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Inspector of the Dead David Morrell Books

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Inspector of the Dead David Morrell Books

A good historical novel can both entertain and teach a reader. Author David Morrell's novel, "Inspector of the Dead" is the second in his "Thomas de Quincey/The Opium Eater" series. The first novel, "Murder as a Fine Art", was published in 2013. Readers of both books will learn a lot about the England in the 1850's. It's advisable to have Wikipedia near-by when reading Morrell's books; they can be learning experiences.

"Inspector of the Dead" follows "Murder as a Fine Art" by about two months. The same main characters from the first book are in the second, supplemented by both fictional and real characters. Thomas de Quincey - that real-life laudanum-saturated writer - along with his daughter, Emily, are still in London, after having solved previous crimes. They're grudgingly "put up" by Lord Palmerston at his house, along with the two Scotland Yard detectives, Ryan and Becker, who had been injured previously. One Sunday in 1855, the four attended services at St James's - the local Mayfair church - and were placed in Lord Palmerston's private pew. They witnessed a terribly bloody murder in the adjacent pew where a woman is found dead, with her throat cut. But Lady Cosgrove's murder is not the only one that day; several people at her home - including her husband - were found grievously murdered.

More murders occur and messages left on the bodies allude to "Young England", a group thought behind some assassination attempts of Queen Victoria in the early 1840's. Is someone trying to assassinate the Queen fifteen years later and what do the cries and pleadings of a young Irish boy trying to find help for his imprisoned mother and his sick father and sister in 1840 have to do with the current murder spree? And this is all against the backdrop of the badly-handled Crimean War and the falling apart of the Liberal government of Lord Aberdeen. In the crisis, Victoria is forced to ask Palmerston - whom she detests - to form a new government, and be on guard for her life.

David Morrell does not write "cozy" mysteries. Death is frequent and is never gentle. Those readers looking for a "pleasant diversion" will be sorely disappointed by "Inspector of the Dead". But readers looking for historical relevancy - in the criminal, political, and personal - and not afraid of a rising body count - will enjoy this book. I don't think its essential to have read "Murder as a Fine Art" first, but I'd suggest you do so. The characters of Thomas de Quincey and Emily are so interesting that having read the first book might be an advantage in reading the second one.


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Inspector of the Dead David Morrell Books Reviews

When I bought this, I was under the impression this was book one. I started it and felt like something was wrong; looking it up, it's now marked number two. I decided to read it anyway, even though I swear it was mismarked when I bought it. Even without the background knowledge of book one's content, I found this an adequate, interesting read. I did figure out who the avenging murder was, but I did doubt myself for a few minutes at one point. Due to content and subject matter, this is definately a dark mystery for adults. I found the afterword to be really intriguing. I'd like to read books one and three, but the$10 and $14 price tags are a bit too rich for me right now, because I have a big Fire reading slushpile. I had read _The Brotherhood of the Rose_, _The Fraternity of the Stone_, and _The Covenant of the Flame_ years ago when I was in junior high (they were my mom's and I had permission). Morrell writes good, intelligent adult fiction.
This is the second in FIRST BLOOD (Rambo) author David Morrell's Victorian mystery series blending fact and fiction that features Thomas de Quincey, an actual historical figure, his daughter Emily, and two Scotland Yard detectives. The first of the series, MURDER AS A FINE ART, was released in 2013, this second in 2015, and the final book of the series, RULER OF THE NIGHT, will be released in November, 2016.

Thomas de Quincey is very Google-able. He was an erudite man, friend of Wordsworth and Coleridge, author of many pages of writing, most now lost, but his most popular work is CONFESSIONS OF AN OPIUM EATER, which helped popularize Victorian "sensation" literature such as that written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET, etc.). De Quincey had a longtime addiction to opium and author David Morrell uses that aspect of him to posit that his laudanum use enhanced his wits against villains and also caused him to have a better understanding of the subconscious and the subliminal.

Aiding and abetting De Quincey in solving mysteries is his corset-shunning, bloomers-wearing daughter Emily and Scotland Yard inspectors Ryan and Becker. It's 1855 as this story begins with the rather spectacular murders of Lady and Lord Cosgrove and their household servants, with a message left behind indicating the murderer's deep dissatisfaction with the government and social order and a hint that an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria might possibly be in the works.

It's, of course, up to this intrepid quartet to figure it all out and there's gruesome murder galore along the way. The action is pretty much nonstop and the historical tidbits dropped along the way are interesting and informative. Also the inclusion of many real-life historical figures such as Lord Palmerston, journalist William Russell, Commissioner Mayne, Dr. John Snow, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert adds to the verisimilitude of the fictional story.

This isn't great literature and the writing is not excellent, although it is quite competent, but it is an entertaining and exciting read so I've given it a 4-star (I-like-it) rating within its historical mystery genre. To be a 5-star read in the genre it would have needed better character development, especially of De Quincey and Emily. I didn't see more insight into their characters in this Book Two than I'd already received in Book One. And one more aspect of the books I don't quite see as useful is the moments when the author breaks from 3rd-person POV to continue the story in Emily's 1st-person journal account. This alternation does not add anything to the story's flow but if you read the author's Afterword (and you should. It's quite informative) you'll see why he wanted to do it. Now as for whether this device was successful here, I'm not sure.

However, as I've said, this is an entertaining, interesting, and informative adventure and a good escape read. I'm looking forward to reading the series' conclusion in November.
A good historical novel can both entertain and teach a reader. Author David Morrell's novel, "Inspector of the Dead" is the second in his "Thomas de Quincey/The Opium Eater" series. The first novel, "Murder as a Fine Art", was published in 2013. Readers of both books will learn a lot about the England in the 1850's. It's advisable to have Wikipedia near-by when reading Morrell's books; they can be learning experiences.

"Inspector of the Dead" follows "Murder as a Fine Art" by about two months. The same main characters from the first book are in the second, supplemented by both fictional and real characters. Thomas de Quincey - that real-life laudanum-saturated writer - along with his daughter, Emily, are still in London, after having solved previous crimes. They're grudgingly "put up" by Lord Palmerston at his house, along with the two Scotland Yard detectives, Ryan and Becker, who had been injured previously. One Sunday in 1855, the four attended services at St James's - the local Mayfair church - and were placed in Lord Palmerston's private pew. They witnessed a terribly bloody murder in the adjacent pew where a woman is found dead, with her throat cut. But Lady Cosgrove's murder is not the only one that day; several people at her home - including her husband - were found grievously murdered.

More murders occur and messages left on the bodies allude to "Young England", a group thought behind some assassination attempts of Queen Victoria in the early 1840's. Is someone trying to assassinate the Queen fifteen years later and what do the cries and pleadings of a young Irish boy trying to find help for his imprisoned mother and his sick father and sister in 1840 have to do with the current murder spree? And this is all against the backdrop of the badly-handled Crimean War and the falling apart of the Liberal government of Lord Aberdeen. In the crisis, Victoria is forced to ask Palmerston - whom she detests - to form a new government, and be on guard for her life.

David Morrell does not write "cozy" mysteries. Death is frequent and is never gentle. Those readers looking for a "pleasant diversion" will be sorely disappointed by "Inspector of the Dead". But readers looking for historical relevancy - in the criminal, political, and personal - and not afraid of a rising body count - will enjoy this book. I don't think its essential to have read "Murder as a Fine Art" first, but I'd suggest you do so. The characters of Thomas de Quincey and Emily are so interesting that having read the first book might be an advantage in reading the second one.