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A review by paulmoore
The Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon
medium-paced
4.5
The Queen of Bedlam is the second outing of the character Matthew Corbett created by the endlessly talented Robert R. McCammon.
But was it as good as the first?
Well yes, And no.
Matthew Corbett is a man of many talents and in The Queen of Bedlam, we see him further flourish as not only a man (An awkward one at that) but in his attributes as a smart and decent man. This is essentially a murder mystery and we see Matthew Corbett hone his investigation skills (and invent the term 'Detective' at one point) as he goes about trying to unmask a killer stalking the streets of New York City dubbed 'The Masker'. Corbett is personally invested in this killing spree when his sense of justice overlaps with that of the killer. But Corbett being the man he is must still see justice served.
At times this book felt like I was playing an RPG as Corbett seems to stack up jobs here and there along the way of his main investigation. No bad thing at all as McCammon writes so beautifully I would read anything set in this universe he just builds right in front of you.
The first book in the series blew me away. For someone that doesn't like historical fiction, I was drawn into that book and read it in a matter of days. This second instalment however didn't have the same level of interest in the setting even though early days New York was what made me look forward to jumping right into this one!
The Queen of Bedlam is a worthy instalment in this series and only slightly misses the heights of the first book due to the setting not being as original (to me) as the first.
Still a great read from start to finish and highly recommended to readers of all genres.
But was it as good as the first?
Well yes, And no.
Matthew Corbett is a man of many talents and in The Queen of Bedlam, we see him further flourish as not only a man (An awkward one at that) but in his attributes as a smart and decent man. This is essentially a murder mystery and we see Matthew Corbett hone his investigation skills (and invent the term 'Detective' at one point) as he goes about trying to unmask a killer stalking the streets of New York City dubbed 'The Masker'. Corbett is personally invested in this killing spree when his sense of justice overlaps with that of the killer. But Corbett being the man he is must still see justice served.
At times this book felt like I was playing an RPG as Corbett seems to stack up jobs here and there along the way of his main investigation. No bad thing at all as McCammon writes so beautifully I would read anything set in this universe he just builds right in front of you.
The first book in the series blew me away. For someone that doesn't like historical fiction, I was drawn into that book and read it in a matter of days. This second instalment however didn't have the same level of interest in the setting even though early days New York was what made me look forward to jumping right into this one!
The Queen of Bedlam is a worthy instalment in this series and only slightly misses the heights of the first book due to the setting not being as original (to me) as the first.
Still a great read from start to finish and highly recommended to readers of all genres.