Friday 28 December 2012

The Beauty of Murder


Author: A. K. Benedict

Published: February 2013

What They Say: Stephen Killigan has been cold since the day he came to Cambridge as a junior lecturer. Something about the seven hundred years of history staining the stones of the university has given him a chill he can't shake. When he stumbles across the body of a missing beauty queen, he thinks he's found the reason. But when the police go to retrieve the body and find no trace, Killigan has found a problem - and a killer - that is the very opposite of reason.

Killigan's unwitting entry into Jackamore Grass's sinister world will lead him on a trail of tattooists, philosophers, cadavers and scholars of a deadly beauty. As Killigan traces a path between our age and seventeenth century Cambridge, he must work out how a corpse can be found before someone goes missing, and whether he's at the edge of madness or an astonishing discovery.

A fast-paced page-turner THE BEAUTY OF MURDER is a speculative crime thriller that travels to the heart of gruesome series of crime by way of a city and a person that have far too many secrets written in blood. 

What Sheli Says: I am generally more of a fan of cosy mysteries rather than the more traditional murder mystery, but liked the sound of this and thought I would give it a go.

It is quite fast paced and very twisty without being horribly gory and procedural (although there is a suitable amount of gore in places!). The story is multi-layered and there is an element of time travel that makes the possibilities for this book limitless.

It kept me guessing and gasping when I turned the page and there was another twist. I didn’t think this was predictable as some murder mysteries can be and felt quite fresh and unique when reading it.

It is a well written book and quite witty in parts. I think that this is an excellent first offering from the author and can see a series coming from this and possibly even a TV series!  I would recommend this as a new British mystery with a fantasy element to fans of murder mysteries and time travel. Or even to anyone who would like to try something new!

Fans of Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant series will enjoy this book.  

I was sent an advance copy of this book for review by lovereading. It will be published on 14 February 2013, and is available for pre-order now.

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