mitchk 's review for:

The Wicked Boy: An Infamous Murder in Victorian London by Kate Summerscale

4.0

dark informative mysterious fast-paced

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The case of a young boy killing his mother in Victorian England is examined with forensic detail. Summerscale is an amazing researcher - and uses recorded facts to lay out the crime, the aftermath and society's response. I appreciate the fact there is no filling in the gaps of what isn't recorded fact.The book runs at a fast pace - connecting together the events in what feels like real time. That does leave the story rather cold - Summerscale doesn't project or speculate - but neither does she suggest or bring in hindsight, so the telling, whilst compelling, can feel rather clinical.