Author: Kate Summerscale
Genre: True Crime, Standalone
Published: 2008
Personal Rating: 3.25/5 (better than just okay)
Yearly Count: 90
Three-year-old Saville Kent was murdered in 1860 on the grounds of the family's country estate. Mr. Whicher is one of the first detectives in England, and he demonstrates his best work in trying to solve the case.
This case appealed to me and some of the details relating to the timeframe were of great interest; however, overall - I felt it lacked some spunk. There were many facts repeated, and the story dragged a bit. The book also contained the history of other family members and the era, most of which I liked learning about.
I'm not sure this is a book I'd enjoy, but I'll keep it in mind for customers at my job who ask for true crime stories.
ReplyDeleteI'm cataloging my books right now and JUST entered that one in. I'm really looking forward to it, so I'm sorry to hear it dragged a bit. Given the size, I was afraid of that.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds great for fans of police procedurals. Too bad it didn't quite live up to its potential.
ReplyDeleteCharley ~ And I'm not sure why it has been so highly regarded. It just didn't seem to have the complete package appeal.
ReplyDeleteTrish ~ Oh yes . . . cataloging. I guess I respond to your post here. :) I've only been cataloging my books since 2003 and keep it all neat and tidy on Excel, too. However, I don't catalog them all. I only have the books in our library on the spreadsheet. All the books on other shelves, in the cupboards, under the bed, in the basement, etc. that are scattered throughout the house are not included. I don't have as many columns as you and some of mine are different, and I do remove them from the list if I get rid of them. I like my READ/LISTENED column! Seeing the progress is encouraging. :)
Anyway, I'm actually really disappointed in this book. I was very drawn to the story and location, and I love the cover and title of the book. I'm so glad I listened to it instead of reading my copy.
Stacybuckeye ~ Oddly enough, I found the police procedural portions to be very surface-like. There was no great, deep mystery to unravel. The first half was better (actually good) than the second half.
Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy this one - I loved it! I'm not normally a fan of non fiction, but found the details of their lives really interesting and not at all dry.
ReplyDeleteHave you read The Moonstone? Reading them together only enhanced the reading experience for me.
This sounds like such a good subject, too. Maybe with a different author it would be a better tale.
ReplyDeleteFarmlanebooks ~ I love non-fiction, so I really anticipated something a lot better than "just okay". Oh well, it happens.
ReplyDeleteVickie ~ Possibly. :)
I had the same reaction. It was a bit dry for the subject matter. I realize non fiction has more strictures than fiction does but it was oddly flat.
ReplyDeleteCarrie K ~ If I had known, I think I would have passed.
ReplyDelete