So I’ve never really watched the television show Murdoch Mysteries, but of course being Canadian and a long-time devotee of the CBC I had certainly heard about it, so it’s definitely on my Netflix list of ‘to be watched’. Because of this, when I was given the chance to review a forthcoming Murdoch Mystery book from the author Maureen Jennings (who has written the entire series the television show is based on) I jumped at the chance, and was not disappointed.
Let Darkness Bury the Dead takes place in 1917, which is a few decades later than the the time period the television show takes place within. Murdoch’s son Jack has just returned from fighting in France with a wounded arm, and he’s clearly suffering from PTSD when he arrives home in Toronto. Protagonist and Senior Detective Murdoch understands Jack needs time to mentally rest and recover, but strange connections begin to emerge between Jack and the current murder cases that Murdoch is focusing on. It doesn’t help that Jack’s friend Percy is clearly addicted to opium, finding refuge from his war-addled brain in the darkest parts of the city with Jack by his side. Torn between wanting to be an understanding father to his son and rooting out the murderer(s?) running amok in his district, Murdoch Sr. finds himself in a difficult position, made even more challenging by the fact that he’s a single father, having lost his wife when Jack was just four years old.
Jennings is clearly an adept mystery writer-she wouldn’t be this successful otherwise. The pacing of the mystery unfolding was close to perfect, and she included enough side stories to make the characters come alive. There’s a love interest for Murdoch (of course!), and we learn a bit more about his softer side when faced with the ravages of poverty during WWI, which seems to be upset him more than the crimes themselves-injustice is clearly Murdoch’s pet peeve, which of course makes him that much more likeable. Unlike most famous literary detectives, Murdoch doesn’t have any obvious personality issues or quirks, at least none that I could discern in just this one novel-perhaps frequent readers of Jennings’ books could tell me otherwise in the comment section below? Murdoch has got to have some skeletons in his closet!
I’m having trouble finding anything critical to say about this book because I so thoroughly enjoyed it. There weren’t any cliches, and it provided me a great couple days of escapism from some of the overly-serious books I’ve found myself reading lately. I wouldn’t call this ‘fluff’ though, it provided some unique insight into this time period with a few historical pieces taken from the author’s research (as per her author’s note at the end of the book). For instance, Jennings included an ‘official post card’ that soldiers were able to fill out and send back home as they fought overseas. These postcards were basically fill-in-the-blank documents, which obviously speaks volumes about the censorship applied to all correspondence at that time. Depressing for soldiers and their families for sure, but very cool for modern day readers to see! For all these reasons, I’ll be keeping an eager eye out for Jenning’s next work, no doubt dipping into her backlist in the meantime.
I do enjoy your reviews.
thanks so much, I really appreciate you stopping and reading them 🙂
Love this review! I’ll definitely check this book out 🙂
you won’t be disappointed!
We have watched Murdoch Mysteries for years and really enjoy all the characters, past and present, so cannot wait to read this book!
Dad-is this you? LOL If so, I’m saving you my copy of this book.
I didn’t realize they (the government?) censored soldiers’ letters home at any time in American history. Or were these soldiers Canadian? Anyway, that is…awful. Imagine getting that fill-in-the-blank correspondence from your son away in the trenches. 🙁
Ah yes, sorry I should have made that more clear-it’s Canadian soldiers. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if American soldiers were censored as well. Everyone was so paranoid that ‘intelligence’ was ending up in the wrong hands that this kind of stuff was quite common I think.
I am adding this to my Netflix list. Thank you.
Hope you enjoy it!
I’ve only read the first two of this series but I recommend them! I thought they might be a little dated but was surprised at how many “issues” are incorporated seamlessly; readers can learn a lot about the sexism/racism and other discriminatory attitudes of that era (as well as everyday details like housing and work) while being thoroughly engrossed in the story. Are you curious about her other series too?
I always like learning about new Canadian crime writers, so I’d definitely be interested in her other series-have you read any?
I’ve read and enjoyed her Tom Tyler series set during WW2 tremendously!
oh good to know!