Dr. Thomas Bond thought he'd put the horrors behind him,
as the Jack the Ripper and Thames Torso murders seem to
have reached their conclusion. Unfortunately, the evil
that lurked in the form of the "Upir" hasn't been
destroyed and is just lurking, waiting for its next
victim. Will the Upir be stopped or will the bodies
continue to pile up?
MURDER is the sequel to Mayhem, and is based upon
historical events and characters but with a supernatural
flare. MURDER pick up shortly after Mayhem and further
builds the dark legacy of the Upir. We actually get
better insight into the ravings of James Harrington, the
Upir's host than in the prior book, as old letters of his
are interspersed throughout the book. Sarah Pinborough
provides readers enough details to read MURDER as a
standalone story.
I like the character of Dr. Bond as depicted in Mayhem
and it was difficult to read about his mental and
physical decline in MURDER. His affection for James
Harrington's widow, Julianna, is growing steadily but he
now faces competition with the appearance of Edward Kane,
an old friend of James. I wanted to like Edward as he is
quite affable and obviously cares for Juliana, but my
attachment to Thomas' character just leaves me infuriated
by the sequence of events that transpires in MURDER.
Sarah Pinborough is a master at creating gritty, intense
worlds that haunt the reader. Her characters tend to be
flawed as Dr. Bond exemplifies perfectly. MURDER is dark,
disturbing, and sure to delight readers who like their
mysteries tinged with horror.
In this gripping sequel to the acclaimed Mayhem, author
Sarah Pinborough continues the adventures of troubled
Victorian forensics expert Dr. Thomas Bond. Haunted by the
nerve-shattering events he endured during the Jack the
Ripper and Thames Torso Killer investigations, Dr. Bond is
trying to reestablish the normal routines of daily life.
Aiding in his recovery is the growing possibility that his
long-held affections for the recently widowed Juliana
Harrington might finally be reciprocated. He begins to
allow himself to dream of one day forming a family with
her and her young boy. Soon, however, a new suitor arrives
in London, challenging the doctor\'s claims on Juliana\'s
happiness. Worse, it seems the evil creature that Dr. Bond
had wrestled with during the Ripper and Torso Killer
investigations is back and stronger than ever. As the
corpses of murdered children begin to turn up in the
Thames, the police surgeon finds himself once again in a
life-and-death struggle with an uncanny, inexorable foe.