Wednesday 14 August 2013

HISTORICAL FICTION CRIME DEBUT REVIEW: City of Devils - Diana Bretherick

Release Date: 01/08/13
Publisher:  Orion

SYNOPSIS:
The brightest mind meets the darkest killer

1887

When James Murray, a young Scottish doctor fascinated by the workings of the criminal mind, travels to the vibrant city of Turin, it is to study with Cesare Lombroso, the world-renowned criminologist. But just hours after his introduction to the unconventional Lombroso, the discovery of a horrifically mutilated body in the nearby Piazza Statuto, and a note that appears to implicate the celebrated criminologist himself, changes everything.

With the help of his fellow apprentice, Ottolenghi; Tullio, a local investigator; and Lombroso's beautiful but enigmatic housekeeper, Sofia; Murray must put his learning to the test and endeavour to understand the mind of a truly evil serial killer if he is to stop the rapidly escalating bloodbath and clear the name of his mentor. Have Lombroso's many enemies attempted to frame him? Are the notes an accusation or a challenge? And will Lombroso's own influential theories about criminal behaviour help to catch a cunning and ruthless killer?

Meet the world's first criminologist in this compelling, fast-paced historical thriller.



REVIEW:

OK, so you want a historical thriller that brings a crime story to the fore that you can really get your teeth into. So what are you going to reach for? Well this debut is a novel that I had fun with. I loved the twists and the set up, the pace was solid and whilst for some the prose may be a little overly flowery for me it helped bring the time to life.

What Diana did exceptionally well was, for me, her characters, they felt rounded, they had personalities and quirks which when added to great dialogue made this something that I really couldn’t put down until I reached a conclusion. It was a lot of fun and whilst its going to be a marmite book (either you love it or hate it), its definitely one that has made a striking impression enough to have me watching out for future novels by her.



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