“She saw the expression on the man’s face but before she could move, he caught her shoulder with one hand, twisted her around and slipped a rope noose around her throat.”
Ever wondered what life was like in Canada in the late 1890s? Set in the mean streets of Toronto in 1895, this novel is told partly from the perspective of Detective William Murdoch and partly from the perspective of several of the suspects/witnesses involved in the case of the death of a young servant girl. Murdoch is tough yet sensitive, mourning his fiancee who passed away but at the brink of moving on, has a soft spot in his heart for the poor and unfortunate and a dark past with a very troubled family history.
It is a gritty, atmospheric story filled with suspects who are all lying and hiding things whether or not they are guilty of the crime of murder, and it is a story with characters suffering from grief and loss. But it is also a story with some lighter notes of friendship and hope interspersed with the darker themes. It has the feel of a dark Jack the Ripper story, only set in Toronto instead of London.
The novel touches on many tough themes like discrimination, violence, alcoholism, and ethnical and religious divides. It shows the plight of the poor, the hypocrisy of the rich and the suffering of both classes for various different reasons. It isn’t cozy or polished, it is rugged and hardened and will most likely make you glad you live today and don’t have to suffer the things described in the novel. If you’re in the market for scathing insults filled with curse words, this book has some choice selections. If you don’t like coarse language, this one isn’t for you.
Historical mystery
Mostly Murders 
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