The Solitary House: A Novel [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

I made the mistake of reading the first couple of pages of "The Solitary House" as soon as it arrived in the mail--a mistake, because I could not tear myself away from it for the next eight hours.

Lynn Shepherd has crafted a superb mystery, which will sweep you back through time, into the fog-bound streets of mid-Victorian London. From the outwardly-respectable barrister's chambers of Lincoln's Inn Fields to the gin-soaked stews of Seven Dials, she conducts her readers on a tour that is as vivid as it is detailed. "The Solitary House" (called "Tom-All-Alone's", in Britain, after a Dickensian London slum) is not merely a mystery that has been plopped willy-nilly into a pseudo-period setting. Ms Shepherd is so steeped in both the history and the literature of 19th-Century London that her exceptionally well-written novel possesses an authenticity that is rare in mysteries nowadays.

I especially enjoyed the manner in which Ms Shepherd's narrative crossed paths with that of Charles Dickens in "Bleak House" (my favourite Dickens novel). The detective, Charles Maddox, in fact, is sent on his investigation by Edward Tulkinghorn, the hardhearted attorney-at-law of "Bleak House" (but I shall say no more in order not to spoil it for you). The narrative is so rich with imagery that evokes Dickens, you may very well take your copy of "Bleak House" off the shelf to reread, not only because the novel becomes more enjoyable with each reading, but also because you will then appreciate Ms Shepherd's allusions fully. Moreover, the twists and turns of the plot are guaranteed to keep you reading until the end, which should reward all readers generously, and delight lovers of 19th-century literature absolutely.

Highly recommended.

How can I rate a book I disdain as contrived, poorly narrated and trying too hard to be clever? It would be a clear case for one star, except that in this instance it was almost compulsively readable. Every time I threw it across the room in annoyance I had to go pick it up and keep on reading. That ability to make a woman as lazy as I am get up from a position of comfort earns Shepherd's second novel a second star (and a half if I could give half stars).

A literary mash-up of "Bleak House" and "The Woman in White", Lynn Shepherd's well-plotted mystery inevitably suffers by comparison to its progenitors. While she does a good job of evoking the energy and squalor of London in 1850, she strains to fit her plot into the interstices between Dickens' and Collins' far better novels. Virtually every character of note from both books gets a least a cameo in "The Solitary House," making the novel feel a bit like a hollywood spectacle from the '50s or '60s -- trotting out every available star for a characteristic walk on bit. Yes, is is fun to realize who everyone is, but aside from the looming figure of Mr. Tulkinghorn and the more ambiguous character of Inspector Bucket, most of the familiar figures are curiosities, not characters. There is also a parallel, oblique second narrative written by one Hester, clearly modeled on Esther Summerson from Bleak House, which is the subtlest and eeriest writing in the book and another good reason to award the extra star.

Literary rebirths aside, the focal point of the story is Charles Maddox, a disgraced ex-policeman struggling to make ends meet as a consulting detective when he gets what appears to be a simple and lucrative commission from the powerful and shady lawyer, Tulkinghorn. Charles is a bit of a hot-headed youngster, but as the case begins to deepen he takes up residence with his great-uncle Maddox, a legendary thief taker who's career (partially chronicled in Shepherd's first book "Murder at Mansfield Park") flourished before the founding of the Metropolitan Police. Sadly, the elder Maddox is clearly slipping into a form of dementia, though in his rare moments of lucidity he provides invaluable assistance to his great-nephew.

Readers will easily infer that Maddox's disease is intended to be Alzheimer's or another form of senile dementia, though these disorders were not so named during the 1850s. Shepherd foolishly opts to makes the connection obvious using a heavy-handed omniscient narrator who intrudes with 21st century perspectives on a story that is unfolding in the present tense in 1850. For example, when we are first getting to know Charles and it becomes clear he has a talent for finding his way through London's fog befuddled streets the narrator breaks in with: "A modern neurologist would say he had unusually well-developed spatial cognition combined with almost photographic memory function." It's a bit like a voice over in a History Channel documentary telling us something we can already see clearly for ourselves. Without this this narrative voice this book would have been much, much stronger. Because of it, the book feels clunky and schoolmarmish despite a tone that is intended to signal that the author and the reader share the same inside jokes.

Still to Shepherd's credit, I read every page, though I threw it against the wall one last time when she blatantly advertised that her next book, or one in the near future, will return to the early days of the first Maddox and his encounter with Percy Bysse Shelley, Mary Wollstencraft Shelley and Frankenstein. I'm going to try not to read it, though I'm ashamed to admit I might have to borrow a copy from the library.

In 1850 London, powerful sly lawyer Edward Tulkinghorn hires Metropolitan Police Officer Charles Maddox to uncover the identity of a nasty author of acrimonious writings aimed at merchant banker Sir Julius Cremorne and to insure the notes end. Charles is stunned by his sudden good fortune as ever since his superior Bucket fired him for insubordination he has struggled to eke out a living.

To help him on his inquiry Charles turns to his brilliant but increasingly demented Great Uncle Maddox the "thief taker" on what they each assume will be an easy case. Instead as he stumbles along a conspiracy of wealth, Charles is unaware that the diabolical Edward has a hidden agenda.

Paying homage to Charles Dickens' Bleak House, Lynn Shepherd writes a delightful atmospheric mid nineteenth century thriller. The cast makes the suspense work as readers will empathize with a frustrated Maddox struggling with his deteriorating mind and appreciate his mentoring relationship with his nephew. Tulkinghorn is a brilliant shadowy manipulator as he has several of the players including his hired detective (and readers wanting to know what game he plays) dangling from strings. With an anonymous narrator adding a sense of doom, fans will enjoy this taut tale as even a young Ripper makes an appearance.

Harriet Klausner