From Publishers Weekly Bestseller Pearl (The Poe Shadow) delivers a period thriller that has the misfortune to fall short of the high standard set by Dan Simmons's Drood (Reviews, Nov. 24), which also centers on Charles Dickens's final, unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. After the author dies in 1870, a series of suspicious deaths leads Dickens's U.S. publisher, James Osgood, to suspect they may be connected with the solution to the novel's puzzle. Accompanied by attractive bookkeeper Rebecca Sand, the sister of one of the victims, Osgood travels from Boston to England to seek clues to Drood's missing conclusion. The action shifts to India, where Charles's son Francis is a superintendent of the Bengal Mounted Police, and back in time, to the novelist's last American tour in 1867. Some awkward prose distracts ("There were several other grim faces at dinner that, like some imperceptible force, spread a dark cloud over the levity"), while the ending may strike some readers as a cop-out. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Bookmarks Magazine Many critics compared Pearl’s latest effort to Dan Simmons’s recent, lengthy SF novel Drood (HHHJ May/June 2009)—though they are far different beasts. A historical literary mystery filled with real-life figures, The Last Dickens showcases Pearl’s impressive research into the Victorian era—from opium wars in India to publishing house culture. The novel also entertains, with surprising twists that quickly turn sinister. Yet American critics faulted the tangential (and coincidental) subplots, while British reviewers questioned Pearl’s grasp on their culture. For readers interested in Dickens or who want an engaging mystery, however, The Last Dickens is "a fitting testament to the thrall in which many of us are still held by the world of the great Victorian novelists” (Christian Science Monitor). Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC

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Рейтинг книги: 5 из 5, 6 голос(-ов).