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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Extremely detailed. Jennings brings 1985 Toronto to life and populates it with interesting characters each with their own agendas. The descriptions, slang, and atmosphere combine to great effect.
Murdoch is a likeable and sympathetic detective, with his own flaws, insecurities, and ambitions (a relief after reading Poirot and Sherlock, both of whom are in awe of their own perfection lol). His relationships with other characters are genuine and add a bit of interest to his life outside of the case.
Recommended for readers of mystery and historical fiction. The twists should prove satisfying to even long time mystery readers, and the setting adds novelty.
Murdoch is a likeable and sympathetic detective, with his own flaws, insecurities, and ambitions (a relief after reading Poirot and Sherlock, both of whom are in awe of their own perfection lol). His relationships with other characters are genuine and add a bit of interest to his life outside of the case.
Recommended for readers of mystery and historical fiction. The twists should prove satisfying to even long time mystery readers, and the setting adds novelty.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism
Minor: Self harm, Religious bigotry
I read this book because we are watching the TV series on netflix. I liked the book. It is racier and more serious than the TV series. Victorian-era Toronto doesn't come across as a very pleasant place, at least in this first book. I liked the writing style and the characters.
Book #7 read in 2007
The language in the book was a little difficult to understand at first, but it got easier as I read. I liked the characters, and I thought the crimes were suspenseful. I will give another in this series a try.
The language in the book was a little difficult to understand at first, but it got easier as I read. I liked the characters, and I thought the crimes were suspenseful. I will give another in this series a try.
I really enjoyed this. Love that it takes place in Toronto, and that the narrator of the audiobook was able to do so many different accents from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, and Irish and Scottish.
The mystery itself was really interesting to read about because of the time this takes place (1895) and following Murdoch's line of thinking. You are really limited to what you can do with forensic science at this point so it's really your witts that will help you out here.
I also didn't expect Murdoch to be as snarky as he was. Pleasently surprised, might have to check out the show now!
2021 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge #21 - A Genre Hybrid (Historical Fiction/Mystery)
The mystery itself was really interesting to read about because of the time this takes place (1895) and following Murdoch's line of thinking. You are really limited to what you can do with forensic science at this point so it's really your witts that will help you out here.
I also didn't expect Murdoch to be as snarky as he was. Pleasently surprised, might have to check out the show now!
2021 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge #21 - A Genre Hybrid (Historical Fiction/Mystery)
Honestly, I'm a huge fan of the television series and was more than excited to find out that it had been based off of a book series. Really, who wouldn't be excited that something they adore was already a book; more bits that weren't in the show is what excites me.
The book was rather good, being set in 1895 Toronto and revolves mainly around Detective William Murdoch and his cases. I'm already a huge fan of things being set during this time period, and to find something set in Toronto was brilliant.
I only had occasional issues with the book--a few lines that I had to re-read before I either understood or finally gave up on, and a few bits were punctuation were missing (quotation marks, mostly). As much as those types of things bother the living hell out of me, the book was a good read over all.
I really hadn't guessed who the murderer of Alice Black and Theresa Laporte; the story had led me to believe it was one person and was a bit surprised to see that it was someone completely different who hadn't actually been talked about in the story until the last couple of chapters, really.
Overall, I liked it enough to read on with the series! :)
The book was rather good, being set in 1895 Toronto and revolves mainly around Detective William Murdoch and his cases. I'm already a huge fan of things being set during this time period, and to find something set in Toronto was brilliant.
I only had occasional issues with the book--a few lines that I had to re-read before I either understood or finally gave up on, and a few bits were punctuation were missing (quotation marks, mostly). As much as those types of things bother the living hell out of me, the book was a good read over all.
I really hadn't guessed who the murderer of Alice Black and Theresa Laporte; the story had led me to believe it was one person and was a bit surprised to see that it was someone completely different who hadn't actually been talked about in the story until the last couple of chapters, really.
Overall, I liked it enough to read on with the series! :)
As someone who loves mystery I absolutely loved this novel, but as a Canadian who lives near Toronto I loved it even more. The streets were described as they would have looked instead of how they do and this novel to me was half mystery and half a tribute to the city. It was painstakingly detailed in a breathtaking way and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
(Copy and pasted from my review on Goodreads)
This is the best-paced book I've ever read. I was halfway through before I knew it but it didn't feel like it was either too fast or too slow. I was hesitant about reading the rest of the series but I definitely will after fully reading this.
This book is also partially accurate to real life. A character mentions, the Queen, "but before the tragedy". The Queen at the time was Queen Victoria and the tragedy is her husband Arthur's death in 1861. The Queen became very secluded after that until her death in 1901. Several times in the books Murdoch mentions that the police stations have to house the homeless for the nights. I was curious if this was true or not and it turns out probably not. Homelessness was criminalized in Canada and the United States until 1972. The 150 page study I skimmed on homelessness from 1900-2000 didn't mention any such agreement between the police and the homeless. In fact the article mentioned severe abuse of power because of vagrant laws. Still the book does have some accuracy going for it.
