Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson

Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson ISBN-13: 9780670022427 Hardcover: 374 pages Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books Released: February 17, 2011

Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In the year 1780, Harriet Westerman, the willful mistress of a country manor in Sussex, finds a dead man on her grounds with a ring bearing the crest of Thornleigh Hall in his pocket. For years, Mrs. Westerman has sensed the menace of neighboring Thornleigh Hall, seat of the Earl of Sussex. It is the home of a once-great family that has been reduced to an ailing invalid, his whorish wife, and his alcoholic second son, a man haunted by his years spent as a redcoat in the Revolutionary War.

Not one to be bound by convention, Harriet recruits a reclusive local anatomist named Gabriel Crowther to help her find the murderer. The same day, Alexander Adams is slain by an unknown killer in his London music shop, leaving his children orphaned. His death will lead back to Sussex, and to an explosive secret that has already destroyed one family and threatens many others.


My Review:
Instruments of Darkness is a suspense novel set in 1780 in England. There's an unknown, lurking menace in the nearby Thornleigh Hall. Harriet knows the recent murder will be left unsolved unless she takes action, and she believes in justice. But pursuing justice puts her at odds with the powerful family at Thornleigh Hall. She asks for Crowther's help because he has studied the marks left on a body by murder and because she wants to talk the case over with someone level-headed.

The characters were well-developed so I understood why they acted as they did. Our heroes steadily pursued answers and stood for justice even when threatened or in danger. The secrets of Thornleigh Hall were slowly revealed and evidence gathered. The suspense mainly came from physical danger, but Harriet's reputation was also under threat.

Innocent people died in horrid ways. Minimal "gore" detail was used to describe these scenes, but it disturbed the characters and may disturb the reader--which I think was the point. It was worth any risk to stop this evil. (A dog also dies. It was the historically accurate way to legally prove the presence of poison in a food or drink. Harriet and Crowther spending so much time together alone seemed less historically accurate.)

There was no sex. There was a fair amount and a wide variety of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting suspense novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.