I just finished this book this morning. It took me about a week to read this at 400 or so pages. The plot was good and I love historical novels so that was a plus. I especially appreciate historical novels that take place in times or locales that aren't overdone. Not that I don't appreciate a good WWII novel or one set in the Civil War, but I digress.
Set just after Jack the Ripper struck in London, England, the book's blurb had me excited about it from the start. Two policemen work on different cases which end up colliding. It started out good, but was a bit drawn out. I like a long book, but only when it is necessary. This book should have ended around 370 pages. But the last fifty pages sped back up and pulled me through to the end.
The descriptions in some of the scenes were so-so, leaving me a bit confused. I also had a problem really connecting with any of the characters with the exception of Constable Hammersmith. I felt the characters of Cinderhouse and the two prostitutes could have been delved into further. If you're going to draw the book out, let me really see some of the more interesting characters.
Overall, I liked the book and would recommend it to a friend. It was the author's first work and I would love to see more from him, hopefully with a less dry period in the middle. But I will say that the plot was tightly written throughout, everything was explained and I honestly didn't see a couple things coming, so that was nice. If I were doing this on a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a 3.5.
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