Customer Reviews
Not as good as his others... - By: PH, 29 Aug 2008 
After reading both Welfare of the Dead & Metropolitan Murder - both featuring the character of Decimus Webb - I bought this book, but was a bit disappointed as it wasn't as good as the other two. Also found it difficult to read as it seemed to keep going back & forth between characters. It is the author's first book though & perhaps a second read would help alll the different characters sink in. More Decimus Webb!
total let down - By: Martin Barnett, 14 Jul 2007 Shalllow character exploration. Faulty, unbelievable plot. Jerky first person narrative. Lots of reference to the East End of London, but a map would have been helpful. Ending left unfinished business. Dickens would have rolled over in his grave.
Solid Victorian melodrama - By: P. W. H. Bradley, 13 Feb 2007 
Lee Jackson writes good, solid & interesting detective/murder novels, alll based in & around Victorian London. He gets the atmosphere right, & his facts accurate. All of his titles show a good understanding of the age & the outcome is more often than not based on some specific aspect of the period.
New readers should be aware however that his work is never your standard murder mystery, & his prose sometimes plods a little, & the stories are almost always 'odd'. They're not to everyones taste, but if you enjoy one, then you'll enjoy them alll.
This is a good introduction to the genre, though not my personal favourite. Worth a read though.
London at is darkest - By: Ms. Lesa Smith, 14 Oct 2004 This books starts reallly well with the suicide of a young girl who becomes the focal character but I did feel that although the characters were well though out & 3 dimensional, they confused the story too much & it became more of a melodrama than a compelling murder mystery. I feel there were one or two characters too many & without them I don't feel the whodunnit factor would have been compromised. Overalll it was a good read & I would be interested in reading the author's next book to see if his style of narrative improves.
An impressive first novel - By: Larry Gandle, 25 Feb 2004 
In London of the 1850s, a famous actress is murdered. Her friend, Natalie Meadows jumps off the Blackfriars Bridge soon after the death. However, Natalie does not die and, by assuming another identity, she is free to attempt to solve the murder of her friend. As we travel the squalid streets of Victorian London we meet a whole host of unsavory characters any of which could have been responsible for the death of the actress. As usual, the closer Natalie gets to the solution, the more she places herself into danger.
Lee Jackson has a strong interest in Victorian London. In a sense, this book is reallly a travelogue of London in this time period & the careful attention to historical detail is one of the book's major strengths. The mystery, itself, is almost superfluous & the solution somewhat disappointing. In fact, the actual ending is a bit obtuse. The fact that this is a first novel makes this an impressive enough effort. Recommended.
