Grim Victorian Murder Mystery the Start to a Compelling New Series

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When a young, beautiful artistocrat is savagely sacrificed in a cemetery on All Hallow's Eve, it shocks the residents of Victorian London. Who would kill a woman like her? And why was she slain in such a cruel way? Another death, that of a young widower and part-time reporter for The Daily Telegraph, occurs on the same day, but to much less fanfare. Only Gemma Tate, the deceased man's twin sister, is left to mourn her brother Victor. Gemma has no connection to the dead woman until the police give her Victor's notebook, in which the journalist had frantically recorded notes about her odd death. His scribbles make little sense, but Gemma is convinced her brother saw something in the cemetery that night. Something that got him killed.

Sebastian Bell has been a police officer for 15 years. A good one, too, until the murder of his wife and unborn child devastated him completely. Now, he's barely going through the motions, preferring to lose himself in a haze of alcohol and opium than face the emptiness of his life. When Gemma seeks him out, begging him to help her find answers to her brother's death, he sees a chance to redeem himself. Victor's notebook doesn't offer much in the way of clues, but it's the only lead Sebastian's got. Although he doesn't want a sidekick, he can't shake off Gemma, who insists on helping with the investigation. 

As Gemma and Sebastian investigate both murders, they find themselves combing London's seedy underbelly as well as its polished drawing rooms for the truth behind the deaths. The closer they get, the more dangerous their pursuit becomes. Can they solve the case? Or will theirs be the next bodies rotting at the city mortuary?

I'm always on the lookout for new historical mystery series to love, so I was excited to give The Highgate Cemetery Murder, the first installment in the Tate and Bell series by Irina Shapiro, a go. Although the book turned out to be more gruesome and disturbing than I expected, I found it compelling. I didn't end up loving it, but I liked it well enough to continue with the series.

The novel has a moody, broody Victorian London setting, an appropriately atmospheric backdrop for this grim story. Although I saw the killer coming right from the start, the plot still had enough twists and turns to keep me reading. Which isn't to say it's original or surprising (it's actually quite generic), just that it's not boring. Even though I suspected the killer from early on, I kept reading to make sure I was right (and I was). Shapiro's prose isn't the most dynamic. It's more tell than show, but it still managed to pull me into the story and keep me immersed.

I quite liked Sebastian and Gemma. They're both intelligent, compassionate, determined people who are loyal and committed to improving society. They have an easy chemistry that develops naturally, never feeling fake or manufactured. I wanted them to succeed in their pursuits and find contentment in spite of their sorrows.

All in all, I enjoyed this novel (although "enjoy" feels like an odd word for this kind of read). I have the second book on hold at my library. Hopefully, I'll get to it sometime soon.

(Readalikes: Although The Highgate Cemetery Murder is much darker in tone, it reminds me of the Rip in Time series by Kelley Armstrong and the Below Stairs Mysteries series by Jennifer Ashley.)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a few F-bombs, plus milder invectives), violence, blood/gore, drug/alcohol abuse, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of The Highgate Cemetery Murder with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.