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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
Jack the Ripper, late 1800’s London, and Torso Murders. This dark, chilling read is well done.
This story grows and ebbs as it follows Yard detectives. “Already frustrated in their attempts to capture serial murderer Jack the Ripper, the detectives of Scotland Yard are suddenly confronted with a new monster, dubbed the Torso Killer for his habit of leaving behind neatly wrapped parcels of his victims' body parts, minus the heads. With the terrible increase in mutilated corpses to examine, the highly regarded police surgeon Dr. Thomas Bond has lost the ability to sleep. True, a growing dependency on opium affords him some solace in his loneliest and most desperate hours, but he also fears the grip of the drug.”
I knew going in that it was a fictitious version of events that even have paranormal aspects to it. So, I wasn’t shocked by that. I liked the characters Pinborough created from the real ones. She got the gritty feel for a story such as these needed to be told in. However, she undoes some of her work by uneven pace and some quirky changes in perspective.
This book is very much worth the read, and I’m certain the next one will be even better.
This story grows and ebbs as it follows Yard detectives. “Already frustrated in their attempts to capture serial murderer Jack the Ripper, the detectives of Scotland Yard are suddenly confronted with a new monster, dubbed the Torso Killer for his habit of leaving behind neatly wrapped parcels of his victims' body parts, minus the heads. With the terrible increase in mutilated corpses to examine, the highly regarded police surgeon Dr. Thomas Bond has lost the ability to sleep. True, a growing dependency on opium affords him some solace in his loneliest and most desperate hours, but he also fears the grip of the drug.”
I knew going in that it was a fictitious version of events that even have paranormal aspects to it. So, I wasn’t shocked by that. I liked the characters Pinborough created from the real ones. She got the gritty feel for a story such as these needed to be told in. However, she undoes some of her work by uneven pace and some quirky changes in perspective.
This book is very much worth the read, and I’m certain the next one will be even better.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Murder
Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug abuse
I completely admit to being one of those people that's easily seduced by a beautiful and suggestive cover, and this cover is right up my alley.
Mayhem started out quite strong - interestingly enough, rather than another tired retelling of a Jack the Ripper story, Pinborough instead goes after the Thames Torso Murders which happened at the same time as Jack the Ripper but was overlooked because of the frenzy that surrounded the aforementioned serial killer. Employing changing narrators between the chapters, between differing central characters - including the killer himself - the book is quite evocative and does a great job in capturing the feeling of the time period and era, from the proper Victorian parlors to the seedy opium dens.
However, I think as the book continues on and the culprit is slowly revealed I think the book loses some of its steam and 'sexiness', somewhat, and I found myself just speed reading to the end, which was disappointing considering how well the novel started out. I'm not sure if this is partially my own shortcoming since I had just binge read through another 7 books in 6 days before this, but I really did feel like the tale fizzled out for me.
Despite that, however, I do think this is one of the stronger stories for me to take place in this time period. One that comes to mind as being far less successful is Dan Simmons' overly verbose [b:Drood|3222979|Drood|Dan Simmons|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344270075s/3222979.jpg|3257056], which I thought was a fantastic idea that wasn't really well actualized. Would recommend for fans of novels set in this era.
Mayhem started out quite strong - interestingly enough, rather than another tired retelling of a Jack the Ripper story, Pinborough instead goes after the Thames Torso Murders which happened at the same time as Jack the Ripper but was overlooked because of the frenzy that surrounded the aforementioned serial killer. Employing changing narrators between the chapters, between differing central characters - including the killer himself - the book is quite evocative and does a great job in capturing the feeling of the time period and era, from the proper Victorian parlors to the seedy opium dens.
However, I think as the book continues on and the culprit is slowly revealed I think the book loses some of its steam and 'sexiness', somewhat, and I found myself just speed reading to the end, which was disappointing considering how well the novel started out. I'm not sure if this is partially my own shortcoming since I had just binge read through another 7 books in 6 days before this, but I really did feel like the tale fizzled out for me.
