The Salisbury Manuscript (new series) [Hardcover]

THE SALISBURY MANUSCRIPT (Ama. Sleuth-Tom Ansell-England-1837) - G+
Gooden, Philip - standalone
Soho Constable, 2008, UK Hardcover - ISBN; 9781569475126

First Sentence: The man turned aside from the farm-track as the autumn afternoon closed in and storm clouds were scudding from the west.

Lawyer Tom Ansell is sent by his firm to Salisbury. Their client, Canon Felix Slater, has a manuscript, a memoir written by his father, that he wants the law firm to hold until after his death. Although there are scandalous entries in the manuscript, Slater's passion for the past doesn't allow him to destroy the document.

Shortly after their initial meeting, Tom discovers Slater in his study, murdered with a flint spearhead from the area. Tom is the initial suspect, but soon released. His to-be fiancée arrives and together they search for the true killer.

Let's start with the positives. Gooden's style of writing is a delight. Both the text and the dialogue give a nod to the period. He is a very visual writer with wonderfully atmospheric descriptions.

The author does interesting things, such as incorporating the Tom's dreams and including a section mid-story relating the activities of each of the principal secondary characters the night after the murder. He has a subtle, dry humor. The characters are well-developed, interesting and distinctive. I enjoyed the plot with its many twists, but it was principally the characters that did it for me.

There were a few negative elements. There were details that seemed anachronistic and the way in which it ended was somewhat abrupt and disappointing.

I enjoy Gooden's Nick Revill series yet it was fun to have him write something different. I definitely enjoyed it, but would have liked it to be just a bit better.

It is 1873 and Tom Ansell, a young lawyer at Messrs. Scott, Lye and Mackenzie, has been sent from London to foggy Salisbury to visit one of the firm's clients, Canon Felix Slater. Slater has in his possession a rather explicit memoir written by his late father, George Slater, who knew the likes of Byron and Shelley and got up to all sorts of racy shenanigans. The Canon cannot bring himself to destroy his father's manuscript, despite being disgusted by its 'unrespectable and rackety' contents, and wants it locked away in the law firm's vault until his own death. Unfortunately, before the memoir can be taken into safe custody, the clergyman is brutally murdered in his own study at Venn House, in Cathedral Close. The memoir is nowhere to be found and Tom, having been discovered in the vicinity of Slater's body with bloodied hands, finds himself locked up in Fisherton Gaol temporarily as prime suspect for the clergyman's sudden demise.

Upon his release, Tom turns amateur sleuth and, with the help of his fiancé Helen, a would-be writer of sensation novels who is always on the lookout for exciting new material, sets about uncovering the identity of Slater's true killer.

But who would want to kill the devout clergyman? There are a number of characters to choose from: his rather mysterious half-Italian wife, Amelia, who has apparently imagined herself a widow many times; his self-indulgent brother, Percy, who has lived a life as dissolute as his father; or how about Henry Cathcart, local store owner and leading citizen of the town, who appears besotted with Amelia and whose blood-speckled handkerchief was discovered in the vicinity of Canon Slater's corpse.

The mystery of Canon Slater's death is intertwined with other odd goings on; a local tomb-robbing sexton has disappeared without a trace and there has recently been a spate of burglaries in the vicinity (by a thief who seems partial to jelly moulds).

The story did take a little time to get warmed up, but once Canon Slater had been done away with it really got going, especially once Helen Scott arrived from London to be at Tom's side. The characters are all very well rounded, and the atmosphere of foggy Victorian Salisbury is conjured up wonderfully. I rather liked Tom's sarcastic sense of humour and Helen's determined and adventurous spirit, and Inspector Foster was an entertaining fellow too. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Durham Deception.

I love historical crime dramas and I hate historical crime dramas - it entirely depends on the setting, the historical period and the author'(ess') writing style (and accuracy of spelling and grammar). I am new to Philip Gooden but Amazon, having craftily put this one on my recommendations list, tempted me into giving it a try. It is a most delightful book which kept me glued to it all afternoon (when I normally fall asleep, being an old fogey!)and evening and I found Mr. Gooden's style and under-the-surface humour much to my liking. I was reminded in some ways of the television presentation of the Barchester Chronicles each time the reverend gentlemen formed part of a conversation. I have immediately ordered the next two books and cannot wait for their arrival later this week. THE DURHAM DECEPTION [The Durham Deception ] BY Gooden, Philip(Author)Hardcover 01-May-2011 The Ely Testament (Cathedral Mysteries)