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Review
The doings of her characters may be darker than pitch but my lady's craftsmanship is beyond doubt. --Time Out
Stylish, enigmatic ... atmospheric ... a story of secrecy and shame, reason and passion, that resonates long after you reach the final page.
--Francis Wheen
Stylish, enigmatic ... atmospheric ... a story of secrecy and shame, reason and passion, that resonates long after you reach the final page.
--Francis Wheen
Review
'[An] extremely impressive debut...told by Robertson with great panache'
(The Times )'Poetic, enchanting, and chillingly memorable.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a detective novel set in a time before the police, with a 'natural scientist' and the lady of a big house collaborating to find out who has been killing people in the neighbourhood. It's a new twist on an old favourite, a bit like Silent Witness meet Jane Austen. It isn't a comedy novel; it seriously is a mid 18th century murder mystery.
The eldest son of Thornleigh Hall, Adam, is murdered in London, where he has spent the past 20 years in self-imposed exile. His children and friends are caught up in the riots against the Catholics and their identity is secret to everyone, including themselves. His younger brother, Hugh, hideously scarred in the war in America, is sliding towards Lordship as their father slides away from life, but people start to die in mysterious circumstances, including his father's nurse, Miss Beck. She has secret letters from Adam, and so the hunt begins to find the children of the eldest son before they, too die. And who is behind this devilish plot? That would be telling.
The real heroes of the book are Mr Crowther, himself possessed of a dark secret and Harriet, the naval wife who forces him to help her to investigate the deaths. Given that there are no forensic possibilities, they use a remarkable set of deductions and assumptions to help them. Skin under fingernails, scar patterns, fibre; they use as much as they could reasonably expect to in the 1700's to good effect.
It's a detective story; well plotted and I'd love to say slightly formulaic, except that the setting adds enough interesting details to make you enjoy it. The characters are adequate to their roles, and my only real criticism would be that it jumps between London and the country every couple of pages meaning that neither arena has enough time to bed down properly before it's all change again. It's the equivalent of the shaky camera work in The Wire; you know it's supposed to make it more exciting but after a while it just gets annoying. Having said that, it is an enjoyable read and I would recommend it to friends who enjoyed crime novels like Body of Evidence (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery) and felt like a twist in their usual fare.... or perhaps for die-hard The Convenient Marriage Heyer fans. It's interesting; I'd read the next book, if there is one.
The eldest son of Thornleigh Hall, Adam, is murdered in London, where he has spent the past 20 years in self-imposed exile. His children and friends are caught up in the riots against the Catholics and their identity is secret to everyone, including themselves. His younger brother, Hugh, hideously scarred in the war in America, is sliding towards Lordship as their father slides away from life, but people start to die in mysterious circumstances, including his father's nurse, Miss Beck. She has secret letters from Adam, and so the hunt begins to find the children of the eldest son before they, too die. And who is behind this devilish plot? That would be telling.
The real heroes of the book are Mr Crowther, himself possessed of a dark secret and Harriet, the naval wife who forces him to help her to investigate the deaths. Given that there are no forensic possibilities, they use a remarkable set of deductions and assumptions to help them. Skin under fingernails, scar patterns, fibre; they use as much as they could reasonably expect to in the 1700's to good effect.
It's a detective story; well plotted and I'd love to say slightly formulaic, except that the setting adds enough interesting details to make you enjoy it. The characters are adequate to their roles, and my only real criticism would be that it jumps between London and the country every couple of pages meaning that neither arena has enough time to bed down properly before it's all change again. It's the equivalent of the shaky camera work in The Wire; you know it's supposed to make it more exciting but after a while it just gets annoying. Having said that, it is an enjoyable read and I would recommend it to friends who enjoyed crime novels like Body of Evidence (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery) and felt like a twist in their usual fare.... or perhaps for die-hard The Convenient Marriage Heyer fans. It's interesting; I'd read the next book, if there is one.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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This is a very enjoyable first novel by Imogen Robertson. Set in the late 1700's the story centres on some mysterious deaths that involve the estate and heirs to the Earl of Essex.
