A Dark Anatomy

Starred review from March 19, 2012
British author Blake (Fat Man’s Shadow) makes his mystery debut with an impressive whodunit, set in Lancashire and introducing coroner Titus Cragg and Dr. Luke Fidelis. On the morning of March 18, 1740, Cragg receives word that Dolores Brockletower, a squire’s lady and prominent horsewoman, has been found dead in a nearby forest. Rumors suggest that the devil himself was responsible for her death, based on evidence that Brockletower “dove down from the sky.” The real cause of death—a slashed throat—is more prosaic. The absence of a weapon rules out suicide, and leads Cragg to call in unofficial assistance from his medical friend, Fidelis. The doctor helps Cragg interpret clues at the crime scene, enabling the inquiry to advance over the opposition of the squire, an MP and magistrate. Blake turns phrases well (e.g., “I find that puzzles are either canine or feline”), and provides an inventive solution to the murder.