As I was up at about 8:30 this morning so far today I have been to the gym, tidied away some laundry, did some further laundry and did some dishes. Then, to entertain myself I have also read a few chapters of my present book and cooked myself a lovely meal.
Aforesaid meal is now soon to be followed by a coffee and a earlier acquired muffin.
Now.... if I could only get my laptop to behave and speed up a bit it would be a perfect day.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House - Kate Summerscale
I was a bit surprised by this one at first as I thought that it was a work of fiction, a novel. But it really isn't. After I got over that one I got on well with it. It was interesting to read but I do have a little gripe with it. The title is slightly misleading. Mr Whicher does play a big part in the book and he does have his suspicions about the murder that is described. The book does tell you about a murder that took place in 1860 and how it was investigated. But then it also tries to be a brief history of the profession of the new profession of "the Detective" and it then also wants to be a bit of an biography of Mr Whicher. At times it feel that it tried to be a bit too much of everything. I would have been happy with either of the things it wants to be but would then rather have a whole book about one or the other. Having said that, it is a good read!
We get the story of the murder and the aftermath. All the suspects are discussed and dismissed until there is no-one left. When you do find out who did it in the end it is sad for the family involved but it does vindicate Mr Whicher and his methods. It is interesting to see how the family and the community deal with the fact that a murder has been committed and that it was someone from the community that did it. I also did really like how Whicher was described and how his profession was highlighted. You learn a little more about the man Whicher and about what life as a detective was like for him. The descriptions of some of the cases he is involved with are very entertaining! Detectives were not always looked upon favourably and it seems that our Mr Whicher has his fair share of falling out of favour with the public and his bosses. At the time of the murder being a detective was a relatively new profession and it is fair to say that the way Whicher dealt with this murder had an impact on the further development of the profession and on the crime writers of that time.
I did find it really funny to realise that crime writing only really started to develop as a specific genre round the time of the murder. Apparently there were only a few writers telling detective stories. Strange when now it is one of the biggest genres in fiction.
The descriptions of the trial(s) and how witnesses were dealt with are very good and very detailed and informative. You can really tell how much things have changed since then both in how cases are tried and in crime detection. Another good thing is the book gives you the before and after of the murder and tells what happened to those involved. For Whicher this one was not so good an experience. People thought he got it wrong and he faced a lot of opposition form the locals in his investigations and during the trials. I would have loved to have seen more of Whicher's letters in clued but I think not many survived in the end... shame as his letters give you a good idea of what he thought of the case and give you a better idea of his character.
All in all, informative but slightly confusing book. If Summerscale ever decides to write Whicher's biography I will be sure to get it though.
Title: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, or the Murder at Road Hill House
Author: Kate Summerscale
314 pages
Bloomsbury
ISBN #978-0-7475-9648-6
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