From Publishers Weekly
In Holland's impressive third Victorian novel of crime and corruption (after 2003's The Devil's Acre), the tormented Reverend Tuckworth is still haunted by his mercy killing of his fatally ill wife. When the death of Bellminster's member of Parliament causes a feeding frenzy among the town's powers-that-be and would-be power players, Tuckworth's friend and patron, Lord Granby, further stirs the pot by deciding to stand for election. The resulting turmoil divides the community, and some resort to violence to influence the voters. After an innocent bystander is brutally beaten to death, Tuckworth finds himself unable to resist investigating, despite the local leadership's opposition. Though the choice to reveal the killer's identity early on somewhat undercuts Tuckworth's achievements as a sleuth, Holland does an excellent job at evoking the desperate claustrophobia of the town, which will remind many of the setting of Dickens's Hard Times.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Holland continues his finely honed Victorian mystery series featuring the introspective Reverend Tuckworth. This time around, politics rears its ugly head in the generally sleepy village, and the respected dean of Bellminster becomes involved in unraveling a partisan conspiracy that results in murder. After Bellminster's MP unexpectedly dies, a number of prosperous and powerful gentlemen vie to fill the parliamentary vacancy. When a series of poorly orchestrated riots and acts of vandalism yield a dead body, Tuckworth steps in to investigate a crime of astonishing savagery. Although the mystery itself isn't much, the author manages to evoke the Victorian temperament and psyche in this intelligent period piece. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
It is 1834, and the town of Bellminster is thrown into the turmoil of a by-election for Parliament. Reverend Tuckworth tries to stay away from it all, but when a political rally turns deadly, the town turns to Tuckworth in hopes of staunching the blood on the streets. Soon the situation grows more dire when someone in Bellminster sees the chaos as an opportunity for murder. Yet as Tuckworth investigates, what can he accomplish when even his oldest friend questions his motives and wonders which candidate the dean is working for?
With a vibrant Victorian setting and fine attention to detail, The Devil's Game sets David Holland among the front ranks of historical mystery writers.
From the Back Cover
Praise for the Reverend Tuckworth Series
"This is the sort of fast-paced, atmospheric treat that will appeal to anyone who relished Caleb Carr's The Alienist."
- San Francisco Chronicle on The Devil in Bellminster
"David Holland is to be congratulated for his ability to write a Victorian novel that infuses a modern sensibility into a well-defined period landscape."
- Contra Costa Times on The Devil in Bellminster
"[Holland's] ability to evoke a feeling in precise and beautiful language persists in this work.... There is no doubt that his is a talent to watch."
- The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) on The Devil in Bellminster
"A finely detailed Victorian historical."
- Library Journal on The Devil's Acre
About the Author
David Holland is the author of The Devil in Bellminster and The Devil's Acre. This is his third novel in the Reverend Tuckworth series. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, Gwendolyn, and his daughter, Mary Kate.
