I read a fantastic book this week. David Morrell's Murder as a Fine Art ingeniously twines the real writings of Thomas De Quincey who became infamous for writing a no-holds-barred expose of his own opium addiction back in late Georgian England. In addition, he wrote an essay about a mass killing in 1811 known as the Ratcliffe Highway murders. He titled his essay "On Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts."
Morrell pulls De Quincey and his daughter Emily into a nightmarish recreation of the Ratcliffe Highway killings perpetrated by a murderous "artist" intent on gaining De Quincey's attention and punishing him for his alleged glorification of opium. The supporting cast includes a Scotland Yard detective and his constable assistant in addition to other characters real or imagined.
As the characters traverse the muck and soot of London's poorest neighborhoods, effect terrifying escapes, survive bloody battles, you are astonished that this book is more of a psychological thriller.
No comments:
Post a Comment