2002 historical mystery, sixth of Douglas's novels about Irene Adler.
Following the events of Chapel Noir, our protagonists variously head
east to put an end to the Ripper mystery.
This book has another slow and bitty start: as in Chapel Noir
there are two main narratives and occasional intrusions of another,
but this time Nell, Irene's companion and scribe, spends much of the
book as a prisoner. If you enjoy Douglas writing "Nell writing about
Irene", well, that's mostly not here; instead it's Douglas writing
"Pink writing about Irene", alternating with Nell writing about other
things, and while Douglas correctly changes narrative tone and writing
style for these sections, neither is as much fun as the approach the
series has taken before. Nell's perspective on Irene is vital to set
the tone; Pink just can't carry it off the same way, perhaps because
of the constraints of being a real historical character (and indeed
quite an interesting one). I find with some surprise that it's Nell I
really want to read about, especially when she undergoes some profound
character development.
Bram and Godfrey said nothing, but I could feel their sturdy forms
pressing against mine like shields. Such a gesture was well
intentioned, but it forced my arms against my sides so that I would
be much impeded should I wish to extract and use James Kelly's
long-bladed knife.
I began to sense the roots of Irene's annoyance with social
chivalry.
There are oddities of writing: "effected" in place of "affected" could
be a typo or a one-bit error, but "only my path had always been set on
this path" smacks of someone writing with a word processor, followed
by nobody reading over the draft before it was printed.
It's all right, I suppose; there's an awful lot of historical and
literary research for a "guilty pleasure" book, which is ideal as far
as I'm concerned. There's also a continuing dark tone that doesn't
always work well, but when things finally get moving in Transylvania
towards the end the resolution is quite satisfactory.
Yes, Douglas has an answer to the question of who the "real" Ripper
was. And it's certainly an audacious one (gur lbhat Tevtbev Lrsvzbivpu
Enfchgva): points for style, if not for ready plausibility.
Followed by Femme Fatale.
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