Customer Reviews

The Blood Detective

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I'm an avid fan of police procedural series, mostly Nordic and Euro.

Waddell's Blood Detective is a great introduction to a new series.

The story is set in England. There are three main characters, all well defined, and special in their own ways.

I especially like Nigel Barnes, a genealogist. The murder investigation is mostly done by Barnes' research through birth, marriage and death certificates.

The story is well written, perfectly paced from the first to the last page with no wasted words.

I ordered the second book, BLOOD ATONEMENT, a Nigel Barnes mystery novel immediately after I finished BLOOD DETECTIVE.

Genealogist Nigel Barnes teams up with a couple cops in order to solve a string of serial killings in modern day London. Oddly, Nigel's genealogical research is much more interesting--and convincing--than the work done by law enforcement. The author seems iffy on actual police procedures, but quite knowledgeable on the secrets of tracing one's past.

The writing in this book is generally rich and well-crafted, carrying it through some rather serious plot holes. Why, for example, doesn't the London Police Force hire more than just one genealogist to help them when the clock is ticking until the next murder? Although the book is engrossing, the ultimate unveiling of the killer is not terribly satisfying. I will probably check out the sequel to see if its ending packs a bigger punch, and if Waddell eases up on the long, rambling historical details which somewhat slow the pace of The Blood Detective.

Scotland Yard hires genealogist Nigel Barnes as a consultant to their investigation into ghastly serial killings haunting London. The only link between the victims besides a gruesome death is each corpse is marked with "1A137".

Barnes follows up on the death number and soon realizes it is the number on the death certificate filed in 1879 for murder victim Albert Beck, who was stabbed to death in a churchyard. As he widens his historical search, he learns that Beck was one of the five victims allegedly murdered by the Kensington Killer; Eke Fairbairn was arrested as such, tried and executed. Further evidence seems to imply Eke was innocent and an apparent descendant is avenging his undeserved execution by executing relatives of the prosecution.

Although the climax seems implausible, readers will relish this strong police procedural with a fascinating lead character, who uses genealogy to uncover nineteenth century clues to a present day serial killer. The story line is fast-paced, but held together by Nigel as he begins to piece together the puzzle. He will remind the audience somewhat of Rhett McPherson's Missouri genealogist Torie O'Shea. Fans will enjoy this fine English whodunit while looking forward to more such cases starring Nigel.

Harriet Klausner

Book arrived exact condition and in a timely manner. I like to devour mysteries but not invest a whole lot of money in the book itself- this worked well.

"The past is a living thing; it's always present." It's the comment that haunts Dan Waddell's debut mystery, The Blood Detective. Nigel Barnes, a genealogist, knows that the keys to a modern murder spree are found in the past.

Detective Chief Inspector Grant Foster and Detective Sergeant Heather Jenkins are puzzled by the bizarre series of letters and numbers carved in the chest of a dead man found in London. It takes a genealogist to recognize them as numbers referring to index numbers for birth, marriage and death records, records going back to 1879. When Foster hires Nigel to assist them in research, neither man realizes the importance of the historical records. Somewhere in old newspapers, archives and libraries is the clue to solving a series of violent murders that stir up the city of London. The two officers and Barnes suddenly find themselves racing to find a killer's future victims, with only a murder case from 1879 and historical records as clues. The reader is just getting to know the three investigators when the case reaches a terrifying climax.

Waddell's first mystery is a fascinating police procedural, combined with the workings of genealogical research. Sometimes the details of the two cases, with multiple victims, and numerous names, becomes a little overwhelming. Even so, anyone interested in cold cases will find this story intriguing. This is not similar to Rett MacPherson's Torie O'Shea mysteries. The Blood Detective is much darker and more violent. Readers of Kate Ellis' Wesley Peterson books might appreciate this mystery. With its British setting, police investigation, and historical connection, The Blood Detective reminds me of Ellis' cold cases. However, Waddell takes a different tack with the genealogical research.

Dan Waddell's The Blood Detective is a promising debut. If this leads to a series, there needs to be a little less detail about historical records and streets. Even so, there are promises of a unique series combining police investigation and genealogical research. The Blood Detective is an excellent choice for lovers of cold cases and British police procedurals.

The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell is the first book in a new mystery series starring London genealogist Nigel Barnes. Barnes has recently returned to his work as a family history researcher after an unsuccessful attempt to become a university professor. He's frustrated at the lack of work within the occupation until hired by police detective Grant Foster and his partner Heather Jenkins to discover the meaning behind a code carved into the body of a murdered body found in a churchyard. The code refers to a record at the Family Records Centre which Barnes discovers traces back to a murderer known as the Kensington Killer who stabbed five men to death in 1879. As Foster, Jenkins, and Barnes investigate the 1879 case, they quickly discover that the current victims are tied to that century old case. Who would have thought that Waddell could take the dusty hobby of genealogy and turned it into an exciting and completely thrilling murder mystery. He uses the past to good effect as each person associated with the case has a secret in their own history. The writing is gritty, believable, and thoroughly compelling. Waddell gets extra points from me for laying out the clues for readers so I knew the motive and murderer before the main characters. I will definitely be following up on this series.

I'm of an age when mysteries have to teach me something I didn't know about a place, a time, an event. THE BLOOD DETECTIVE is rich in all three.

