or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
38 used & new from £1.46
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House (Hardcover)

by Kate Summerscale (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (216 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
Price: £13.59 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.40 (20%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

7 new from £10.82 29 used from £1.46 2 collectible from £12.08

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • This title is now available as a paperback.


Frequently Bought Together

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House + The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo + Wolf Hall
Price For All Three: £26.03

Show availability and delivery details

  • This item: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The 19th Wife

The 19th Wife

by David Ebershoff
3.6 out of 5 stars (73)  £4.80
When Will There be Good News?

When Will There be Good News?

by Kate Atkinson
3.7 out of 5 stars (120)  £4.13
The Gargoyle

The Gargoyle

by Andrew Davidson
4.3 out of 5 stars (202)  £4.43
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson
4.0 out of 5 stars (272)  £3.95
The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite

The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite

by Beatrice Colin
4.1 out of 5 stars (41)  £4.74
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; First Edition edition (7 April 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0747582157
  • ISBN-13: 978-0747582151
  • Product Dimensions: 21 x 14.4 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (216 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 18,797 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #41 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Law & Disorder > Criminology

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review

'It is a beautiful piece, written with great lucidity and respect for the reader, and with immaculate restraint. A classic, to my mind, of the finest documentary writing.' John Le Carre 'A pacy analysis of a true British murder case from 1860, the unravelling of which involved one of the earliest Scotland Yard detectives and inspired sensation novelists such as Dickens and Wilkie Collins Absolutely riveting' Sarah Waters, Guardian 'Summerscale has constructed nothing less than a masterpiece My shelves are stacked with books about crime, but none more satisfying than this' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday 'Sparse, melancholy, beautifully written the year's most beguiling biography' Independent


The Daily Mail

'A tour de force. It sweeps us irresistibly into the investigation, turning us into armchair detectives... Under the spell of [her] scrupulous intelligence and mesmerizing research'
See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(3)
(3)
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 6 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House
91% buy the item featured on this page:
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House 3.1 out of 5 stars (216)
£13.59
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3% buy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 4.0 out of 5 stars (272)
£3.95
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
2% buy
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 4.2 out of 5 stars (216)
£3.83
Wolf Hall
2% buy
Wolf Hall 4.1 out of 5 stars (115)
£8.49
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

216 Reviews
5 star:
 (56)
4 star:
 (40)
3 star:
 (34)
2 star:
 (38)
1 star:
 (48)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (216 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
298 of 335 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The birth of detective fiction and the death of a child, 11 April 2008
By Icy (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This book is as much a history of Victorian social values and the emerging field of detective fiction in the nineteenth century as it is a book about a hideous country house murder in 1860. Researched using original police papers from the National Archives, books on the crime and many more sources, the book tells the story of the Road Hill House murder of 1860, when a three year old boy was brutally slain by another occupant of his home. The book sets out to detail the case, from the original event to the investigation by Scotland Yard detective Jack Whicher, to the aftermath suffered by the entire family.

It's extremely well written and well researched, and even though there is little to add suspense considering anyone with an Internet connection can discover the identity of the murderer, Summerscale still manages to inject a certain air of tension into proceedings, drawing things out as they must have unfolded at the time. With a peculiar ability to grab your attention and hold it firmly, the book is difficult to put down, and a thoroughly fascinating read for anyone with an interest in detective fiction, real life crime or a historical period that throws up as many questions as it answers.

Highly recommended.
Comment Comments (4) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
111 of 138 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly researched and completely engrossing, 1 May 2008
By Snapdragon (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
The murder of a young child which took place at Road Hill House, Wiltshire in 1860 captured the imagination of the public and turned everyone into amateur detectives. The perfect example of a country house murder with a finite amount of suspects also inspired writers of the time such as Dickens, Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon.

'The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher' is structured so that first, we learn the details of the crime, then we learn about the investigation which leads on to what happened next and the author's own theory based on the evidence. To say this book is well-researched in something of an understatement; if someone goes through a toll road, we know how much they pay; if someone moves to London we find out who they lived next door to; if someone left a will, we find out exactly what they left and to whom. I'm sure this level of detail would be irritating to some, but I found it absolutely incredible!

The book is also interesting in giving us a taste of the time, the attitudes of the people, the ways in which the Police force was growing and how events were shaping literature.

This is an extraordinary achievement and engrossing throughout. I can't wait to see what she will come up with next!
Comment Comments (4) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
27 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A thorough examination of a murder, 28 Oct 2008
By J. Bowen "Jamie Bowen" (Hampstead London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher (Paperback)
This book, which has won prizes and many plaudits this year, is the true story of a murder that occured in Road, Somerset in the middle of the 19th Century.

This might not grab you as all that noteworthy, but it grabbed public opinion at the time and contributed to the growth of a new type of book, the murder mystery in a country house, that the likes of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie would make their own only a few years latter.

This book is interesting and if you're in any way intregued in this sort of history, you should consider reading this book. If you're not someone who typically reads factual books, however, you might find this book slighty dry and cold if I'm honest with you.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars A good and gristly tale
This book was discussed by our book group, and although we found the tale of the murder of the innocent little boy upsetting, it was a bit too longwinded with many unnecessary... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Mrs. B. Mead

3.0 out of 5 stars The Confusions of a Gentle Reader
It's an odd one, this one. The basic story is fascinating, the idea that this is a seminal event in the development of the British Crime novel is a strong one and the writer has... Read more
Published 3 days ago by HGMDEPM

3.0 out of 5 stars Be sure your sins...
This is not the kind of book I usually read, but I really enjoyed it.As a parent, I found the horrific nature of the murder, with its family involvement, very disturbing... Read more
Published 3 days ago by M. Erwin

1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish
This book reads like a bad Ph.D. thesis - a decent editor would have cut it to a third of the length and published it as a 'whodunnit', but this is a whodunnit interspersed with... Read more
Published 14 days ago by H Brown

4.0 out of 5 stars Well, I liked it!
Having recently finished this book, and having subsequently read some of the many negative reviews here on Amazon (as well as positive), I have to say I don't agree with the... Read more
Published 19 days ago by N. Byrne

4.0 out of 5 stars Love a good true crime fiction book!
I'm a sucker for a good murder mystery and also all things Victorian, so this book delivered both. I know this is set in the UK, but I couldn't help thinking SS Van Dine here... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rose Wood

3.0 out of 5 stars early detection
The main drawback of the book is its lack of candour about the investigation, especially the poor forensic standards used at the murder scene and elsewhere. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dr. P. R. Lewis

1.0 out of 5 stars The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
God this is a dreadful book! The only reason it has been in the top ten is because Richard and Judy have recommended it and like all their recommendations its total rubbish! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jackie

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good suspicions
Very enjoyable read. Most peoples' familiarity with 19th century crime will have been via Sherlock Holmes. Read more
Published 1 month ago by P. A. LYSTER

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this murder mystery...
I am not usually a fan of detective fiction, that was until I read Arthur and George, which is based on a real case and then this book was reccomended to me and I am glad I read... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. Croft

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject










i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.