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Review
'This is rollocking stuff. Cragge and Fidelis are an engaging duo, and their first investigation is like crossing Robert Louis Stevenson with The Archers' --Financial Times
'For all it's meticulous period detail, A Dark Anatomy is a fast-paced page-turner.' --Lancashire Life
'For all it's meticulous period detail, A Dark Anatomy is a fast-paced page-turner.' --Lancashire Life
Book Description
The year is 1740. George II is on the throne but England’s remoter provinces remain largely a law unto themselves. In Lancashire a grim discovery has been made: a Squire’s wife, Dolores Brockletower, lies in the woods above her home, Garlick Hall, her throat brutally slashed. Called to the scene, Coroner Titus Cragg finds the Brockletower household awash with rumour and suspicion. He enlists the help of his astute young friend, doctor Luke Fidelis, to throw light on the case. But this is a world in which forensic science is in its infancy, and policing hardly exists. Embarking on their first gripping investigation, Cragg and Fidelis are faced with the superstition of witnesses, obstruction by local officials, and denunciations from the Squire himself. ‘This is rollicking stuff. Cragg and Fidelis are an engaging duo’ Financial Times ‘Cragg and Fidelis make a fine pair of detectives’ Literary Review
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By pale rider
Format:Hardcover
Really intriguing and unusual crime novel set in 18th century Preston with a coroner as hero. It's especially good at conjouring up the period and the violent death at the centre of the book is bizarre and macabre. Very well-plotted and I didn't guess the ending. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys crime and history combined and an intelligent and engaging read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By lilahlondon
Format:Hardcover
an intriguing tale of multiple murders with many twists and turns and a very shocking ending, written in the language of the time. A good read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Brian Keaney
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Preston, Lancashire, 1740, and a breathless boy appears with a message for the coroner, Titus Cragg. The body of the local squire's wife has been discovered in the woods with her throat cut. Titus is obliged to hold an inquest. However, this turns out to be merely the first in a series of inter-connected deaths and as he struggles to understand the complicated chain of events that lie behind them, he has to deal with the aristocratic hostility of the squire, the superstitious imaginings of local peasants, and the petty-jealousies of rival officials.
A cleverly crafted mystery with an unexpected plot twist, this is also a well-researched piece of historical fiction. What's most impressive is the sense of authenticity that derives not only from the inclusion of period detail but also from the narrative voice which perfectly evokes the patient, meticulous and slightly fussy character of the embattled coroner as he weighs the conflicting claims of duty and conscience.
A cleverly crafted mystery with an unexpected plot twist, this is also a well-researched piece of historical fiction. What's most impressive is the sense of authenticity that derives not only from the inclusion of period detail but also from the narrative voice which perfectly evokes the patient, meticulous and slightly fussy character of the embattled coroner as he weighs the conflicting claims of duty and conscience.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Fleur
Format:Paperback
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Loved Titus Cragg and Luke Fidelis - an excellent double act with both men very appealing in their own way. Story telling at its best, with convincing characters, an involving plot, a grisly murder and all steeping the mid-18th century. Great fun. Robin Blake evokes his period skillfully without drowning the reader in research. One of those books you don't want to end. Hope this is the first of a series.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By S. Rothwell
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this novel and looking forward to the next in the series. Have to say though that since starting it I have spent a lot of time researching and looking at old photos of the town I live in.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Elaine Byrne
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I quite liked this book. The setting was unusual and interesting although I have no way of knowing if it was authentic. The plot itself was clever (no spoilers) and suited to a mystery set in the eighteenth century but I guessed most of it right at the start. I know why the characters didn't get it but that was quite frustrating.
I read a lot, I like to be kept guessing and I normally am so that tells you something about the plot. I would buy the follow-up if it was cheap. I'm not hooked enough to pay full price.
I read a lot, I like to be kept guessing and I normally am so that tells you something about the plot. I would buy the follow-up if it was cheap. I'm not hooked enough to pay full price.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By lovereading
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Good start for a series. Well written and for this it gets a 4 start rating. It could have been better if the author had concentrated more on describing the characters in depth and detailing the setting. You expect them and they are not there. Pity. The plot was ok although obvious from the very begining (another flaw). But all in all it is a good read for his mastering of the English language (although it is an easy fictoin/detective/historical novel like many of this genre). I expect more from the sequel.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Henry.
Format:Paperback
I picked this up at Helsinki airport simply because the cover looked wonderful.
I found until I got to the unravelling of the mystery the story was a pit plodding. I enjoyed the historical accuracy and the details of Preston in the 18th century. If I hadn't read The Name if the Rose before Dissolution I would have enjoyed it more. If I hadn't read The Ash Tree by MR James or Instance of the Fingerpost before Dark Anatomy I would be more intrigued.
Fans of Christie or the historical English town parish will enjoy this. I enjoyed it. My attention dipped in and out but it was nicely paced and I enjoyed the atmosphere. The writing was a little formulaic for me. I would have like more time spent on the descriptive environment like Hardy or Tolkien does. Then the mystery would have taken longer of course.
I will probably put the sequel on my wish list,
Great book for a long journey of a week off work sick.
I found until I got to the unravelling of the mystery the story was a pit plodding. I enjoyed the historical accuracy and the details of Preston in the 18th century. If I hadn't read The Name if the Rose before Dissolution I would have enjoyed it more. If I hadn't read The Ash Tree by MR James or Instance of the Fingerpost before Dark Anatomy I would be more intrigued.
Fans of Christie or the historical English town parish will enjoy this. I enjoyed it. My attention dipped in and out but it was nicely paced and I enjoyed the atmosphere. The writing was a little formulaic for me. I would have like more time spent on the descriptive environment like Hardy or Tolkien does. Then the mystery would have taken longer of course.
I will probably put the sequel on my wish list,
Great book for a long journey of a week off work sick.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Read for book club
Dark depressing and knew the ending (which I don't normally), if I was reading it for pleasure rather than for book club I would have given up!
Published 29 days ago by Elizabeth Hughes
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Cool Period Murder Mystery
Preston 1740s: sex, death, power, money, art and medicine, witchcraft and religion... How do you solve a murder in the era before detectives, DNA and finger printing? Well... Read more
Published 10 months ago by P. Hardman
1.0 out of 5 stars
dark anatomy/pale imitation
A better title for A dark anatomy would be A pale reflection. The writing is facile and thin; just one example, the author feels a need to have his main protagonist explain why he... Read more
Published 23 months ago by foxsford
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