The Anatomy of Ghosts - Softcover

Andrew Taylor is the author of a number of critically acclaimed crime novels, including the Roth Trilogy (ITV's Fallen Angel) and The American Boy, his bestselling historical novel which was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection. He has won many awards, including two CWA Ellis Peters Historical Daggers and most recently the CWA Diamond Dagger. He lives in the Forest of Dean.

What is it about historical mysteries that compels many writers to abandon the crisp conciseness of a well-honed plot in favor of sprawling narratives vined over with excess verbiage? There’s a really good premise here, but many readers will tire of hunting for its development in this almost-500-page book. Taylor sets his blend of ghost story and mystery at Cambridge University in 1786, focusing on one secret club whose overly privileged members embark on debauches that include having a female procuress find young women who are lured to a chamber, tied to a bed, and then raped by the collegians. One woman dies before she can be debauched. One of the club members claims to have seen her ghost; it so unsettles him that he is committed to a mental institution. His mother entreats London bookseller and librarian John Holdsworth, who has written an exposé of ghosts, to investigate. The engaging premise and the evocative setting are weighed down by the overstuffed plot, but fans of Rebecca Stott’s leaner ghost-mystery Ghostwalk (2007) will want to give this one a try. --Connie Fletcher