reviewed by Barbara Simpson 29th Jan 09
shortlisted for the Richard & Judy Book Awards 2009 and winner of the BBC4 Samuel Johnson prize in 2008, this book is an unusual and most satisfying read.
In the summer of 1860, in an elegant Georgian house in the village of Road, Wiltshire, the appalling murder of a three year old by occurred. The eponymous Jack Whicher, the foremost detective of his day, was sent from Scotland Yard to investigate the crime and although he quickly reached a conclusion as to the killers identity, the perpetrator was found not guilty. Jack Whicher, now the subject of a hate campaign, disappeared from public view and the family of the murder victim (and the killer) tried to carry on.
After five long years the murderer confessed to the crime and Jack Whicher was accordingly vindicated although never regaining the glory of his earlier career.
Everything in the book is factual, taken from police records, personal papers and diaries and the many newspaper accounts that dramatised such a ghastly crime but far from being dry or dull it takes the reader on a fascinating journey from the filthy streets of London to a remote village in Wiltshire, encountering some extraordinary characters along the way. It is a vivid and satisfying read and I can recommend it most highly to anyone who enjoys either contemporary or Victorian crime fiction.
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