The Children of Silence starts off with one dead body, but as France's (our protagonist) investigates, things get more and more complicated and more bodies show up. So it's no longer just a simple case of "determine the identity of a corpse" (which probably isn't very simple)
The reason why the book and I got off to a rough start was because the beginning felt so impersonal. The style of narrative is fairly formal (e.g. "Frances quickly precluded any objections by introducing her companion as a trusted associate" sorts of sentences), and since the beginning is basically a scene of how the body is discovered, it felt a lot like reading a history book.
But luckily for me, the plot quickly became complicated and I quickly got used to the style of the narrative. After that, I had absolutely no problems with the book. In fact, I really enjoyed reading about Frances investigation and how she went about her business. Not to mention all the side cases she took, which were pretty interesting too.
This book is rich in detail, so if you're interested in a historical mystery that is heavy on the historical (and has a good plot to boot), you should definitely pick it up. If I had the chance, I would absolutely continue reading this series.
My first thought was this sounds like an older mystery, but it isn't, having been published recently. I thought maybe that would account for the more formal writing. It sounds like perhaps the author was trying to capture the writing and tone of the times? I am glad you ended up liking this despite the rough start. It does sound intriguing.
ReplyDeletePossibly? Yeah, sometimes the tone of the book just strikes me as distant. I'm glad this one eventually worked, but sometimes it doesn't ><
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