Comments on things mean a lot: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale

Thanks for your interesting review! I found it via...

2010-05-11T07:36:27.170+01:00

Thanks for your interesting review! I found it via the link from the Jack the Ripper book review from today. You're more positive about The Suspicions than me, but I didn't realize it was non-fiction when I bought it.

Here's my review: http://leeswammes.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/the-suspicions-of-mr-whicher-by-kate-summerscale/

Chris: No. :P Joanna: I look forward to you thoug...

2009-11-02T18:25:03.262Z

Chris: No. :P

Joanna: I look forward to you thoughts!

Meghan: I can't imagine watching a true crime series either - it'd give me nightmares! But the cultural/literary details were fascinating :)

Zibilee: I agree!

S. Krishna: They're difficult to read, but at least she doesn't mention them again after those initial chapters.

Naida: I'll look up The Monster of Florence!

Susan: I think I will :D I finished my first Sayers a few days ago, btw, and it was excellent.

BooksPlease, thank you for your link!

I thought it's a terrific book - my post on it is ...

2009-10-31T17:17:54.686Z

I thought it's a terrific book - my post on it is here.

Oh I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Once you got past ...

2009-10-23T23:24:13.436+01:00

Oh I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Once you got past the description of the murder, which is horrifying. I really enjoyed the book for many of the same reasons you did. Whew! this means you might like some of the mysteries I like, too! :-D

This is a good exploration of the police, Victorian society, and women, I found, too. And a lovely review, Nymeth, as ever! One day I expect to see all your reviews collected in a book - and I'll be first in line to buy it!

Wow, this sounds intense. I read one true crime bo...

2009-10-22T02:07:48.501+01:00

Wow, this sounds intense. I read one true crime book and it did make me a bit queasy, but I enjoyed the book overall. It was called 'The Monster of Florence'
Great review.
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

I think I would have trouble with the graphic desc...

2009-10-21T22:45:02.537+01:00

I think I would have trouble with the graphic descriptions, but the book sounds interesting. Thanks for the review!

I loved this book, and thought it was a really inv...

2009-10-21T22:05:24.424+01:00

I loved this book, and thought it was a really involving read. I agree with you about details of the murder in the first sections being hard to read. What I found so extremely interesting about this book was the literary connection that you mentioned. I remember reading how Whicher was basically the model for all the detectives in the literature of the time and how he was the first to revolutionize techniques that are used even today in the same types of cases. Amazing book.

I really enjoyed this book for all the reasons you...

2009-10-21T10:25:20.009+01:00

I really enjoyed this book for all the reasons you picked out. I'm not at all a fan of true crime - my dad likes to watch that kind of show on TV and I hate it - but I loved the depth of cultural detail that Summerscale explored from that crime. I'd read almost all of the books mentioned, so I could really connect the dots. I can see your point about the spoilers, though.

I recently bought this on a whim, I'd never heard ...

2009-10-21T08:31:39.560+01:00

I recently bought this on a whim, I'd never heard of it before. I'm glad I did now and hope to get to it soon!

YES more vlogs :p

2009-10-21T05:49:52.680+01:00

YES more vlogs :p

Diane, hope you enjoy it if you decide to pick it ...

2009-10-20T19:18:15.498+01:00

Diane, hope you enjoy it if you decide to pick it up!

Kathy: yep, that's what sold me :P

Jackie, a very fair quibble! I really hate spoilers of any kind :/

A Bookshelf Monstrosity: You're welcome - enjoy!

Terri: That was really the most interesting part.

Melody: You're welcome!

Jenny: It does get easier - later on they mostly focus on... well, I can't tell you who :P But it does get much easier.

Molly, thank you! And thank you for YOUR review, which was one of the ones that made me covet it.

Staci: Yep...it's calling your name :P

Chris: lol! I hate to delete like 10 of those spam comments :/ Let's hope it doesn't come back... This DID disturb me, but it was awesome at the same time. And NO more vlogs :P

Kailana: lol...yep, we are :S

Alice: This was only my second ever. They're out of my comfort zone, but then again, it's nice to venture out sometimes!

