I set this aside after reading about 10% of it. It just didn't hold my attention; the characters were not interesting.

Expectations were that "The Darwin Affair" would read somewhat like a good Sherlock Holmes story. The language and setting certainly justified that. In the story the protagonist is continually compared to a Charles Dickens police character. Sherlock Holmes, however, clearly was quick to see clues and get to the action of finding the evil-doer. This story tends to drag on and borders on boring.

Tim Mason has written a engrossing, enticing and engaging historical mystery. It will be the perfect read for fans of Lyndsay Faye and Caleb Carr. We will be buying for our library.