Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough

The Blurb On The Back:

When a rotting torso is discovered in the vault of New Scotland Yard, it doesn’t take Dr Thomas Bond, Police Surgeon, long to realise that there is a second killer at work in the city where, only a few days before, Jack the Ripper brutally murdered two women in one night. But this is the hand of a colder killer, one who lacks Jack’s emotion.

Dr Bond, plagued by insomnia and an unshakeable sense of foreboding, has begun to spend his sleepless nights in a drug-induced haze in the opium dens down by the docks. He’s not the only man who looks like he doesn’t belong there. There is a stranger, a man in a long black coat, who spends his nights studying the addicts as they dream.

More headless and limbless torsos find their way into the Thames, and as Dr Bond becomes obsessed with finding the killer, he begins to suspect the stranger might be the key. As his investigations lead him into an unholy alliance, he starts to wonder: has a man brought mayhem to the streets of London, or a monster?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Sarah Pinborough’s novel, the first in a new horror series, draws on the real life case of the Thames Torso and people from the time and mixes it with east European mythology. As a fan of Pinborough’s other work and having an interest in Ripperology, I was keen to read it but while Pinborough has a great feel for period and Bond is a complex character – a drug addict in denial with an almost sixth sense about the crimes – the plot never quite gelled for me and the alternating viewpoints (the narration’s predominantly divided between Bond, Kosminski, Inspector Moore (the detective assigned to the case) and James Harrington (a young man travelling across Europe in search of adventure) meant that I never really felt connected to any of them. At the same time, the ending was too drawn out for me, which led to an anti-climactic finale. As such, although this is an okay read, it never really sprung to life for me and while I’ll check out Pinborough’s other work, I’m not sure I’ll continue with this series.

The Enterprise of Death by Jesse Bullington

The Blurb On The Back:

As the witch pyres of the Spanish Inquisition blanket Renaissance Europe in a moral haze, a young African slave finds herself the unwilling apprentice of an ancient necromancer. Unfortunately, quitting his company proves even more hazardous than remaining his pupil when she is afflicted with a terrible curse.

Yet salvation may lie in a mysterious tome her tutor has hidden somewhere on the war-torn continent. She sets out on a seemingly impossible journey to find the book, never suspecting her fate is tied to three strangers: the artist Niklaus Manuel Deutsch, the alchemist Dr Paracelsus and a gun-slinging Dutch mercenary. As Manuel paints her macabre story on canvas, plank and church wall, the apprentice becomes increasingly aware of the great dangers that surround her. She realises she must revisit the foul necromancy of her childhood – or death will be the least of her concerns.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jesse Bullington’s second novel is an exuberant, sweary dark fantasy rich in Medieval detail that carried me from page to page. It’s easier to empathise with the main characters than in THE SAD TALE OF THE BROTHERS GROSSBART (although Awa’s naivety did annoy me at times and Paracelsus and Monique are little more than caricatures) and although the pace did sag at times, the story was such that I kept reading on and I would definitely check out his next book.

Pantomime by Laura Lam

The Blurb On The Back:

R. H. Ragona’s CIRCUS OF MAGIC is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a vanished civilisation – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where ANYTHING SEEMS POSSIBLE … a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the DAUGHTER OF A NOBLE FAMILY, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, A RUNAWAY living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the act’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES of Ellada.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Laura Lam’s debut YA fantasy is an interesting character study about identity and finding your place in the world. Gene’s a well-drawn and sympathetic character who’s struggling to work out who she is and I enjoyed following her on her journey. The fantasy world of Ellada is well realised with an enjoyable pseudo-Victorian feel and the circus is well depicted, albeit there are a lot of characters to keep track of and I would have liked a map to give me a sense of what the world looks like. However, there’s a lot of backstory and world building going on here and while that did keep me engaged, I didn’t really get a sense of where the plot was going until the end, while the cliffhanger ending left me irritated. Nevertheless, I’ll definitely be reading on and look forward to finding out what happens to Micah next.