Down a Dark River (An Inspector Corravan Mystery)

Inspector Michael Corravan remarkably lands at Scotland Yard after growing up in the East End and working as a bare-knuckle boxer and dockworker before becoming a policeman. Now he’s faced with a series of grisly murders, wealthy women strangled and left floating in small boats on the Thames. Scotland Yard has been under a lot of pressure following a recent scandal. Corravan has to work his way past obstacles thrown up by the wealthy families who value their privacy over anything, but he sometimes steps on toes and endangers the tentative relationship with his new boss to get the job done. With bodies piling up, Corravan is under the gun.

Karen Odden uses all the foggy atmosphere of London during the late 1800s to imbue her latest book with mystery and drama. This finely crafted story is filled with palpably real characters, convincing dialogue, and a setting that nearly becomes another character. The pacing is appropriate, taking readers to a time when everything was slower, which allows both characters and readers time for study and introspection, without ever losing the tension such a story calls for. Readers can only hope this is the beginning of a series for Michael Corravan.