Gideon is sergeant to Cutter’s police inspector in late Victorian London. They attend a grisly and mystifying murder scene, the first of several, and proceed to investigate although not necessarily by the book. Cutter is impatient with Gideon, still fairly new to the police force having first pursued a theology degree, and has little respect for him. We are also introduced to a female journalist / archivist who is in a relationship with another woman (something that didn’t exist as far as Queen Victoria was concerned!) and she becomes an integral part of the plot solving process.

The premise is preposterous, the characters are like cartoon <i>goodies</i> and <i>baddies</i>, and the ending is a little bit of a damp squib. Why, then, am I giving it 4 stars? Despite all of this, I really enjoyed the writing style, particularly the often witty dialogue, and found myself unable to stop reading as the plot became more intricate and the excitement grew. I would definitely read more by this author, even if he were to stretch my credibility this far again.

With thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for a review copy.

Firstly I love the title of this book..

Secondly I loved this read.

Set in London, 1894 and Inspector Henry Cutter has a case of murder. Someone is murdering well to do gentlemen and no one knows why. They say old sins cast long shadows and it seems the right adage for this gothic tale.

This is one book that really lives up to its hype. It's brilliant, witty and sends a shiver.

It is beautifully written and the story just unfolds amazingly well. This should be on every readers shelf..

I recently (last year?) re-read The House on Vesper Sands which was probably a good idea as it is some time since it was published and I had forgotten a lot of the details. I suppose you don't *need* to have read THoVS to read this one, but you will know more about Inspector Cutter, Sergeant Bliss and Miss Hillingdon.

I really like O'Donnell's writing, which is precise and beautiful. Unpleasant things happen (some very unpleasant) but the tone is always neat and thoughtful, and he turns an elegant phrase. Cutter Bliss and Hillingdon are all very much themselves, and their relationships with each other- awkward, for the most part - are very enjoyably written.

Someone is killing off some elderly men - 'gentlemen' mostly - in efficient but bloody ways. Who could be doing this, and why? It seems that the men in question probably deserved to be 'orribly murdered. Is that justification enough? Obviously the police want the murders solved, but so do some other people, who may have different motivations. The London of the late nineteenth century is convincingly conjoured and the very slight edge of unreality (not 'magic' or 'occult forces' but a turn past normal) adds to this as it did to the first book.