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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was mentioned by W. Russel Gray in his essay "For Whom the Bell Tolled: The Decline of British Prize Fighting in the Victorian Era" as an example of a well-researched fiction book on the subject. In addition to reading the essay, I'd also done my own research into British prize fighting, specifically its history and rules. Peter Lovesey's The Detective Wore Silk Drawers confirmed what I already knew and introduced me to a plethora of new elements for me to explore further.
As a mystery, it leaves a couple of questions with implied answers which I found a little frustrating but that is personal preference rather than a flaw in the writing. There was also one scene that, I thought, wasn't needed as it wasn't resolved or even mentioned at the mystery's resolution. Whilst it served a purpose in terms of the plot, I thought it could've served the same purpose without including this particular incident. I don't want to mention what that incident is as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the book.
Overall, the parts of the book I enjoyed most were the humour and the faithful recreation of British prize fighting. I'll definitely be looking into the other Sergeant Cribb books in the future.
As a mystery, it leaves a couple of questions with implied answers which I found a little frustrating but that is personal preference rather than a flaw in the writing. There was also one scene that, I thought, wasn't needed as it wasn't resolved or even mentioned at the mystery's resolution. Whilst it served a purpose in terms of the plot, I thought it could've served the same purpose without including this particular incident. I don't want to mention what that incident is as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the book.
Overall, the parts of the book I enjoyed most were the humour and the faithful recreation of British prize fighting. I'll definitely be looking into the other Sergeant Cribb books in the future.
A Victorian Detective novel that doesn’t break the mould.
This book reminded me very much of your classic detective tv show. Sergeant Cribb is a detective that doesn’t exactly work in the normal way and doesn’t reveal all he knows with his sidekick. Thackeray the sidekick is your more typical police officer and more compassionate!
In this case a headless body is pulled from the Thames and shows signs of having been competing in illegal bare-knuckle fighting. It’s up to Cribb to work out who this headless corpse is and how he ended up in the Thames!
This book reminded me very much of your classic detective tv show. Sergeant Cribb is a detective that doesn’t exactly work in the normal way and doesn’t reveal all he knows with his sidekick. Thackeray the sidekick is your more typical police officer and more compassionate!
In this case a headless body is pulled from the Thames and shows signs of having been competing in illegal bare-knuckle fighting. It’s up to Cribb to work out who this headless corpse is and how he ended up in the Thames!