Thomas de Quincey, the Opium-Eater, returns, along with his daughter, Emily. A London solicitor is murdered on a train and the impact on the stock market is devastating. Shares plunge, but someone is taking advantage of the drop in prices to enrich themselves. When more murders occur involving the railroad, even Parliament and the Queen have to get involved. De Quincy, Emily, Scotland Yard Inspector Becker and Sean Ryan are on the hunt, trying to find out who stands to benefit. Wheels within wheels create chaos in London during the Anglo-Russian war from 1807-1812.

The first two books in the trilogy are MURDER AS A FINE ART and INSPECTOR OF THE DEAD where we’re introduced to Thomas De Quincy (The Opium Eater) and his daughter Emily. These are not fictional characters and it was interesting to learn little tidbits of facts about each of them juxtaposed against the fictional story line that they’re placed in. We’re also introduced to two fictional Scotland Yard detectives, Ryan and Becker who have a father/son, mentor/mentee relationship and who both have strong feelings for Emily.

All three books employ a unique style of storytelling POV by utilizing Emily’s journals.

David Morrell closes out this Victorian age trilogy with RULER OF THE NIGHT.

RULER OF THE NIGHT focuses on the first murder committed on a train on the British rail system in 1855, and the Hydrotherapy craze that was taking place in England at that time. He also draws some strong parallels to the income inequity of the time.

A barrister is brutally murdered in a locked first class train car while De Quincey and Emily are travelling on the same train. With the help of Ryan and Becker, they use groundbreaking (for it’s time) investigative techniques to solve the crime.

The action has the team traveling from London to the aforementioned Hydrotherapy clinic to track down the killer or killers and stumbling upon an international conspiracy. What starts out as a ‘who done it’ fast turns into one of Morrell’s trademark spy novels.

Morrell invests a lot in research which results in submerging the reader into the time period. While reading this novel, I looked up and felt so disoriented to see modern day furnishing – that’s how real this book felt.

The story was engrossing and fast paced. Sadly, this will be the last of the DeQuincey novels but it ties up the series nicely.

Hi Karen,

My next review is:-
"Ruler Of The Night (Thomas and Emily De Quincey Mysteries 3" written by David Morrell and published in hardcover by Thorndike Press on 16th November 2016. 352 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1410494368

It is 1855. The railway has irrevocably altered English society, effectively changing geography and fuelling the industrial revolution by shortening distances between cities: a whole day's journey can now be covered in a matter of hours. People marvel at their new freedom.
But train travel brings new dangers as well, with England's first death by train recorded on the very first day of railway operations in 1830. Twenty-five years later, England's first train murder occurs, paralysing London with the unthinkable when a gentleman is stabbed to death in a safely locked first-class passenger compartment.

In the next compartment, the brilliant opium-eater Thomas De Quincey and his quick-witted daughter, Emily, discover the homicide in a most gruesome manner. Key witnesses and also resourceful sleuths, they join forces with their allies from Scotland Yard, Detective Ryan and his partner-in-training, Becker, to pursue the killer back into the fogbound streets of London, where other baffling murders occur. Ultimately, De Quincey must confront two ruthless adversaries: this terrifying enemy, and his own opium addiction which endangers his life and his tormented soul.

This is the final book of a trilogy about Thomas and Emily De Quincey and all are set in London in the mid-nineteenth century. The stories are very gruesome in the detail of the murders but very historically accurate as the author in his appendix shows the huge research that he has undertaken and the vast number of sources that he refers to ensure that his books evoke the time that he writes about. I remember when I was a very small child the intensity and sooty smell of the thick fogs or "smogs" that used to envelope London as there were no clear air legislation then and all the homes and factory chimneys belched out sooty fumes until the early 1960's. I read the first book "Murder As A Fine Art", but regrettably missed the second one "Inspector For The Dead". This Canadian author has surpassed himself in the writing skills he has employed in these very fine and well plotted stories. One of his first books was "Rambo:First Blood" and the very strong characterisation he employed in that one is also evident here.

The story which is of course fiction, adds figures such as Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister, to the narrative to make it seem more authentic but I found it most interesting as a result of studying economic history to see the descriptions of the early railways and the huge amount of speculation on the stock markets and the rise and falls in the share prices of the rail companies following the news of murders on the trains. Also the interest in spas and health clubs for that time made the story very topical.I think it is a great shame that the author is only writing three books on these characters as there must be enough research to cater for a much longer series. I enjoyed this book immensely and strongly recommend it if you enjoy a quality historical mystery novel.

Best wishes,

Terry
(To be published on eurocrime.co.uk in due course)

Please see my full review at www.bookbrowse.com (http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/3506/ruler-of-the-night)

This book transported me to the 19th Century! It's amazing the attention to detail that the author has invested in this book. Now I'm piqued to go back and read books 1 and 2.