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kellyvandamme's review
3.0
If the Victorian Age is your favourite era and Jack the Ripper your favourite villain, if you like your reads dark, gothic, gory and with a few litres of blood and many pounds of flesh, then this is the novel for you.
This is a multi-layered, mind-bending story. Paul Holbrook has a beautiful writing style, almost poetic at times, but without reverting to any kind of purple prose. Despite the blood and gore, there are no cheap thrills in this novel; there’s a purpose behind every gruesome detail.
Our main character, Sam Weaver, definitely has some psychopathic tendencies and it was fun discovering what lies beneath his charming exterior. We discover Sam’s past through flashbacks and I found those confusing at times, although that probably says more about me than about the book, since few of the other Pigeonhole readers seemed to have that problem. I, however, prefer flashbacks neatly announced by a Then or a Before, or marked by a different font.
Although interested in Sam’s story, I failed to connect with him, which is why I liked this novel, but didn’t love it, I was never fully invested, never completely immersed. I’d love to tell why that is, and I’ll let you know once I figure it out myself, because I can’t for the life of me put my finger on it (and believe me, I tried). I can tell you this though: I Loved (yes, capital L) the ending, the finale was awesome!
So if you’re on the fence about this one, I’d urge you to give it a try. Chances are you won’t regret it.
Thanks to The Pigeonhole and Unbound Digital for giving me the opportunity to read this.
This is a multi-layered, mind-bending story. Paul Holbrook has a beautiful writing style, almost poetic at times, but without reverting to any kind of purple prose. Despite the blood and gore, there are no cheap thrills in this novel; there’s a purpose behind every gruesome detail.
Our main character, Sam Weaver, definitely has some psychopathic tendencies and it was fun discovering what lies beneath his charming exterior. We discover Sam’s past through flashbacks and I found those confusing at times, although that probably says more about me than about the book, since few of the other Pigeonhole readers seemed to have that problem. I, however, prefer flashbacks neatly announced by a Then or a Before, or marked by a different font.
Although interested in Sam’s story, I failed to connect with him, which is why I liked this novel, but didn’t love it, I was never fully invested, never completely immersed. I’d love to tell why that is, and I’ll let you know once I figure it out myself, because I can’t for the life of me put my finger on it (and believe me, I tried). I can tell you this though: I Loved (yes, capital L) the ending, the finale was awesome!
So if you’re on the fence about this one, I’d urge you to give it a try. Chances are you won’t regret it.
Thanks to The Pigeonhole and Unbound Digital for giving me the opportunity to read this.
zooloo1983's review
5.0
I have finished this book!! I am so happy! I say this because I started reading this book on Pigeonhole and I fell behind and I could not keep up. So the despair started because I was really enjoying this book and I could not keep up and I was worried it would be archived and as I had it outstanding since November….but I finished it!
WOW! that was a journey I was not expecting. It has the occult, mystery, ghouls and set in a time where there is a nod to Jack the Ripper!
It was fun reading this along with other people all over the world everyone with their own take on different passages and quotes that it gave a new insight into the book. Things that you may not have noticed as you were picking up on different things.
Samuel Weaver is a tabloid illustrator in London for a local paper, a most grisly job if it is murder you are covering! Which he seems to do a lot! As we delve further into each stave, each with a different cliffhanger and you question who you can trust and who, in fact, is actually likeable in this book…answer well no one really!
The gore in this is quite graphic but also so well done (don’t eat breakfast when reading it!) and the story of Samuel Weaver is the most intriguing one as he is investigating gruesome murders that have been linked to the infamous murderer Sibelius Darke, this man has been compared to (the legendary) Jack the Ripper and who is very dead!
What is going on? Who is behind it?
The story has been executed perfectly (probably not the best word to use here considering the executions carried out in the book!!). The gore was spot on, the story flowed constantly at a fast-paced, and the mystical was just fantastic and so fitting for the period. You can tell so much research has carried out in this book, just the little details and the descriptive words used had you feeling you had been transported back in time and living and breathing the moments with each character.
