Cheap The Devil's Acre: An Unlikely Mystery (Unlikely Mysteries featuring Rev. Tuckworth) (Book) (David Holland) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Devil's Acre: An Unlikely Mystery (Unlikely Mysteries featuring Rev. Tuckworth)

Quoth the raven . . . .
This second installment in the mystery series starring the Rev. Tuckworth, now Dean of Bellminster Cathedral in the English Midlands, thoroughly lives up to the promise of his debut work. The cathedral was burned down by the villain at the end of the first book, leaving only the walls, and Tuckworth's job now is to raise the funds to rebuild. To this end, and accompanied by the extremely irritating Rev. Mortimer, the new rector, he goes off to London to try to squeeze some money out of Hamlin Price, a rather mysterious charitable benefactor. But a murder is committed during Price's dinner party and the Dean, naturally, finds himself involved. Price has a very dark side, as well, but Tuckworth is more interested in saving the man from himself than in hanging him. Holland does an excellent job of depicting the social mores of England in the 1830s, both of London and of rural towns, and of painting an entirely believable portrait of an extraordinarily humane human being. (It's also refreshing to see someone present an enlightened view of the cause and nature of pedophilia, considering the medieval-style witch hunts now common in modern America.) And, just for fun, the Dean's sidekick is none other than poet and seminal critic Leigh Hunt. A first-rate novel.

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Victorian depravity -- much sanitized
This is a genteel tale with a heart warming protagonist and a nicely complex villain. The strong suit of this book, in fact, is its creation of characters. What's less strong is its plotting and the superficiality of the author's picture of Victorian society. Like like his clerical detective, the author seems unwilling to look squalor in the eye. If you want to feel the period go elsewhere, for instance to Michael Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White.

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strong historical thriller
Reverend Tuckworth knows that his faith in God is as dead as that murdered raven. He enjoyed working for three decades at Bellminster Cathedral, comfortable in his work in his marriage to Eleanor, and in their raising their daughter. However, his beliefs died the same night he ended Eleanor's suffering.

Though he detests travel, Tuckworth, he,among a horde of other begging applicants, visits the home of renowned philanthropist Hamlin Price to solicit the needed funding to help restore the cathedral to its past glory. During his meeting with Price, an explosive sound occurs. Tuckworth finds someone using a shot gun that killed Price's Secretary Malcolm Wicks. Though warned by the police and Price to mind his business, Tuckworth who was the first to see the corpse knows something is off kilter and begins making inquiries not the least concerned that the cathedral's so-called savior will withdraw his paltry offering.

THE DEVIL'S ACRE feels more like a historical thriller than a Victorian amateur sleuth tale. The story line contains several subplots that provide a deep look at social conditions in London and Bellminster, which makes the who-done-it pale in comparison. Tuckworth is a strong lead character going through a period of questioning everything he once believed in. His indifference towards life and religion comes out whether he refuses to invoke God's pleasure, truly supplicate himself to gain additional funding, or back down from a cat and mouse game of sleuthing. David Holland's tale is rich in the era so much so that nineteenth century readers will appreciate the depth.

Harriet Klausner