REVIEW: Murder as a Fine Art

PLOT: Thomas De Quincey, infamous for his memoir CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM-EATER, is the major suspect in a series of ferocious mass murders identical to ones that terrorized London forty-three years earlier. The blueprint for the killings seems to be De Quincey's essay "On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts." Desperate to clear his name but crippled by opium addiction, De Quincey is aided by his devoted daughter Emily and a pair of determined Scotland Yard detectives. In MURDER AS A FINE ART, David Morrell plucks De Quincey, Victorian London, and the Ratcliffe Highway murders from history. Fogbound streets become a battleground between a literary star and a brilliant murderer, whose lives are linked by secrets long buried but never forgotten.

REVIEW: I'm doing Murder as a Fine Art for my mystery book club at the library, and it was suggested to me personally from a co-worker awhile back. I took the suggestion for two reasons. One is that David Morrell is the author, who is famously known for having written First Blood, which is the basis for the character Rambo. First Blood is a great movie, though I've never read the book, so I knew that the author was capable of writing a very compelling story. The second reason is that it seemed like a fairly dark novel, which I'm a big fan of the dark arts typically when it comes to fiction. When I finally got around to picking it up earlier this week, I suddenly remembered not being a huge fan of historical fiction because of the type of writing it typically brings along with it. What is impressive about Morrell's writing here is that even though the story is a historical fiction, it's loose enough to keep a reader like me turning the pages and not getting bored with the old English times dialogue. Morrell never goes full English on the reader, and I think that's the reason this book works so well for me. The book starts with a chapter from the killer's perspective, and it really sets the tone for the book. The deaths and action are all written in such great detail, and though it does provide for a gruesome image or two, I really find that entertaining. I want to feel the full effect of the killer, so that I'm as interested in catching the guy as the characters in the book are.

Thomas De Quincey is an interesting character whom I didn't know was a real person until I was about halfway through the book. I really enjoyed his sense of humor, and his frequently made fun of way of thinking about the killer and the murders, and just life in general. His addiction to opium and laudanum is the driving force behind his attitude and outlook on everything, and much like everyone points out, it makes him so much different than anyone else in those times. His capability of thinking things through, is many times what keeps him out of trouble, or gets him out of it. His daughter Emily was also an interesting character mainly because of her following in her father's footsteps, in the sense that she was a free thinking woman in a time where it was sort of taboo for a woman to be independent. She wears a dress that shows the motion of her legs, and continually finds herself in places or conversations that men don't seem to quite understand why. I liked Emily and even though she's not the main character, she often feels like the one that the story focuses on because of her involvement in almost everything, as well as her journal entries peppered throughout the book.

The other two main characters are the Scotland Yard detectives who at first seem like they'll be the main protagonists of the book, but end up being side characters to the De Quinceys. They don't really have the humor or the personality that they do, but they do serve as the hand of the law in the book to keep the story going. Obviously in the search for a killer in the 1800's had to involve the law somehow, because everyday people like the De Quinceys could not have done it without them or their information. In the end, I don't think the ultimate twist of revealing the character is too big. I do like how it's done though, and I like the killer's background that really exhibits Morrell's strengths as a writer for these type of characters. I did like the story behind how it was done, why it was done, and who it was done for but again it wasn't a particularly mind blowing experience. The novel is very dark, and it's not for the faint of heart. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, or mystery novels. It has a Jack the Ripper type feel to it, and probably draws a lot of resemblances though I'm not entirely familiar with that story either. I'm pleased with my reading experience and I do want to try out more fiction from Morrell, and knowing that none of that is historical helps, because Murder as a Fine Art definitely wasn't amazing enough to change my opinion on that. 

RATED : ( R )

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVER : ( 7 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 7 / 10 )