Set primarily in London and Sussex in 1780, Instruments of Darkness is the debut novel of the Crowther and Westerman series. Mrs. Harriet Westerman is raising her children and running her estate in the absence of her sea captain husband, James. When she finds a murdered man on her land during a morning walk she enlists the aid of her reclusive neighbor, famous anatomist, Gabriel Crowther. Harriet is no squeamish miss, having been to sea with her husband and seen what violent death looks like. A ring is found on the dead man that links him to the seat of the nearby Earl of Sussex, Thornleigh Hall. On the same day, Alexander Adams, proprietor of a London music shop is murdered in sight of his small children, Susan and Jonathan.There are a myriad of plot lines in Instruments of Darkness; an invalid earl with a sinister reputation, his missing heir, his second son who came home scarred and changed by his service in the Royal Army in the American Revolution, the Earl's beautiful and much younger wife and a very dodgy steward. How all these characters(along with many others)and plots connect to resolve the mystery make for an engrossing read. Ms. Robertson writes more well rounded characters than I have read in quite awhile; somehow she manages to keep them distinct. I was charmed in particular by the sweetness and strength of nine-year old Susan.My only quibble was the constant jumping from place to place in order to juggle what the London and Sussex characters were doing at any time. It may be that I would not have felt this to be a drawback had I read the book rather than listened to the audio book. The narrator was excellent but I found myself confused at times. Despite that, I really enjoyed Instruments of Darkness and plan to read the others in the series very soon. Trochu jsem měla dojem, že čtu vraždy v Midsomeru křížené s Oliverem Twistem. Postavy detektivů, které autor charakterizoval tak, že na sobě nemají skvrnku. Kopa náhod byla postavených tak, aby se všechno sešlo správným způsobem. Medailonek. Uměle dodaná postava, aby si jistá slečna měla koho oblíbit a čtenáři nezůstalo líto, že jeden ze sympatických hrdinů zemřel. Mrzí mě také zbytečný motiv zabití psa.Kladem bylo prolínání tří dějových linií a exkurze do událostí 18. století (americká revoluce, nepokoje v Anglii). Občas se autor i hezky vyjádřil (samy domy se nakláněly, aby lépe viděly), ale stále zůstal v zajetí explicitního vysvětlování.výpisky: ...ani bych se nedivil, kdybych zjistil, že náš stvořitel je vlastně velmi veliký brouk. (Ve scéně, kde postavy obdivují množství druhů brouků a pýše člověka, kterého bůh stvořil k obrazu svému)
What do You think about Nástroje Temnoty (2009)?
Thought I'd like this mystery more than I did given it's setting in Georgian England.
—kimbo
Great first book. I look forward to reading others by her.
—Army
Good characters and suspenseful. What more could I ask?
—roody
Great new (to me) historical mystery series.
—georgie
