talent, and if not his soul the purchasing price what was the cost? Cause’ I might be willing to get in on that! Anyway, as before Robert doesn’t fail to entertain and as always this novel ends on another moment of piqued interest in what sort of shenanigans will Mr. Corbett get himself into during his next adventure. show less

In this sequel to Speaks the Nightbird, McCammon offers such a breathtaking mix of suspense, historical fiction, and even sprinklings of horror, it's a bit breathtaking. As a character, Matthew Corbett is as real and flawed as he is entertaining, and it's wonderful to travel with him through the branches of this novel. More than in any of McCammon's other works, I found myself guessing as to how all of the threads could possibly come together, but of course they did. I read the last 200 pages of this one in one sitting--it was impossible to do otherwise--and the book has been a reminder of how entrancing McCammon's worlds are.

Absolutely recommended.

I was glad to see Robert McCammon return to Matthew Corbett and his circa 17th century novels. I’m both a fan of historical fiction and McCammon, who is one of my all time favorite writers, making his mark in the horror genre. Making it even better, I had a chance to meet McCammon, and he signed a copy of this book for me.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the other two Corbett books prior to this one, and The Queen of Bedlam did not disappoint. The prose is rich in this novel. The pacing worked out great. The character development and the array of characters was really strong. There were some very memorable characters, including the villains, which mostly consisted of some strange individuals. The backstory behind this when it got revealed was show more compelling. The elements of mystery were well done. There really wasn’t much that I can complain about, except that I thought there some parts that were perhaps a bit too long winded, and some of those sections could have been trimmed to make the novel better.

The novel concluded nicely. The final action sequence was strong, and it left itself open for additional novels in the future, as Corbett now has a job as a private detective and has made some really serious enemies. I look forward to reading more in the series.

Carl Alves - author of The Invocation show less

The second installment of the Matthew Corbett series takes the reader from the swampy, murderous outback of the Carolinas to the even murkier and shadowy colony of New York. Corbett, with more life and death experience under his belt finds himself once again facing murderers, thieves and tricksters on the not yet completely cobbled streets of New York. Now he seemingly has somewhat of a reputation which puts him not only the cross hairs of wrong doers but in touch with people wanting use his ability to solve problems for monetary gain. As in the previous novel the reader finds themselves surrounded by colorful characters and ambitious attitudes…some for revenge. Madhouses and maniacs abound.

Poor Matthew Corbett. Dude kinda can't get a break.

Having read the first two novels now, I think I have the basic outline of a Matthew Corbett adventure:

1 - Become embroiled in a mystery.
2 - Go against his authority figure to solve the mystery.
3 - Along the way, get handed some deeply encrypted clues.
4 - Watch the only person that could possibly decrypt them disappear.
5 - Meet a girl and develop a heavy crush.
6 - Defend that girl against some sort of clawed wildlife and end up getting rather mauled.
7 - Get raped while drugged.
8 - Solve the mystery and earn the grudging respect of the authority figure he'd previously defied.
9 - Walk away from the girl he has a crush on for no good reason.
10 - Somewhere in between all this, get beaten up show more at least once.

For all of that, I actually enjoyed this one more than the first. The pace was a bit more brisk, the historical facts piled on a little more judiciously. Even though he doesn't get along with animals and can only get laid when he's drugged, the little bugger's kinda growing on me.

I'll give him another shot. show less

Fucking LOVE this series. If you buy into the story and keep the faith, you will be rewarded with a storyline you never expected but 100% deserved. Clever, witty and full of continuously evolving, lovable and quirky characters!