The dramatic story of a real life murder--nonfiction that reads like a Victorian thriller. (Its not quite that intense.) This is the murder that inspired the birth of modern detective fiction. (Which is a favorite genre of mine.) The Detective Inspector Jonathan Whicher was one of Scotland Yard's earliest and finest detectives. He investigated, often puzzling out the mysteries behind brutal crimes and his prowess eventually went on to inspire the fictional detective creations of such renowned authors as Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins.
However, this mysterious case proved all but uncrackable and almost was the ruin of Whicher's career. It took awhile to get through this book and it did drag a little bit but in the end worthwhile time spent reading and a fascinating peak into the Victorian era. As is also true of the next book, the author included a brief synopsis of the "rest of their lives" for the majority of the main characters in this book, which was one of my favorite parts. Interestingly enough, I both find myself completely unable to remember if this case was ever solved and am equally uninterested in going back and rereading.
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