Murder, Mystery and Intrigue...Not much.. (The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House - Kate Summerscale)

Member Name: Rhiana

Product:	The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House - Kate Summerscale
Date:	19/04/09 (210 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A thoroughly researched book on Early Policing and Victorian Social Class Structure

Disadvantages: Not what it leads you to believe.

'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder of Road Hill House' (yes that is the title not me unable to make up my mind on the book I'm reviewing) by Kate Summerscale has been every where the last few months. Published by Bloomsbury in April 2008 it has topped various best sellers lists. A Richard and Judy 2009 Book club book, it has won The Galaxy book of the year 2009 award, Th BBC Four Samual Johnson non-fiction book of the year 2008 prize and Play.com 2009 Popular Non Fiction Award. It has topped the most 'requested swap' list on popular book swapping website ReadItSawpIt for months.

The book tells the story of a real murder that happened at Road Hill House. On the morning of 30Th June 1860, the youngest son, aged just 4, of the middle class family ( the Saville-Kents) residing there at the time is discovered missing and later gruesomely murdered. The house shows no sign of break in or trespass, all windows and doors remain locked as they had the night before meaning that the perpetrator is one of the household. Jack Whicher, one of the first detectives at Scotland yard is sent to investigate the murder.

I bought this book after reading some rave reviews and the blurb on the back expecting a Victorian Gothic murder mystery based on true events. What I actually got is a thoroughly researched documented account, gleaned from witness statements, police records, letters, newspapers, court manuscripts and the authors own theory on the case. Since finishing the book I have read more reviews and articles and I am not alone in feeling miss led in this way.

Looking forward to an atmospheric thriller laced with deep, dark family screcrets I was disappointed. Far from being a page turning 'whodunit' it is a detailed account of a murder and policing in Victorian England. I carried on with the book and found lots of it interesting. When we read fictional accounts of times past we often think quaint and naive some of their ideas and morals are, this book gives a real life impression on how Victorians thought and lived and it's fascinating. There's an instance of a missing nightgown which was discovered to be dirtied and bloody by the first police constables investigating the case. However it's discounted as evidence as at the time it was felt 'improper' to ask a lady about such a garment of hers as it may cause her embarrassment. It's easy to consider those early detectives and police officers as careless and bungling, but reminds the reader we are visiting a time in history when the police were thought of as working class, and the upper classes virtually untouchable. Samuel Kent, the father of the murdered child and owner of Road Hill House was allowed to decline his property being searched and newspaper reports at the time were firmly behind him, believing intrusion into the 'Englishmans Castle..his home' disgaceful to suggest. Such circumstances show the difficulties social class created to the early detective investigating serious crime.

The murder and resulting investigation received huge public interest and turned everyone into a detective, even Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins (who it is thought based some of the events and characters in his novel The Moonstone) had theories on the case. Kate Summerscale documents letters sent between the two authors, aswell as anyone else who had an opinion on the case, within her book. I loved one would be forensics letter which offered his services of research in the ability to examine the retina of the eye of the murder victim, believing the last thing a person sees is held there permanently, thus revealing the murderers identity.

As a documentary chronicling early detective police work and forensics, and Victorian social class structure, then this book hits the spot. As an under the duvet with breath held tight book, as I feel I was led to believe, it fails miserably. There's very little dialogue and no atmospheric scene setting, reading more along the lines of 'He said, She said, it is reported that, in a letter to,' and so on.

I'm not sure why Kate Summerscale included Mr Whicher in the title of his book, as this book does not tell the story of a great detective who inspired characters such as Poirot and many others since. He doesn't feature heavily in the accounts and isn't particularly interesting. The Murder at Road Hill House would have sufficed.

There are long passages that are detailed, dull and don't really have great relevance to the theme. However it is easy to skip or skim parts and dip in and out of the book. The book is 372 pages long, although the final 60 pages are devoted to notes and a kind of bibliography which I just didn't bother reading. There's also around 20 pages of old photographs, I like this inclusion in a book and it offered some relief from the occassional monotony of reading.

If your looking for a fictional yarn on a true Victorian detective story and murder, then you might be disappointed. It's not a page turner, keeping you guessing. However if your interested in Social history and early detective work you probably would enjoy reading this book. I have rated The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale 3 stars, because although I felt miss led and cheated, I did actually enjoy reading quite a lot of this book. It is something I would never have chosen otherwise. I also have to credit the Author for the painstaking amount of research and detail she put into this book.

Summary: Despite not being as expected, an interesting, if at times boring read.