Some negative reviewers didn’t enjoy this work, though I’d suggest their expectations had been fooled.  Maybe they thought it was an Agatha Christie?  The recent TV adaptation did make it sound like a simple whodunit, when in fact The Suspicions of Mr Whicher is so much more – a rich social history retold as a drama-documentary than as out-and-out detective fiction.

More to the point, the quality of research and writing are second to none within this genre. The book is not without fault but paints a vivid picture of life, crime and detection within Victorian England, and especially the attention to detail employed by Whicher attempted to resolve the brutal murder of 3 year old Francis Savill Kent, was ridiculed for his findings, but then was vindicated by history.

Recommended reading, in spite of those who believe otherwise!