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SensualPoet · 08-02-2011, 07:48 PM

After forging through the heavy weather of David Ashton's Scottish idioms -- threatening to become a meal, or at least a side dish vs. atmosphere or spice as you'll find in Graham Thomas' Erskine Powell series -- what emerges from Shadow of the Serpent are finely etched characters from seamier neighbourhoods of 1880 Edinburgh. Detective Inspector James McLevy, himself a meaty, obsessed creature with a sort of bloody minded creative vision which helps him uncover the truth no matter how unexpected ... and roll with the punches in real time. Add in some delicious plot twists and this is a superb read.

In late night Leith, in the midst of a cold and misty night, Sadie Gorman, a very long in the tooth lady of the night, meets her end, suddenly, when her paid paramour approaches with a gash and slash, leaving her sliced in two, a crumpled bloody heap on the cobblestones. It's Inspector James McLevy who finds the broken bird and it instantly transports him to a similar dismemberment on his very first case, 30 years ago. Can this be a coincidence or does that unsolved murder point to a reprise starring the same characters? In steps a maiden, with an anguished tale and evidence that someone near the top of government may be involved. As McLevy and his sidekick Mulholland, still wet behind the ears, track down the clues -- which indeed take them from bawdy house to government house with appearances by Queen Victoria, Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone -- McLevy's 30 year quest to solve the first murder drives him forward. And even as the mists burn off, things are not always what they seem.

Ashton's McLevy is based on a true character, arguably one of the first true detectives in the UK, pre-dating the fictional world of Sherlock Holmes. The series began as radio plays for the BBC and three stories have since been recast as novels, this being the first. There is so much depth here, however, it offers far more than a 90 radio good possibly convey. Best of all, the ending is satisfying in the extreme as the loose ends come together unexpectedly well and the real life characters invoked allowed to return to their rightful historic places unbruised. I will definitely be up for volume two.

And a bonny bargain to boot! Available for Kindle or Kobo at the amazing price of under $1.50!

08-02-2011, 07:48 PM	#413
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	David Ashton - The Shadow of the Serpent After forging through the heavy weather of David Ashton's Scottish idioms -- threatening to become a meal, or at least a side dish vs. atmosphere or spice as you'll find in Graham Thomas' Erskine Powell series -- what emerges from Shadow of the Serpent are finely etched characters from seamier neighbourhoods of 1880 Edinburgh. Detective Inspector James McLevy, himself a meaty, obsessed creature with a sort of bloody minded creative vision which helps him uncover the truth no matter how unexpected ... and roll with the punches in real time. Add in some delicious plot twists and this is a superb read. In late night Leith, in the midst of a cold and misty night, Sadie Gorman, a very long in the tooth lady of the night, meets her end, suddenly, when her paid paramour approaches with a gash and slash, leaving her sliced in two, a crumpled bloody heap on the cobblestones. It's Inspector James McLevy who finds the broken bird and it instantly transports him to a similar dismemberment on his very first case, 30 years ago. Can this be a coincidence or does that unsolved murder point to a reprise starring the same characters? In steps a maiden, with an anguished tale and evidence that someone near the top of government may be involved. As McLevy and his sidekick Mulholland, still wet behind the ears, track down the clues -- which indeed take them from bawdy house to government house with appearances by Queen Victoria, Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone -- McLevy's 30 year quest to solve the first murder drives him forward. And even as the mists burn off, things are not always what they seem. Ashton's McLevy is based on a true character, arguably one of the first true detectives in the UK, pre-dating the fictional world of Sherlock Holmes. The series began as radio plays for the BBC and three stories have since been recast as novels, this being the first. There is so much depth here, however, it offers far more than a 90 radio good possibly convey. Best of all, the ending is satisfying in the extreme as the loose ends come together unexpectedly well and the real life characters invoked allowed to return to their rightful historic places unbruised. I will definitely be up for volume two. And a bonny bargain to boot! Available for Kindle or Kobo at the amazing price of under $1.50!