18th century murder mystery
On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE
Having just finished William Savage's The Code for Killing, I could read nothing else but another book by him, so started this one immediately! I loved it as much, if not more; whereas this author's other two 18th century Norfolk murder mysteries centre round the earnest young doctor Adam Bascom, this one's hero is the intriguing, charming man about town, Ashmole Fox, a different kettle of fish entirely.
The story is situated in Norwich, and portrays so well the different layers of society, from the upper echelons populated by Mr Foxe, to the underclasses, and illustrates that nothing changes when it comes to corruption and social pretensions. The mystery itself concerns the city's textile industry and that of rare books, which I found fascinating, aside from the plot itself, which is intricate and well thought out, with a clever outcome that I hadn't guessed.
One of the reasons I think this might be my favourite of this author's books so far (although there is not much between them), is that there is more description and creation of atmosphere; I really got the feeling of 18th century Norwich, from the coffee houses, to the dwellings of the well-to-do. Because it's a city I know quite well, this was of much interest to me.
The characterisation in this novel is terrific, as always, the dialogue subtle and witty ~ I adored Foxe and his associates. There is one character, an urchin messenger boy called Charlie Dillon, who I felt might benefit from more development in the future - I must agree with Foxe that he shows great promise :)
There is only one thing left to say: Mr Savage, hurry up and write me another book!
The Code for Killing by William Savage reviewed HERE
An Unlamented Death by William Savage reviewed HERE
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