The Devil's Acre: An Unlikely Mystery (Reverand Tuckworth, 2)

From Booklist Dean Tuckworth of Bellminster Cathedral travels to nineteenth-century London to meet with philanthropist Hamlin Price, from whom he hopes to obtain money to reconstruct the heavily damaged cathedral. During the meeting, a shot rings out, and Price is killed. Tuckworth becomes involved in the subsequent murder investigation because he believes the Bow Street inspector has implicated the wrong man. During his investigation, Tuckworth, along with his new acquaintance Leigh Hunt, uncovers depravity beyond the murder, but they can't obtain the necessary evidence to prove that additional crimes are being committed. Holland ladles on the atmosphere with a bit of a heavy hand, but Tuckworth and Hunt are likable characters, and Tuckworth's fairness, morality, and intelligence shine through even as he begins to question his faith. Fans who enjoy Anne Perry's books for her portrayal of the plight of the underclass in Victorian England will find much to enjoy in this second in Holland's series. Sue O'BrienCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Product Description It is 1833, and you are invited to enter the quaint, quiet world of Bellminster, a pretty cathedral town in the English countryside with secrets and shadows around every corner. Venture into a world of petty politics and malicious gossip, a world of surprises and betrayals, a world held together by the suffering soul of a simple man - the good Reverend Tuckworth. Someone is preying on the good people of Bellminster, and only their vicar can save them. But Tuckworth has a dark secret of his own, a deadly secret, a secret he must keep hidden from everyone: from his loving daughter, Lucy; from the rash young painter Raphael Amaldi; from the supercilious rector, Mr. Mortimer; from Detective Inspector Myles of London; and most of all, from the murderer himself. Join the vicar as he sifts through the stones of Bellminster Cathedral, drawing from its cold heart the secrets behind the string of grisly murders that is plaguing this picturesque little town. The Devil runs free in Bellminster, and only Tuckworth can stop him. From Publishers Weekly Though billed as a mystery, Holland's second Reverend Tuckworth historical (after 2002's The Devil in Bellminster) is less a whodunit than an evocative thriller, more Wilkie Collins than Conan Doyle. On a trip to London to raise funds to rebuild Bellminster Cathedral, Tuckworth, who has lost his faith and feels guilty for having made the decision to end his ill wife's suffering, goes hat in hand to philanthropist Hamlin Price, only to be directed to reappear in the evening along with other similar supplicants. When he does so, his petition is interrupted by a shotgun blast that kills Price's secretary. Noticing some anomalies about the killing, Tuckworth decides to investigate, despite warnings from Price and a corrupt police inspector. Like a number of recent Victorian crime novels (e.g., Louis Bayard's Mr. Timothy), the book has a significant subplot involving child prostitution, which leads the sleuth to expand his mission to include a quixotic attempt to redeem the man responsible. The author nicely depicts both London and Bellminster and highlights his hero's powers of observation and deduction, but the fairly pedestrian cat-and-mouse game between Tuckworth and his antagonist detracts from an otherwise fine effort. Hopefully, Holland will supply a more suspenseful story line for his compelling clergyman protagonist next time. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review "A first class atmospheric early Victorian murder mystery." --Peter Tremayne, author of The Monk Who Vanished and Valley of the Shadow"Suspenseful, disturbing, and satisfying, ...a wonderful novel and a chilling examination of the nature of evil." --Molly Brown, author of Invitation to a Funeral About the Author David Holland has a Masters in English with an emphasis on Victorian liter
ASIN: 0312318669
VSKU: KDV.0312318669.G
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