Despite that, however, I do think this is one of the stronger stories for me to take place in this time period. One that comes to mind as being far less successful is Dan Simmons' overly verbose [b:Drood|3222979|Drood|Dan Simmons|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344270075s/3222979.jpg|3257056], which I thought was a fantastic idea that wasn't really well actualized. Would recommend for fans of novels set in this era.
Great blend of historical fiction and the supernatural.
There are certain authors who I have to be careful when I review their work not to get lost in hyperbole. In my generation of writers that doesn't happen often but Cody Goodfellow and Jeremy Robert Johnson are examples. They are not perfect but I tend to generally think the majority of their work rises to a very high level. Sarah Pinborough is quickly becoming one of those writers. This is only the fourth SP novel I've read and the first outside of the Dog-faced Gods trilogy, the first novel in that series is a rare time where a recent novel threatened to get into my top ten favorite horror novels.
I had been planning on exploring more SP novels and the clincher for reading this one was hearing a pretty nice mention of it by Brian Keene on his podcast. I don't even remember what he said but it sounded good enough I got to tracking it down.
Mayhem is a serial killer novel about (in part) the grand daddy of them all Jack the Ripper, but not just saucey Jack. I am not a ripper expert (although I have friends who are) and was not aware of the Thames Torso Killer. Another very different killer operating in the area at the same time. The main character of this novel is Thomas Bond, a real life surgeon who worked for Scotland yard investigating both of the murders.
Bond is a troubled man who is addicted to opium, this takes him to the Opium dens in the seedier sides of London. There his mind is exposed to something that leads him to a dark truth connecting the murders. Pinborough does a great job detailing history and getting the vibe of the era. The novel is historical horror that eventually gets supernatural.
If you are a total nerd for all things ripper than I could see why you might not like this novel. For one thing the Ripper is just a Maguffin, and not the focus of the novel. Second Pinbrough has to massage history a bit to tell her story. I don't think either complaint is valid. Far from an expert on the Ripper, I knew enough to see that the author was clever about making the book work on two levels. Experts on Ripper lore will get a totally different experience. The bottom line is this is a horror novel set against the back drop of the times.
I had been planning on exploring more SP novels and the clincher for reading this one was hearing a pretty nice mention of it by Brian Keene on his podcast. I don't even remember what he said but it sounded good enough I got to tracking it down.
Mayhem is a serial killer novel about (in part) the grand daddy of them all Jack the Ripper, but not just saucey Jack. I am not a ripper expert (although I have friends who are) and was not aware of the Thames Torso Killer. Another very different killer operating in the area at the same time. The main character of this novel is Thomas Bond, a real life surgeon who worked for Scotland yard investigating both of the murders.
Bond is a troubled man who is addicted to opium, this takes him to the Opium dens in the seedier sides of London. There his mind is exposed to something that leads him to a dark truth connecting the murders. Pinborough does a great job detailing history and getting the vibe of the era. The novel is historical horror that eventually gets supernatural.
If you are a total nerd for all things ripper than I could see why you might not like this novel. For one thing the Ripper is just a Maguffin, and not the focus of the novel. Second Pinbrough has to massage history a bit to tell her story. I don't think either complaint is valid. Far from an expert on the Ripper, I knew enough to see that the author was clever about making the book work on two levels. Experts on Ripper lore will get a totally different experience. The bottom line is this is a horror novel set against the back drop of the times.
For my review, check out Mayhem on All Things Urban Fantasy.
dark
tense
http://abitterdraft.blogspot.com/2013/07/review-mayhem-by-sarah-pinborough.html
Jo Fletcher Books is publisher to many good authors, including Tom Pollock, Snorri Kristjansson, and one Sarah Pinborough. Sarah is author to many dark stories, including her Dog Faced Gods horror series, as well as rewritten fairy tales, one being Poison (Snow White) and another being Beauty (Sleeping Beauty). I've yet to read any of her other work, so Mayhem was a first for me in a few ways. Prior to reading it, I hadn't really read any novels that could be categorized under mystery or crime; I'd read some with elements of each, but never something strictly one or the other.