Marg: I found that very interesting too! I had no idea about the initial association between investigators and a sense of surveillance.

Trish, I hope you enjoy it! Having read The Moonstone before it make it even more enjoyable, and not just because of the spoilers.

Meg: Yes, it was perfect for this time of year, just like a "real" mystery!

Andreea: Same here :D

Great review! I really liked this book because I l...

2009-10-20T16:38:46.584+01:00

Great review! I really liked this book because I love the Victorian Era!

I've looked at this one a few times in bookstores ...

2009-10-20T14:17:43.677+01:00

I've looked at this one a few times in bookstores but never really thought it was for me... but now I'm rethinking that! Sounds like an excellent book to read over the winter, too. Fantastic review!

I NEED to read this one! I've been wanting to eve...

2009-10-20T12:26:40.695+01:00

I NEED to read this one! I've been wanting to ever since the first reviews trickled in and I bought it this summer. I'm a little daunted by the length, though. I didn't know that Whicher inspired Sergeant Cuff! That makes me even more excited to read the book!

I read this a while ago and thought it was a very ...

2009-10-20T11:35:26.317+01:00

I read this a while ago and thought it was a very engaging, albeit somewhat dense read. I don't read a lot of true crime, but reading about the start of the police force was very interesting.

Thanks for the review, Ana! I haven't actually rea...

2009-10-20T07:15:54.671+01:00

Thanks for the review, Ana! I haven't actually read any true crime stories but I think I have a few in my TBR pile.

I see you got the same spam visitor that I got! Ar...

2009-10-20T03:17:58.067+01:00

I see you got the same spam visitor that I got! Aren't we lucky?

This isn't my normal read either, but I might have to look into it!

Have you given anymore thought to what I will be reading?

Ummm...need a spyder jacket Ana? What the hell is ...

2009-10-20T02:48:39.585+01:00

Ummm...need a spyder jacket Ana? What the hell is a spyder jacket anyway? I'm sure as hell not clicking on those links to find out! Anyway!

This book sounds fascinating!! I go through periods where I like to read true crime stories, but most of the time they disturb me because they really happened, lol. But this sounds really well written!! And I love that it makes references to other literature.

You know the only thing that would've made this review better? Can you guess what I'm going to say??? If you had VLOGGED it ;)

This one does seem to be tugging at me....I may ha...

2009-10-20T02:09:14.685+01:00

This one does seem to be tugging at me....I may have to give in!!

OH - I am so glad that you liked it! And what a w...

2009-10-20T01:58:04.444+01:00

OH - I am so glad that you liked it! And what a wonderfully thorough review :)

I'm in the middle of reading this, and I like it m...

2009-10-20T01:48:12.016+01:00

I'm in the middle of reading this, and I like it more than I was expecting - though yeah, the description of the murder was most unpleasant. (I skimmed that bit.) I'm having a hard time keeping track of everyone! but hopefully that'll get easier as they narrow things down.

A Victorian mystery! Now I'm really intrigued! :D ...

2009-10-20T01:03:33.573+01:00

A Victorian mystery! Now I'm really intrigued! :D Thanks for your lovely review, Nymeth!

Like you, I don't read much in the true crime cate...

2009-10-20T00:47:00.604+01:00

Like you, I don't read much in the true crime category. But ... Victorian true crime would be of interest. I like your comment that "the cultural and literary analysis of the impact this murder case had on Victorian sensibilities is what makes The Suspicions of Mr Whicher so interesting."

Victorian true crime? Count me in. Thanks for your...

2009-10-19T23:37:58.782+01:00

Victorian true crime? Count me in. Thanks for your review.

I'm so pleased to hear that you enjoyed this book ...

2009-10-19T22:11:18.433+01:00

I'm so pleased to hear that you enjoyed this book - I loved it!

My only minor quibble would be that it gave away the endings of many classic crime books, but I'm trying to forget those spoilers before picking one up!