Investigating the various problems is Gabriel Crowther, a reclusive early pathologist with a hidden past. He is aided and abetted by his feisty neighbour Mrs Harriet Westerman - she finds the first body.
Harriet is married to a captain who is away at sea. She normally is with him but now has to stay on land to look after their children and their estate. She has a background of nursing so is able to assist Crowther without having an episode of `the vapours'. She is also capable and independent.
The story moves around between them, a family devastated by a seemingly inexplicable murder and the son of the Earl of Essex going back in time a few years to his part in the American War of Independence.
To begin with you wish the story would stick to Harriet and Crowther as they form an interesting pair but as the story develops you find yourself just as keen to know what is happening to the others. Robertson is very good at conveying the horror felt by the Hugh Thornleigh facing the `enemy' fire in America. You cannot help but feel how awful it must have been. She is equally good at giving a sense of desperation and fear to the part of the story set in London at the time of the Gordon Riots.
Harriet and Crowther's relationship - an older man and a younger married woman - is also well set out and the strong bond that grows steadily between them is very believable.
I enjoyed this book and will certainly look out for this author in the future
Investigating the various problems is Gabriel Crowther, a reclusive early pathologist with a hidden past. He is aided and abetted by his feisty neighbour Mrs Harriet Westerman - she finds the first body.
Harriet is married to a captain who is away at sea. She normally is with him but now has to stay on land to look after their children and their estate. She has a background of nursing so is able to assist Crowther without having an episode of `the vapours'. She is also capable and independent.
The story moves around between them, a family devastated by a seemingly inexplicable murder and the son of the Earl of Essex going back in time a few years to his part in the American War of Independence.
To begin with you wish the story would stick to Harriet and Crowther as they form an interesting pair but as the story develops you find yourself just as keen to know what is happening to the others. Robertson is very good at conveying the horror felt by the Hugh Thornleigh facing the `enemy' fire in America. You cannot help but feel how awful it must have been. She is equally good at giving a sense of desperation and fear to the part of the story set in London at the time of the Gordon Riots.
Harriet and Crowther's relationship - an older man and a younger married woman - is also well set out and the strong bond that grows steadily between them is very believable.
I enjoyed this book and will certainly look out for this author in the future
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
First Sentence: Gabriel Crowther opened his eyes.
Harriet Westerman, wife of a navy commander, has given up sailing with her husband to raise their family and provide a home for her sister at Caverly Park in West Sussex. When she finds the body of a man whose throat has been slit, she summons help from anatomist Gabriel Crowther. The victim has a ring bearing the crest of neighboring Thornleigh Hall. Was the man Alexander Thornleigh, the missing heir to the Earl of Sussex?
London music shop owner Alexander Adams is murdered. Before dying, he tells his daughter to find a box hidden under the counter. Was Alexander the missing heir and how can his children be removed from the city in spite of a killer and the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots?
Wonderful characters make this book a treat to read. Jane Austin fans will quickly associate Harriet Westerman with Mrs. Croft, the captain's wife from "Pursuasion." She has traveled, seen war, is outspoken and not to be put off. Her younger sister, Rachel Trench, is "Jane Eyre," in her attraction to the war-wounded Hugh Thornleigh, younger brother of the missing Alexander and the Mr. Rochester of our story. Gabriel Crowther is a scientist, and something of a recluse until being pulled into the investigation by Harriet and his own curious mind.
There are a lot of characters, including some real historical figures. It was occasionally is difficult to keep track of who is whom. However, they each played their part and added to the overall Gothic feel of the story.
Ms. Robertson convincingly transported me to Georgian England in sight, sound, dialogue appropriate to the period and historical fact. I had not known of the Gordon Riots until now. She also included a perspective of the American Revolution from the viewpoint of a British soldier.
There is a lovely, Gothic feel to this book, but it was not perfect. Happily, in spite of identifying the villains fairly soon, the motive remained a secret until the end. Although story did feel over-long, I was completely involved and never found myself skipping through it.
The book was engrossing and suspenseful, with interesting historical information. The different threads of the plot were brought together well in a slightly overly dramatic fashion.
The most important question is whether I would read another book by this author. The answer is a definite "yes," and it's already on order.
INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS (His Mys-Gabriel Crowther/Harriet Westerman-England-1780) - G+
Robertson, Imogen - 1st in series
Headline, ©2009, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 9780755348398
Harriet Westerman, wife of a navy commander, has given up sailing with her husband to raise their family and provide a home for her sister at Caverly Park in West Sussex. When she finds the body of a man whose throat has been slit, she summons help from anatomist Gabriel Crowther. The victim has a ring bearing the crest of neighboring Thornleigh Hall. Was the man Alexander Thornleigh, the missing heir to the Earl of Sussex?
London music shop owner Alexander Adams is murdered. Before dying, he tells his daughter to find a box hidden under the counter. Was Alexander the missing heir and how can his children be removed from the city in spite of a killer and the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots?
Wonderful characters make this book a treat to read. Jane Austin fans will quickly associate Harriet Westerman with Mrs. Croft, the captain's wife from "Pursuasion." She has traveled, seen war, is outspoken and not to be put off. Her younger sister, Rachel Trench, is "Jane Eyre," in her attraction to the war-wounded Hugh Thornleigh, younger brother of the missing Alexander and the Mr. Rochester of our story. Gabriel Crowther is a scientist, and something of a recluse until being pulled into the investigation by Harriet and his own curious mind.
There are a lot of characters, including some real historical figures. It was occasionally is difficult to keep track of who is whom. However, they each played their part and added to the overall Gothic feel of the story.
Ms. Robertson convincingly transported me to Georgian England in sight, sound, dialogue appropriate to the period and historical fact. I had not known of the Gordon Riots until now. She also included a perspective of the American Revolution from the viewpoint of a British soldier.
There is a lovely, Gothic feel to this book, but it was not perfect. Happily, in spite of identifying the villains fairly soon, the motive remained a secret until the end. Although story did feel over-long, I was completely involved and never found myself skipping through it.
The book was engrossing and suspenseful, with interesting historical information. The different threads of the plot were brought together well in a slightly overly dramatic fashion.
The most important question is whether I would read another book by this author. The answer is a definite "yes," and it's already on order.
INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS (His Mys-Gabriel Crowther/Harriet Westerman-England-1780) - G+
Robertson, Imogen - 1st in series
Headline, ©2009, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 9780755348398
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
well-handled narrative
The author sets herself a stiff challenge by running multiple narrative threads in parallel: threads separated in both time and space, but with cross referring characters and plot... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Graham R. Hill
loved it so much, have bought next installment!
I love historical detective novels as I get two of the genres I like to read in one book! The description of the towns and city are very evocative and I grew to love the characters... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Fiona Ford
Audio version is well done, too
I now own this book in print but couldn't resist the audio version when I saw it available. I thought Wanda Mccaddon did a fine job of the narration. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bella Rosa
Really not happy with some of the content of this story
The book was OK - hardly ground-breaking, in my view, but OK. Certainly not in the same class as Shardlake, as I think one or two other reviewers said. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Penny, Nottingham
wonderful
A hugely enjoyable romp through 18c London and the West Sussex country set, led by the fine pairing of the enquiring bluestocking Harriet Westerman, who cares for truth, justice... Read more
Published 3 months ago by C. Mulley
Great find
I chanced upon "Instruments of Darkness" through an Amazon recommendation, ordered it from my local library and am delighted to have found a new author who combines most of the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ainm eile
Engaging thriller...after the first three chapters
As stories go...this one keeps you turning the pages. Lady of the Big House finds body and meets up with crazy medical man and village lofties to solve the crime. Read more
Published 7 months ago by London Matron
Dickens/Austen mix but totally original
Sir Hugh, second son of the Earl of Sussex, is not long returned from fighting in the American War of Independence, when a body is discovered on his land by his neighbour, the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Algernon Flowers
A Terrific Opening
A terrific opening, three great main characters and some thrilling scenes. Not the most complex plot but a suffciently good novel for me to buy the second book in the series.
Published 9 months ago by JH
Decidedly middle of the road
I think that Imogen Robertson must have a very good publicist - having read this book very quickly over the weekend, the conclusion that I have come to is that whilst it isn't a... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Alison McVey
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