I especially enjoyed revisiting West Kensington, a part of London in which I lived as a tadpole. I knew well Landsdowne Crescent, the church atop Ladbroke Hill, Notting Hill Gate, Holland Park & Portobello Market. I relished the immersion into the historical backstories to people's names, the Tube system & Victorian daily life as well as where to find them (the thrill of hands-on research in national archives is delightfully described) & how those forgotten dramas unfolded.

I also enjoyed meeting the cast of modern characters with skeletons in their own closets: the police team & the geneaologist hired to hunt up the stories plus the clashes with his competitors & sniffing news hounds. Looking forward to Dan Waddell's next mystery: BLOOD ATONEMENT.

I just finished reading the book ten minutes ago. It was excellent, and it teaches about genealogy and shows how genealogists are, of a sort, detectives. I was fascinated and the ending was excellent - I had absolutely no clue who the killer was and when I found out, I was amazed. I am eagerly awaiting Dan Waddell's next book. Keep up the good work.

The plot is interesting, atmospheric and educational, switching smoothly between 1879 and the present day. I love it when I learn new things and I found the informative snippets on names interesting. The area of London that this is set in is really brought to life by the author, and some of the historic information is key to the plot (and yes..I even found myself Wiki-ing the station Barnes did!!).

Nigel Barnes as the genealogist is shy and old fashioned but still attractive and likable. His love of history and knowledge of tracing people via census returns and archives was inspiring, as well as an integral part of the plot and the story. Never before has hours pouring over microfilm and dusty records been so exciting!

I'm looking forward to the next book so I can 'catch up' with the main characters again.

A wrongful death sentence from over one hundred years and the grisly murders of five people in central London reverberate throughout the bloody hands of time from 1879 to the present day in this gruesome but always compelling account of the insidiousness of human nature and the lengths that a vicious killer will go to exact revenge. Blood Detective introduces us to DCI Grant Foster and DS Heather Jenkins and the chiseled featured DI Andy Drinkwater, all three heading up the West London Murder Command and all called to grounds of St Johns Church, on the hill by Ladbroke Grove where a horrific discovery lies in wait. The body is of a male in his early thirties. But what truly shocks the detectives are the hands, or rather the lack of them, at the end of both arms are just livid, fleshy stumps, jagged bone protruding, the cause of death, a single stab wound to the heart while the chest is covered with superficial cuts. The only indication that anyone around was a drunk woman, by the name of Ciderwoman a derelict, who often used part of the churchyard where the body was found, but she's antagonistic and belligerent and can offer little input into who she saw that night.

It isn't until the official post-mortem that Foster sees certain cuts on the man's chest, the outlines of each cut resembling the five figures. The cuts were made after death and most possibly meant for the eyes of the investigators. A grim and determined mood sets the scene for this dark and bloody investigation. The man, James Darbyshire, a bank trader, was last seen with friends drinking in one of the local pubs. While Jenkins is positive that James' death is somehow linked to the fate of a suicidal tramp found dangling from the frame of a park swing the previous Sunday morning, Foster is the first to realize that the crime is beyond the usual mundane murderous language of drugs, money, rage and envy.

Central to the investigation is that the perpetrator uses a church yard as a dumping ground for his victims. When Foster realizes that the cuts on Darbyshire's chest are in fact index numbers to family records, he seeks out the services of family historian Nigel Barnes. A specialist in genealogy the kindly Nigel is all to readily enthralled to be helping out in the case. Ironically it is Nigel who holds the keys, delving into the long-held indexes, losing himself in the bureaucratic traces of the long departed. As the bodies begin to pile up, each one more mutilated then the last - a head scalped and another whose eyes have been horrifically gouged out, the case gets a break when Nigel discovers the death certificate of a man, Albert Beck, found stabbed to death the grounds of St Johns Church, in March 1879, the same day James Darbyshire's body had been discovered.

When more victims materialize from 1879, all of them stabbed, the case takes on new meaning as Grant and Nigel stumble onto information that has thus far eluded them in the investigation. The killer leaves no detail no trace, clue or weapon at the scene, and the only constant is the reference and the fact that the place and time accord with the murders of 1879. A compelling peek into the darker side of London history, The Blood Detective proves the past cannot be erased so easily, seeping back through the soil, "like blood through the sand." Here are dark secrets that offer a glimpse behind the city's net curtains and serial killers "who write their name into London legend."

All of Waddell's protagonists are suddenly propelled back into the 1870's where a tale of revenge plays out and perhaps innocent man was hanged. Amid census records, birth and death registers, old newspapers and marriage indexes, the delicate tendrils of a group family histories prove to be Foster's only hope in his efforts to crack the case. The novel is a genealogists delight, providing some of the most fascinating lessons in family history while also serving as fast paced and well plotted thriller where the foundation of human depravity is ever-present. Waddell uses his journalistic sensibilities to great effect, accelerating the story at breakneck speed and although the story is mostly formulaic, the tension ever lets up, the final clash between the killer almost too hard to read. In the end, Barnes and the others cannot help but be surrounded by a past that up until now has been kept buried and hidden, yet finally comes to the surface, refusing to be banished or ignored. Mike Leonard December 08.