Written by Noha Hashem
A Tale of Two Murders shows us a 22-year-old Charles Dickens as an aspiring journalist at The Evening Chronicle as he tries to unravel the mystery behind two possibly connected murders.
The book starts off with Charles having dinner with his boss’s family and enjoying the attentions of Kate Hogarth, his boss’s daughter and also his future wife, when they hear a piercing scream coming from the neighbouring house. Charles, Kate, and Mr. Hogarth head over to the Lugosons’ house to investigate and find an unconscious Miss Christiana Lugoson. Kate and Charles stay with her throughout the night, but unfortunately she passes away the next morning due to mysterious reasons. Soon after, Charles learns that another girl has died a very similar death on the same day a year ago, which leaves him wondering; could it be a coincidence? Or are both these deaths connected somehow? Charles and Miss Hogarth decide to uncover the truths behind the girls’ deaths together, which also happens to give them an excuse to spend more time in each other’s company, to Charles’s delight.
“Give me a mystery, Mr. Dickens, and a solution, and I will follow you into places I should not.”
There were many things to appreciate in this book, such as a cast of characters at the start of the book, which really helped because the characters had a tendency to get mixed up at times. It was also obvious that the author had put a lot of research into this book as her description of the Victorian era came across as incredibly accurate, and the language used was spot on. It was really interesting to read about the formalities and the rules of courtship in this era as well.
I really admired Kate Hogarth’s character and loved how fearless and intelligent she was. Seeing her relationship with Charles unfold was very interesting. I also loved all the subtle references to A Tale of Two Cities as there were several “I see what you did there” moments.
That being said, while the plot of this book was very intriguing, its execution could have been better. The story dragged on for a while, as the investigation was going around in a circle and no real progress was being made. It was only towards the end that things started to happen, so it was a struggle to get through the middle part of the book. It was also hard to follow their train of thought sometimes as I was lost more than once by how they reached certain conclusions.
This book felt like reading a classic, which was both a good and bad thing for me. Since I have never read a classic before, it was definitely a challenge to get used to the writing style, and it was probably one of the reasons I was lost at times. However, for someone who is used to reading classics or historically set novels, the writing style would be no problem.
The biggest issue I had with A Tale of Two Murders, however, was how it lacked jaw dropping moments. Although the reveal of the killer was surprising, it didn’t leave me completely surprised. This was kind of disappointing since “jaw dropping moments” are what you expect from a mystery novel. Plus I had already figured out the killer a chapter before it was revealed, which made the reveal even less surprising.
Regardless of all that, Heather Redmond’s version of how Charles Dickens was inspired to write the infamous A Tale of Two Cities was fascinating. I would recommend it if you were a Charles Dickens fan or a classic lover!
A Tale of Two Murders is now available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Have you read A Tale of Two Murders? Or will you be checking it out? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
On the eve of the Victorian era, London has a new sleuth . . .
In the winter of 1835, young Charles Dickens is a journalist on the rise at the Evening Chronicle. Invited to dinner at the estate of the newspaper’s co-editor, Charles is smitten with his boss’s daughter, vivacious nineteen-year-old Kate Hogarth. They are having the best of times when a scream shatters the pleasant evening. Charles, Kate, and her father rush to the neighbors’ home, where Miss Christiana Lugoson lies unconscious on the floor. By morning, the poor young woman will be dead.
When Charles hears from a colleague of a very similar mysterious death a year ago to the date, also a young woman, he begins to suspect poisoning and feels compelled to investigate. The lovely Kate offers to help–using her social position to gain access to the members of the upper crust, now suspects in a murder. If Charles can find justice for the victims, it will be a far, far better thing than he has ever done. But with a twist or two in this most peculiar case, he and Kate may be in for the worst of times . . .