Two things drew me to Mayhem. First, there was the cover - exceptionally elegant and very fitting of the 19th century tale that is told. Second, Jack the Ripper. If for some reason you are unaware of who he was, Jack was a serial killer in late 19th century London who targeted female prostitutes and murdered them in brutal ways. He killed at least five women, likely more, but get this - he was never caught. This anonymity led to widespread terror throughout the area for years to come. Mayhem is not a story of Jack, though, but one of a new killer, dubbed by some as The Thames Killer and as The Torso Killer by others. Though there are similarities between Jack's killings and those of the newcomer, primarily that they both target women, the protagonist, Dr. Thomas Bond, knows that there is indeed a second killer in the London slums who keeps his victims' heads as trophies.
Dr. Bond is a middle-aged man hired as a police surgeon to aid the police in investigating the killings of Jack, and after the limbs of a woman are recovered from the Thames river, he's forced to help track down two killers. Bond's life has become increasingly stressful and sleepless since he began the investigation, leading him to bouts of anxiety and an addiction to opium. Opium is his escape - when he can't sleep he heads to the dens to smoke some poppy and close his eyes, though he usually ends up having terrifying dreams brought on by the drug and his contact with the victims. Throughout Mayhem we see Bond fall into deeper and darker places, and his characterization and development are fantastic.
Alongside Dr. Bond, there are two characters who get a smaller amount of face-time - Inspector Henry Moore and a Polish refugee and hairdresser known as Aaron Kosminski. This is where Mayhem partially fell short for me. Dr. Bond's chapters are told in the first person, which is perfect for the premise of the story, and what I expected the entire story to be, whereas Inspector Moore and Aaron Kosminski's chapters are told in the third person. Although the insight from different characters was interesting - especially seeing their thoughts on Bond's drastic changes throughout the story - I felt that it disrupted the flow of the story and a little distracting. Maybe it was because I hadn't read a story that switched from first to third person throughout the tale before, but I think it could have been beneficial to commit to one or the other. Due to the nature of the story, though, it would not have been complete and the reader would be left wondering what was happening if Kosminski wasn't a point-of-view character.
Much of what you'll get out of Mayhem is dependent upon your expectations going in. Due to this being my first real crime novel, I had expected a fast-paced story where the investigation was always one step behind the killer until some sort of culmination at the end, and the initial chapter convinced me that's what I was getting. The first chapter was a dark and gripping recount of the Torso Killer's first murder. But after that, the pacing proceeded at an average pace, picking up at points where a new lead or a new victim is found. Despite this, Pinborough's elegant prose, as with the cover, perfectly fit the time of the story and created a sort of fog and feeling of claustrophobia around the darker areas of London. Now and then the story jumped ahead days, weeks, and even months and thus the reader can be left either okay with nothing happening in those intervals or wondering if the time frame could have been condensed to improve the pacing, though that may have thrown off the backdrop of Jack's murders, so take from that what you will.
Another strong aspect of Mayhem is Pinborough's use of news articles and police reports between occasional chapters. When there's a new victim, we're given a chance to read what the citizens of 1887-1889 London read and feel what they felt. Pinborough also shows her skill in writing in revealing the killer around halfway through the story and avoiding the cliché of his immediate capture, but without harming the pacing in any way.
Sarah Pinborough's Mayhem is a dark, elegantly written tale with some particularly gripping scenes and a well executed supernatural aspect that led to a solid, if not slightly rushed ending. There is a definite air of mystery throughout the story and even though it was not the story I expected, it was still an entertaining read and I am looking forward to the 'further adventures of Dr. Bond' in May 2015, when Sarah will be releasing Murder.
