The Eighth Circle of Hell by Gary Dolman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lucie & Atticus Fox (1)
Written with an authentic Victorian voice this little mystery can be quite difficult to read at times due to its subject matter. Dealing not only with pedophilia but the trade of and solicitation of children for sex this is a very delicate and heartbreaking mystery to read. Describing events which really occurred in Victorian times (as, sadly, they still do today) the mystery sends Atticus and Lucie Fox off on their first case as private investigators by a nephew to bring home an old maiden aunt who has been tucked away in a poor house for decades. The night of her arrival she violently kills the old man of the house, her own uncle. I have to say this wasn't much of a mystery to me as it was quite obvious what really happened only pages afterwards that to have characters ruminate upon it for a whole book seems pointless. However, the book does succeed as an historical fiction of the time, the seedy life for the poor, "fallen" women, pedophilia, rape, poorhouse conditions, abortuary practices and the general abuse by the societal sadists who brandish their power over those in lesser circumstances.
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