You would find that you read at such a pace because you had to know what would happen. Would Samuel escape unscathed? Would any of us? We race through the present, thrown back into the past and see a glimpse of the future. It is such an exciting book and it was hard reading it stave by stave because you had to wait until the next day for the instalment. All adding to the anticipation and building up the tension which just added to the reading experience and it allowed you to savour the book.
There are shocks galore to be had, but it is so worth it.
I loved Mr Holbrook’s writing, and I loved that he interacted with everyone when we were reading it on Pigeonhole! Even when he was getting shouted at for different things which were quite amusing. It made the experience so much more enjoyable. This is a follow on from Memento Mori which is the story of Sibelius Darke, which is currently on Kindle Unlimited so yes this is the first book I got for the year is this one!!
One thing I loved was learning this story is not over by a long shot! I can not wait for the next book to be written and published because Mr Weaver has a lot more to tell me. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone!
urbansapphire's review
4.0
I read this book using The Pigeonhole App which is a collaborative reading platform that divides a book up into balanced chunks or 'staves' and releases one a day until the book is complete. Usually they're around 30-45 minutes long each and so for those who struggle to make time for themselves, it can make finding the time to read a little easier. One of the best parts of the app though is that you can comment on the stave, and individual parts of the book as you go along, and read and reply to other readers comments too. Sometimes, as in this case, the author tags along to answer questions and reply to your comments, which adds a little something to an already innovative and fun experience.
Onto the book - Domini Mortum is a (very) gruesome murder mystery set in Victorian London and York, and centres around our protagonist, Samuel Weaver. Samuel is a character of contradiction - a terribly arrogant and self-focused young man, he is either chronically unlucky, or a potential serial killer, and even having finished the book I'm not quite sure which category he falls into. The Victorian equivalent of a crime-scene photographer, Samuel gets some kind of thrill from sketching the horrendous murder scenes he finds himself standing alongside. To give you a clue as to his character type, he's obsessed with Sibilius Darke, a long-dead serial killer and member of the Dolorian Club, and alongside his crime-scene work, which has recently taken a surprising turn for the even more ghoulish and confusing, Samuel sets off on his own little project - to track down more information about Darke and feed his obsession.
A gothic horror that touches on Finnish mythology and ritualistic activity, this novel has a strong supernatural edge, and follows on from Holbrook's previous novel, Memento Mori. I haven't yet read Momento Mori and although there were characters revisited, and a few small parts of the book that I think tipped a hat to events in the previous novel, it didn't have any dependencies that caused me confusion.
If you're squeamish, this is not the book for you. If you can't suspend disbelief, and don't believe in the supernatural, this probably isn't the book for you either. However if you want a good Victorian gothic horror, with strong characters that leave a nasty taste in your mouth, then this might just be the book to keep you company as the nights draw in…just remember to keep the light on!
3.5
Onto the book - Domini Mortum is a (very) gruesome murder mystery set in Victorian London and York, and centres around our protagonist, Samuel Weaver. Samuel is a character of contradiction - a terribly arrogant and self-focused young man, he is either chronically unlucky, or a potential serial killer, and even having finished the book I'm not quite sure which category he falls into. The Victorian equivalent of a crime-scene photographer, Samuel gets some kind of thrill from sketching the horrendous murder scenes he finds himself standing alongside. To give you a clue as to his character type, he's obsessed with Sibilius Darke, a long-dead serial killer and member of the Dolorian Club, and alongside his crime-scene work, which has recently taken a surprising turn for the even more ghoulish and confusing, Samuel sets off on his own little project - to track down more information about Darke and feed his obsession.
A gothic horror that touches on Finnish mythology and ritualistic activity, this novel has a strong supernatural edge, and follows on from Holbrook's previous novel, Memento Mori. I haven't yet read Momento Mori and although there were characters revisited, and a few small parts of the book that I think tipped a hat to events in the previous novel, it didn't have any dependencies that caused me confusion.
If you're squeamish, this is not the book for you. If you can't suspend disbelief, and don't believe in the supernatural, this probably isn't the book for you either. However if you want a good Victorian gothic horror, with strong characters that leave a nasty taste in your mouth, then this might just be the book to keep you company as the nights draw in…just remember to keep the light on!
3.5
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