Now for the negative things, first of all the book needed some trigger warnings. I expected murder of course but there were other things that could have been mentioned. (list of tws at the bottom). The cover of this book is the characters from the TV show which wouldn't be awful except that only Crabtree, Murdoch, and Brackenreid appear in the book and with the exception of Murdoch obviously they don't appear often. Why have a cover of mostly characters that don't or barely appear? Secondly, Murdoch who is otherwise an amazing detective takes the time to retrace someone's footsteps when he knows that there is a life in danger and that he may already be too late. Murdoch admits to a man that it's only natural to beat animals when things don't go your way but then only 2 or so pages later Murdoch sees a horse with bindings too tight and he says he, "hated to see animals treated like that." Which is it Murdoch? Lastly, there is no glossary what-so-ever. The book takes place in 1895 and the language differs greatly from what we use but the author doesn't care to tell you what any of these words mean. It leaves alot of unnecessary confusion. You had to research these words to write the book, yes? Why not include a simple glossary?
Trigger Warning List:Cutting/Self-Harm, Abuse of Mentally Disabled People, Murder, Rape, Racism (Characters call people "Half-Breed", "red Indian" and Murdoch implies that Native Americans aren't real men.), Animal Abuse (mentioned only), Death of Child) The only trigger I won't put a spoiler on is prostitution because I couldn't find a way to add it to the content warnings below. All others are in those warnings.
This is the best-paced book I've ever read. I was halfway through before I knew it but it didn't feel like it was either too fast or too slow. I was hesitant about reading the rest of the series but I definitely will after fully reading this.
This book is also partially accurate to real life. A character mentions, the Queen, "but before the tragedy". The Queen at the time was Queen Victoria and the tragedy is her husband Arthur's death in 1861. The Queen became very secluded after that until her death in 1901. Several times in the books Murdoch mentions that the police stations have to house the homeless for the nights. I was curious if this was true or not and it turns out probably not. Homelessness was criminalized in Canada and the United States until 1972. The 150 page study I skimmed on homelessness from 1900-2000 didn't mention any such agreement between the police and the homeless. In fact the article mentioned severe abuse of power because of vagrant laws. Still the book does have some accuracy going for it.
Now for the negative things, first of all the book needed some trigger warnings. I expected murder of course but there were other things that could have been mentioned. (list of tws at the bottom). The cover of this book is the characters from the TV show which wouldn't be awful except that only Crabtree, Murdoch, and Brackenreid appear in the book and with the exception of Murdoch obviously they don't appear often. Why have a cover of mostly characters that don't or barely appear? Secondly, Murdoch who is otherwise an amazing detective takes the time to retrace someone's footsteps when he knows that there is a life in danger and that he may already be too late. Murdoch admits to a man that it's only natural to beat animals when things don't go your way but then only 2 or so pages later Murdoch sees a horse with bindings too tight and he says he, "hated to see animals treated like that." Which is it Murdoch? Lastly, there is no glossary what-so-ever. The book takes place in 1895 and the language differs greatly from what we use but the author doesn't care to tell you what any of these words mean. It leaves alot of unnecessary confusion. You had to research these words to write the book, yes? Why not include a simple glossary?
Trigger Warning List:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse
I found this book once I began watching the television series, and although it was interesting, I expected it to move at the intense pace that the episodes did. The storyline was interesting, and the attention to detail was incredible, but for one, no motive was ever presented to why Therese died. Overall a captivating read.
The year is 1895. The body of a young woman is found on a cold February morning in Toronto. The corpse has been stripped nearly naked, everything of value taken. But it doesn't take Acting Detective William Murdoch of the Toronto Constabulary long to learn that the young woman is Therese LaPorte, a maid in the household of Dr. Cyril Rhodes. The coroner's report states that the girl, just sixteen, succumbed to the cold, but she had been injected with opium before her death, which doubtless led to her demise in the snow.
Murdoch follows a trail that leads from the stews of Toronto to its highest echelons of society in order to solve the murder of Therese LaPorte.
Except the Dying is the first of Maureen Jennings' Detective Murdoch mysteries, which I was fortunate enough to come across in a second-hand shop. I'm a fan of the television series starring Yannick Bisson and Helene Joy, and a very long time ago I read another in the series (before I'd ever heard of "Murdoch Mysteries"). I was interested to see where it all began. It's a skillful debut, well plotted and full of fully-realized characters, from Ettie and Alice, the two prostitutes who discover Therese's body, to Dorothea Rhodes, the doctor's wife.
I'll be reading more of these.
Murdoch follows a trail that leads from the stews of Toronto to its highest echelons of society in order to solve the murder of Therese LaPorte.
Except the Dying is the first of Maureen Jennings' Detective Murdoch mysteries, which I was fortunate enough to come across in a second-hand shop. I'm a fan of the television series starring Yannick Bisson and Helene Joy, and a very long time ago I read another in the series (before I'd ever heard of "Murdoch Mysteries"). I was interested to see where it all began. It's a skillful debut, well plotted and full of fully-realized characters, from Ettie and Alice, the two prostitutes who discover Therese's body, to Dorothea Rhodes, the doctor's wife.
I'll be reading more of these.