City of Devils

May 5, 2014
In 1887, Scottish doctor James Murray, the hero of British author Bretherick’s intricate debut, travels to Turin, Italy, to study under Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909), a leader in the nascent field of criminal anthropology. Soon after Murray’s arrival, a mutilated corpse is discovered in the Piazza Statuto. On the body, written in blood, is a note that reads: “A Tribute to Lombroso.” When the police believe Lombroso may be implicated and he declines to defend himself, Murray and a colleague mount their own investigation. Relatives of the criminals Lombroso’s theories have helped convict are likely suspects as similar crimes continue. So are rivals eager to discredit him, all in town for his annual symposium—including Walter Horton, a sinister American alienist. Meanwhile, Murray struggles to hide a family secret, as well as his attraction to Sofia, Lombroso’s alluring housekeeper. Vivid evocations of Turin and the scientific milieu of the day balance the inept detective work. Agent: Luigi Bonomi, Luigi Bonomi Associates (U.K.).

May 15, 2014
A series of fictional murders in 19th-century Italy tests the theories of a real-life criminologist.James Murray, a student of the renowned Dr. Joseph Bell in Edinburgh, has come to Turin to learn everything professor Cesare Lombroso can teach him about the new science of criminal anthropology. When the murdered and mutilated body of one of Lombroso's experimental subjects is found propped up against the monument to the dead in Piazza Statuto, with a note in blood reading "A Tribute to Lombroso," James wonders why his new mentor is content to leave the matter to two investigating branches of the police instead of using his expertise to find the killer. Instead, Lombroso seems focused on a symposium that brings together some of the greatest scientific minds in the world-some of whom appear to be intent on deflating the supremely self-confident Lombroso. A second murder with another mutilated body makes James wonder whether the murderer is using the corpses' body parts to symbolize elements of Lombroso's best-known textbook. But that theory doesn't explain why the killer carved upside-down crosses on the victims' shoulders or why there are two different styles of handwriting in the taunting notes to Lombroso or why James keeps feeling that someone is following him. As murder follows murder, not only Lombroso but the woman James has come to love are threatened, and James is forced to ask uncomfortable questions about his own dark past and possibly darker future in a tale that tries but fails to maintain suspense.Bretherick, a lecturer in criminology, brings earnest zeal, if not graceful prose or skillful pacing, to her debut novel. Although her erudition can make for heavy going, the personal issues of her fictional hero offer some relief from the pedantry of the historical Lombroso and his colleagues.

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May 1, 2014
This historical mystery, set in 1887 Turin, Italy, has a hero-doctor who (like Arthur Conan Doyle) studied under Edinburgh's Dr. Joseph Bell, credited for inspiring Sherlock Holmes' deductive methods. With this background, the young Scottish doctor, James Murray, goes to Turin to study under the criminologist Cesare Lombroso, who believed that criminals are born, not made, and that their facial features were dead giveaways to their criminal type (beware of projecting foreheads and receding chins). Murray is fascinated especially by Lombroso's museum, a chamber of horrors that may give readers the creeps. Shortly after Murray's arrival, a horribly mutilated body is discovered at the foot of a statue in Piazza Statuto. This particular statue has long been reported to be the gathering place of satanists. A note is found with the corpse: A Tribute to Lombroso. Is this a deranged compliment, or a clue that Lombroso may be behind this killing and the ones that follow? This novel contains dark subject matter and some interesting history on criminology but a flimsy plot. The main character seems no more than a gimmick to unite Dr. Bell and Lombroso.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)