Detective Murdoch Book 4
Maureen Jennings
McClelland & Stewart
An imprint of Penguin Random House Canada
ISBN 9780771043369
eISBN 9780771043215
ASIN B003H3IOWI
This book is half way through the Murdoch Series, it is book 4 of a series that currently has 8 novels and a novella. Over the past 10 weeks I have read and reviewed a book by Maureen Jennings each week. Over those ten weeks I have read 5 non-Murdoch books by Jennings and this is the 6th of the works in the Murdoch universe. This novel is also the basis for episode 6 in season one of the Tv series. As such the story was fairly familiar. Or at least many elements of it. The novels and they TV show have numerous similarities, but also a few differences. Both are great entertainment. Of the Murdoch books I have read most have been rated either 4 or 5 stars. For this one I must admit it was hard, I came close to giving it three stars. It is the first story in the series that I did not devour. In fact, I started it, read a different book, then came back and finished it. The story finishes very well. But I found the beginning really slow.
In this story we encounter Murdoch’s sister who is a cloistered nun, on her deathbed. We encounter his estranged father, who is charged with murder. We encounter more of Murdoch’s conflicting reactions to his Catholic faith. Both at the convent and in his relations with a non-Catholic woman. And the story has a lot going on. There are plot trails about dog fights, illegal gambling, a case against Harry Murdoch that is not so clean cut as it first appeared. There is both a young man and woman who are considered simpletons. And we have a lot of people all hiding different things. And Murdoch’s own conflicting feelings about his past and his father might get in the way of his really seeking the truth and justice.
As mentioned, the first third of this story seems to drag. But once It gets going it seems to really race on to the end. One of the things I loved about this story is that everything is not wrapped up nice and clean at the end. There are several story lines left unanswered. It leaves me wondering if we will encounter them in another of the books, or if we will just need to draw our own conclusions and be contented with them. I am very glad I read this book, and to date it is the closest to one of the episodes in the show. I am thankful that I returned to the book, and the ending has left me hungry for the next Murdoch novel.
Books by Maureen Jennings:
Detective Murdoch Series:
0.5 Shipwreck
1.0 Except the Dying
2.0 Under the Dragon's Tail
3.0 Poor Tom Is Cold
4.0 Let Loose the Dogs
5.0 Night's Child
6.0 Vices of My Blood
7.0 A Journeyman to Grief
8.0 Let Darkness Bury the Dead
...
Detective Inspector Tom Tyler Series:
1.0 Season of Darkness
2.0 Beware This Boy
3.0 No Known Grave
4.0 Dead Ground in Between
...
Christine Morris Series:
1.0 Does Your Mother Know?
2.0 The K Handshape
...
Paradise Café Series:
1.0 Heat Wave
2.0 November Rain
3.0 Cold Snap
...
Other books:
The Map of Your Mind: Journeys into Creative Expression
Investigating Murdoch Mysteries: The Official Companion to the Series – with Michelle Ricci and Mir Bahmanyar
...
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