Outstanding Narration
First off I’m going to praise the narration of this phenomenal audio book. Robert Degas has amazing talent and is an expert at accents. He flawlessly and seamlessly voiced multiple characters’ dialogue switching from Welsh, Irish, New York, New England, Cajun, Southern, British upper class and lower class, adding in a stutter for the main character, sometimes all within the same chapter. I was fairly dazzled by him and highly recommend listening to this one if you can.
For the book itself, it was very well done. Goodwin’s background as a prosecuting attorney and as a history professor culminated in this brilliantly complex and intricate murder mystery set in pre-civil war New York. The lead characters, detectives Jasper Lightner and Hieronymus Law were flawed and interesting in their own rights, as their pasts were integrated into the telling of this serial murder mystery/ conspiracy plot.
It had a Sherlock Holmes feel yet dark and gritty. If you enjoy police procedurals and dark and disturbing glimpses into humanity, this is a good read for you. Add to that a history lesson about the politics just before the civil war in the USA and your brain will explode with happiness.
The ending was complex and though you may see some of it coming, the twists and turns were very satisfying. I felt sympathy for the victims as well as the perpetrators, which is not an easy feat, as more often than not in mystery the villain is written as unredeemable and vile, in this they were complicated and real.
I’m excited to read the next one and hope there will be more to come in this series and by this author. She writes under several pen names and can be read in romance as S.M. Laviolette and Minerva Spencer.