Hello, Saloners!
A couple of weeks ago I posted about the book Blind Justice, by Bruce Alexander. It had been quite a while since I read a murder mystery. I don’t know why; I used to read mysteries all the time. But after a while I guess I got bored with solving the mystery, and now I only read them if there’s something else intriguing about them besides the whodunit aspect — such as, in the case of Blind Justice, the historical setting and the real-life characters. I was so intrigued, in fact, that I went on to read the second in the series, Murder in Grub Street.
Well! If it’s been a long time since I read a mystery, it’s been even longer since I read a series! I forgot how fun it can be to have that mix of old and new: characters you already know, but in a new situation. The one big drawback to continuing in a series is when authors feel the need to give a recap of everything, to provide too much exposition and explanation and background. Murder in Grub Street did have a fair amount of recapping, which I pretty much skipped. But that was its only flaw. The highlights were:
- Lots more about the publishing industry — the 13yo orphan narrator’s typesetting ability was actually important to the plot
- A colorful character, a little too-obviously inspired by the Artful Dodger, who speaks in Thieves’ Cant
- A very gory murder
- A weird religious cult
- An orthodox rabbi who tells parables
- A possible love interest for Sir John
- A glimpse inside Bethlem Royal Hospital, aka Bedlam
Yes indeed! The next book in the series is called Watery Grave, and I have it on hold already.
How do you feel about reading a series? Do you get bored with the same old characters after a while? Do you have a favorite series?
