The journal had been compiled in many different scripts; some of them impossible to decipher. There was obviously a marked variation in the standard of literacy of the many contributors. In parts the ink had faded so badly as to be completely illegible. I have to say that these sections, and those where the handwriting defied deciphering, were the only parts of the volume that I derived any pleasure from. My enjoyment was one of relief from a catalogue of crime such as I had never witnessed before or ever wish to read again. I hadn’t delved far into the volume before I became convinced that the legend of inherited insanity of the most terrible sort within the Rowe family was far more than a myth. It was an all-too-sickening reality that had been understated rather than exaggerated with the passage of time. The journal had not been started by William and Roland Rowe but their crimes had been faithfully catalogued by a descendant. I wondered as I read the account of some of the twins’ misdeeds whether they had been recorded out of some perverted sense of pride in their achievements or whether they served a more practical use?
What do You think about Silent As The Grave (2014)?
