Book: Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders (also known as Oscar Wilde and a Death of no Importance)
Author: Gyles Brandreth
Pages: 368
I Read: The paperback pictured above
I Read it in: 4 hours
Plot Summary: A young artist's model has been murdered, and legendary wit Oscar Wilde enlists his friends Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Sherard to help him investigate. But when they arrive at the scene of the crime they find no sign of the gruesome killing -- save one small spatter of blood, high on the wall.
Set in London, Paris, Oxford, and Edinburgh at the height of Queen Victoria's reign, here is a gripping eyewitness account of Wilde's secret involvement in the curious case of Billy Wood, a young man whose brutal murder served as the inspiration for "The Picture of Dorian Gray."
Told by Wilde's contemporary -- poet Robert Sherard -- this novel provides a fascinating and evocative portrait of the great playwright and his own "consulting detective," Sherlock Holmes creator, Arthur Conan Doyle.
What I Liked: I went in to this book with no major expectations and was pleasantly surprised to find a rather well-crafted whodunit! Here is what I liked:
- I really enjoyed getting a glimpse- fictitious though it was- into the life of Oscar Wilde. The man's witticisms are the stuff of legend and his tragic death has always bothered me.. so, getting to read a bit about his life and having his persona brought to life was rather nice. Though, I must add that in this story, Oscar Wilde's crime solving "deductions" are very, very inspired by Sherlock Holmes! So, you'll have to accept that with a grain of salt.
- The crime itself was quite macabre and interesting- there was a hint at it being a ritualistic killing and then the mysterious disappearance of the body and all the other murder paraphernalia was quite intriguing. I fully expected this to be a series of killings (in the same ritualistic manner) but it wasn't so, which was a good thing.
- The writing was very nice. It was polished and the narrative flowed smoothly. Also, there was nothing superfluous in the book. Robert Sherard's narrator voice was nice to read. He was an entertaining character to read about.
- How could I not mention Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?! I loved that he was present in key parts of the book. It was most amusing to see Wilde and Sherard fanboying over the first two Holmes books! :)
- The actual crime, the investigative process, the breadcrumbs dropped by the author, which helped me make a pretty accurate guess about the killer- all nicely done. The killer was not too obvious and I liked that each character was sufficiently well crafted and you felt that you got to know them at more than just a superficial level.
What I Didn't Like: Nothing much, except that I had assumed from the blurb that Wilde and Conan Doyle solve these murders together! I really wanted to see more of Conan Doyle in the book!
Rating: 4.5/5
Really recommend this book! I can't wait to read the other books in this series!
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