INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS
Imogen Robertson
Tantor Media
March 2011
Set primarily in London and Sussex in 1780, Instruments of Darkness is the debut novel of the Crowther and Westerman series. Mrs. Harriet Westerman is raising her children and running her estate in the absence of her sea captain husband, James. When she finds a murdered man on her land during a morning walk she enlists the aid of her reclusive neighbor, the famous anatomist Gabriel Crowther. Harriet is no squeamish miss, having been to sea with her husband and seen what violent death looks like. A ring is found on the dead man that links him to the seat of the nearby Earl of Sussex, Thornleigh Hall. On the same day, Alexander Adams, proprietor of a London music shop is murdered in front of his young children, Susan and Jonathan.
There are a myriad of plot lines in Instruments of Darkness; an invalid earl with a sinister reputation, his missing heir, his second son who came home scarred and changed by his service in the Royal Army in the American Revolution, the Earl's beautiful and much younger wife and a very dodgy steward. How all these characters (along with many others) and plots connect to resolve the mystery make for an engrossing read. Ms. Robertson writes more well-rounded characters than I have read in quite a while; somehow she manages to keep them distinct. I was charmed in particular by the sweetness and strength of nine-year old Susan.
My only quibble was the constant jumping from place to place in order to juggle what the London and Sussex characters were doing at any time. It may be that I would not have felt this to be a drawback had I read the book rather than listened to the audio book. The narrator was excellent but I found myself confused at times. Despite that, I really enjoyed Instruments of Darkness and plan to read the others in the series very soon.
RATING- 4 Stars
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