Mayhem

Confession: I'm misleading you already. See that gorgeous cover up there? It's enough to make a cover whore like myself stop, stare, and covet. But I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the story is completely worthy of this gorgeous cover (I'll get to that part in a few moments). The bad news is that this the UK cover. We heathens here in the Colonies were not deemed worthy of such gorgeousness and instead were graced with this:

Is it any wonder we rebelled against King George III? I mean, really. If taxation without representation and unattractive book covers were to be our lot in life, what did England expect?

Alright, assuming it is what's inside the cover that truly counts (and yes, it is), Mayhem is a deliciously creepy foray into the dark world of Victorian London where the city is frozen with fear as Jack the Ripper terrorizes Whitechapel. But London in the late 1880s was also victim to another vicious killer now largely lost to history. Dubbed the Thames Torso Murders, dismembered female victims began showing up in the Thames river throughout London beginning in May 1887. An astute police surgeon, one Dr. Thomas Bond, was the first to recognize that these corpses showing up in the Thames had been dismembered by someone with surgical skill and training.

Author Sarah Pinborough has unearthed this lost and disturbing tidbit of history and turned it into a compelling fictional account of Dr. Bond's investigation into the Thames Torso Murders. 

Admittedly, this was an interesting journey for me. I had never read any of Pinborough's work before and was hesitant to pick up what I - erroneously, as it turns out - thought to be yet another Jack the Ripper novel. Instead of boredom, I found myself drawn in from the very first page into the thick, damp fog permeating the Gothic atmosphere of the novel as the squalid conditions of the less fortunate side of Victorian London's population immediately came alive. 

Jack the Ripper, thankfully, takes the backstage to our protagonist - Dr. Thomas Bond himself - as he struggles with the limitations of the times to find the monster who is dismembering victims and dumping them in the Thames. Yet in Pinborogh's skillful hands, even the murders themselves are secondary to the character of Dr. Bond. Possessed of a brilliant mind, his empathy with victims of London's poor and disenfranchised is not an asset but a demon that haunts his every moment. How the ugliness of his world changes him and his attempts to escape the torture it inflicts upon him is a vital part of the story. Dr. Bond is a necessarily flawed character and his deterioration mirrors the investigation he doggedly pursues.

And now, for the twist. Just to throw me off balance, Pinborogh tosses in a touch - just a teensy touch, mind you - of the supernatural. Think of it as a sprinkle of garnish on a well-made dish. Too much would ruin the meal. Too little and the chef shouldn't have bothered. But the perfect small amount? Ahhhhh. Nicely done.

I've heard through the grapevine that Mayhem is to be the first in a series to feature Dr. Bond. If so, Pinborough can count me in for the ride. Nicely done. Hits bookstores tomorrow. 

Title: Mayhem

Author: Sarah Pinborough

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books

Date:  January 14, 2012

Source:  Publisher

The Longmire Mysteries

On a recent vacation to visit family in a remote region of Oregon (and I do mean remote: mail is delivered three days a week, via boat), I found myself at said family's mercy when it came to entertainment.  The good news was that there was plenty of time to kick back and read throughout the day as the family made general idiots of themselves water-skiing across the lake for hours on end.  The bad news was that I found myself at their mercy at the end of the day when the television came on.

Determined to be a good sport, this non-television-watching gal tucked up on the couch determined to feign interest in whatever insipid popular, brainless show they were addicted to.  See what a good sport I am?  So you can imagine my surprise when they tuned into a series (which of course I had never heard of) that was, well, actually good. You may have heard of it. A little modern-day, western mystery series over on A&E going by the name of Longmire.  And best of all?  My beady little eyes honed in on the opening credits which read:  "Based on the books by Craig Johnson".  Well, well, well. What have we here?

Now the episodes I watched there were pretty darned good.  But you can be damned sure I got up the next morning and downloaded the first of Craig Johnson's books, The Cold Dish.  And read it in one afternoon. It was that good. Yes, far, far better than the television version.

If you're not familiar with the premise, let me fill you in. Walt Longmire is the sheriff in a sparsely populated county in Wyoming. Okay, all counties in Wyoming are sparsely populated, but this one particularly so.  He's been doing this a while, so he's a little jaded. And Wyoming towns are really small town. If you've ever been there, you know what I'm talking about. I myself had the particular pleasure (not sure if that's sarcasm or not) of flying freight throughout Wyoming in my younger years so I understood immediately the tone of the books and perhaps experienced some displaced nostalgia. But I digress.

Walt has a deputy, Vic, from Philadelphia.  She's good at what she does and brings a much-needed dose of the big city to the place, though she has a mouth on her like a sailor on shore-leave. Walt's best-friend, Henry Standing Bear, is a Cheyenne who runs the only bar in town. Everyone has a hysterically dry sense of humor although it's clear they aren't aware of that.

"Slugs basically convert shotguns into oversize rifles with enough power to crack automobile engine blocks."
"Why would somebody want to shoot somebody with something like that?"
"Emphasis."

So while I laughed myself silly throughout, the mysteries themselves are actually quite serious. As I mentioned, Wyoming isn't exactly populous so when a murder occurs it is a momentous occasion. Johnson creates crimes riddled with both legal and moral quagmires that make this much more than a typical whodunit mystery.

Still, there is the laughter.

"You want to take a ride?"
"I'm saddled and, if you're waitin' for me, yer backin' up."
It was like working with Louis L'Amour.

All in all, I'm thoroughly grateful there are ten books in the series. And while I do recommend picking up the books, I cannot in all good conscious, recommend Wyoming. Especially Rock Springs. Ugh. (There, see?  I just lost another reader.)

Title:  The Cold Dish

Author:  Craig Johnson

Publisher:  Penguin (Reprint Edition)

Date:  2012

Pages:  400

Source:  Bought it.  Lock, stock and proverbial barrel.

Rating:  Five Stars