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The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Or the Murder at Road Hill House | 
 enlarge | Author: Kate Summerscale
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Category: Book
List Price: £11.99
Buy New: £5.69
You Save: £6.30 (53%)
New (21) Used (2) from £5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 35
Media: Paperback
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.3
ISBN: 074759922X
EAN: 9780747599227
ASIN: 074759922X
Publication Date: July 26, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: IN STOCK - BRAND NEW - IMMEDIATE DISPATCH
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 If she'd only kept to the plot .... August 26, 2008
This book exists of three interwoven strands: a recounting of a murder, a social history of the period that the murder occured, and discussions of contemporary crime fiction.
The first strand worked fine, and I appreciate the necessity of the second, but the detours into the contemporary crime fiction completely ruined the rhythm of the book for me. Where I had been hooked, I found my mind wandering, hoping the book would get back on track in as short a time as possible.
The prose was also, at times, rather too flowery for my liking.
I would have enjoyed the book more if it were a straight account of the murder which, it must be said, the author has researched very well.
 Gripping - for a while August 25, 2008
Initially, I loved this book. It was gripping, and Summerscale is a great storyteller, able to pack her narrative with detail without becoming tedious. But about halfway through it just ran out of steam for me. Having not been able to put it down, I suddenly did, and couldn't be bothered to pick it up again.
interesting, but not gripping enough for me... August 23, 2008
I found this book a bit of a chore, I'm afraid. It is very informative regarding the birth of the detective novel and the history of crime detection, but we know quite early on who the murderer is, so there is no suspense. Every page is littered with endless names of people and places, and I ended up flicking through pages to get on the with main business of the book. Very well written and researched, but not one for your holiday luggage!
 Fascinating and truly gripping - if not quite perfect August 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"The Suspicions of Mr Whicher" is a fascinating account of a Victorian murder mystery. I was not familiar with the Road Hill House murder case, but it appears to be well-known - which means I had a significant gap in my knowledge of British true crime stories. In 1860, the gruesome and tragic killing of a young boy, Saville Kent, at his countryside home and in the dead of night, gripped the nation, with everyone in Britain, it seems (including, for example, Charles Dickens) having their opinion as to who had committed the brutal murder, and with what motive. The newspapers carried daily reports of developments (or rumours) in the case. Most people were convinced, like the detectives assigned to investigate the boy's death, that the answers lay not in a mysterious intruder with nefarious intent, but with the residents of Road Hill House itself. Kate Summerscale describes how the investigation developed, and fleshes out the central mystery, which if truth be told turns out to be rather slight, with fascinating detail about the 1860s, the Kent family, Mr. Whicher and his fellow detectives, and public reaction to the crime. Some reviewers seem to feel that the level of detail applied by Summerscale here amounts to "padding", but to my mind, it gives the story a real context and a sense of time and place and means the reader is fully immersed in the period as well as in the central mystery. I enjoyed learning about the development of the early detective force, and this discussion feels entirely appropriate in a book about a case that was one of the first to involve such detectives.
Summerscale's narrative style is both highly readable and completely gripping. I read this book in a day, eager to know how (and indeed, whether) the mystery of the young boy's murder would be resolved, and keen to continue enjoying Summerscale's prose. Many true crime - and even historical - books fall far short of the level of research and insight that Kate Summerscale displays here, not to mention the quality of writing, which is first-rate.
One point I must mention is that it is somewhat surprising that in such an obviously meticulously-researched book overflowing with examples of attention to detail, there should be errors. However, I noticed two, without looking for them. Firstly, on page 75 of the paperback edition, Summerscale tells us that the second Mrs Kent had a stillborn baby in 1854, and it was suggested by some that her stepson might be the father, though this was not possible as he had not been in the country at the right time. This explanation worked for the stillborn child "although it suggested nothing about the paternity of her next two children, Saville and Eveline". As the family tree in front of the book shows and the text makes clear, the next two children were Mary Amelia (born 1855) and Saville (born 1856). Eveline was born in 1858. Secondly, on page 92, Summerscale quotes a newspaper report that refers to Constance Kent as William's younger sister. Constance was William's elder sister by a year (Constance born 1844, William born 1845). The mistake is of the 19th-century reporter, not the author, but it is customary when an author quotes an incorrect account to point out any errors (with a "sic", footnote, etc), which is not done here.
A bit disappointing, and perhaps a closer read of the book would turn up further inconsistencies.
In any case, the book gets five stars from me, because rarely has a book in any genre gripped me as this one did. Highly recommended to those interested in true crime and the Victorian era, in particular.
Enchanting, facinating and a great read August 4, 2008
All the superlatives have been done but I have to say that this book is excellent. It has real life characters straight from Conan Doyle with a plot to match. Wonderfully written.It is also a beautifully produced book. Sit back and enjoy. Highly recommended.
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