Jo Fletcher Books is publisher to many good authors, including Tom Pollock, Snorri Kristjansson, and one Sarah Pinborough. Sarah is author to many dark stories, including her Dog Faced Gods horror series, as well as rewritten fairy tales, one being Poison (Snow White) and another being Beauty (Sleeping Beauty). I've yet to read any of her other work, so Mayhem was a first for me in a few ways. Prior to reading it, I hadn't really read any novels that could be categorized under mystery or crime; I'd read some with elements of each, but never something strictly one or the other.
Two things drew me to Mayhem. First, there was the cover - exceptionally elegant and very fitting of the 19th century tale that is told. Second, Jack the Ripper. If for some reason you are unaware of who he was, Jack was a serial killer in late 19th century London who targeted female prostitutes and murdered them in brutal ways. He killed at least five women, likely more, but get this - he was never caught. This anonymity led to widespread terror throughout the area for years to come. Mayhem is not a story of Jack, though, but one of a new killer, dubbed by some as The Thames Killer and as The Torso Killer by others. Though there are similarities between Jack's killings and those of the newcomer, primarily that they both target women, the protagonist, Dr. Thomas Bond, knows that there is indeed a second killer in the London slums who keeps his victims' heads as trophies.
Dr. Bond is a middle-aged man hired as a police surgeon to aid the police in investigating the killings of Jack, and after the limbs of a woman are recovered from the Thames river, he's forced to help track down two killers. Bond's life has become increasingly stressful and sleepless since he began the investigation, leading him to bouts of anxiety and an addiction to opium. Opium is his escape - when he can't sleep he heads to the dens to smoke some poppy and close his eyes, though he usually ends up having terrifying dreams brought on by the drug and his contact with the victims. Throughout Mayhem we see Bond fall into deeper and darker places, and his characterization and development are fantastic.
Alongside Dr. Bond, there are two characters who get a smaller amount of face-time - Inspector Henry Moore and a Polish refugee and hairdresser known as Aaron Kosminski. This is where Mayhem partially fell short for me. Dr. Bond's chapters are told in the first person, which is perfect for the premise of the story, and what I expected the entire story to be, whereas Inspector Moore and Aaron Kosminski's chapters are told in the third person. Although the insight from different characters was interesting - especially seeing their thoughts on Bond's drastic changes throughout the story - I felt that it disrupted the flow of the story and a little distracting. Maybe it was because I hadn't read a story that switched from first to third person throughout the tale before, but I think it could have been beneficial to commit to one or the other. Due to the nature of the story, though, it would not have been complete and the reader would be left wondering what was happening if Kosminski wasn't a point-of-view character.
Much of what you'll get out of Mayhem is dependent upon your expectations going in. Due to this being my first real crime novel, I had expected a fast-paced story where the investigation was always one step behind the killer until some sort of culmination at the end, and the initial chapter convinced me that's what I was getting. The first chapter was a dark and gripping recount of the Torso Killer's first murder. But after that, the pacing proceeded at an average pace, picking up at points where a new lead or a new victim is found. Despite this, Pinborough's elegant prose, as with the cover, perfectly fit the time of the story and created a sort of fog and feeling of claustrophobia around the darker areas of London. Now and then the story jumped ahead days, weeks, and even months and thus the reader can be left either okay with nothing happening in those intervals or wondering if the time frame could have been condensed to improve the pacing, though that may have thrown off the backdrop of Jack's murders, so take from that what you will.
Another strong aspect of Mayhem is Pinborough's use of news articles and police reports between occasional chapters. When there's a new victim, we're given a chance to read what the citizens of 1887-1889 London read and feel what they felt. Pinborough also shows her skill in writing in revealing the killer around halfway through the story and avoiding the cliché of his immediate capture, but without harming the pacing in any way.
Sarah Pinborough's Mayhem is a dark, elegantly written tale with some particularly gripping scenes and a well executed supernatural aspect that led to a solid, if not slightly rushed ending. There is a definite air of mystery throughout the story and even though it was not the story I expected, it was still an entertaining read and I am looking forward to the 'further adventures of Dr. Bond' in May 2015, when Sarah will be releasing Murder.