The Frightened Man [Paperback]

Kenneth Cameron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2010

London in 1900 is sprawling and chaotic, perfect for a man like Denton, an American with a violent past seeking anonymity as an outsider. But his notoriety as the author of several dark novels sometimes brings unwanted visitors to his door. When a terrified man shows up one night, claiming to be pursued by the long-gone Jack the Ripper, Denton dismisses him as one more victim of London’s lunacy. But then the mutilated body of a teenaged prostitute is found in London’s East End. . . .

Disappointed by the lack of police concern, Denton determines to pursue the murderer, even after it’s clear that he’s become the next target. As he begins to peel away the layers of the case, Denton finds himself following nothing but his instincts through the maze of London. Along the way he finds an ally in a woman with a past as haunted, and a spirit as independent, as his own.

Kenneth Cameron has brought turn-of-the-century London vividly to life in this intelligent and compelling crime novel. The Frightened Man delves far deeper than the circumstances of a murder to investigate the unseen—the secrets harbored in London’s immeasurable streets and in the dark side of human nature.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jack the Ripper may be back to his old tricks in 1900 London in Cameron's chilling tale of prostitution, evisceration and voyeurism. General Denton, an expatriate U.S. Civil War veteran and former frontier sheriff turned novelist, receives a visit one night from a frightened stranger, R. Mulcahy, who claims to have seen Jack the Ripper on the street. Denton and his sidekick, Sergeant Atkins, dismiss Mulcahy as a mad man, but soon afterward they spot a newspaper headline (Unspeakable Mutilation of a Young Victim) about the murder of a street girl, Stella Minter. Driven by his instincts as an author and by demons from his tortured past, Denton begins a relentless search for clues to the killer. Through the offices of pettifogging police officials, seedy settlement houses and garish pubs, Denton and social worker Janet Striker trace Stella's pitiful life until the stunning and violent climax. Cameron with his son writes military thrillers under the pseudonym Gordon Kent (The Spoils of War). (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Cameron, who also writes military thrillers with his son under the name Gordon Kent, launches an impressive historical-mystery series. It’s 1900, and London is a bustling, crowded metropolis—the perfect place for an American named Denton to lose himself. Seeking to escape his tragic past, Denton has moved to London after writing a series of dark, atmospheric novels that have been best-sellers in America. One evening, he receives a mysterious visitor. The man is stuttering with terror, swearing he’s just seen the Ripper. Denton discounts the man’s hysterical claims, but when he learns that a teenage prostitute has been brutally murdered not far away, he wonders if there’s a connection. When Denton talks to the police, they give him short shrift and seem to want to wrap up the murder with minimum fuss. This only makes Denton more determined to seek the truth. Along the way, he encounters London’s seedy underbelly and meets the brusque but oddly charismatic Janet Striker. Together, the pair begins to unravel a shocking and horrifying story. A gripping page-turner, Cameron’s novel combines a devilishly clever plot, enigmatic characters, a foreboding atmosphere, and a shocking finale. A top pick for all crime collections. --Emily Melton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (June 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312628013
• ISBN-13: 978-0312628017
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,980,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I seem to have been writing all of my conscious life, although with gaps such as the almost four years I was in the navy, although the last year of those produced a play, PHYSICIAN FOR FOOLS, that was actually staged in the US and Britain; and the eight years I spent teaching in a couple of universities were also barren, again except for a play written in the last of those years (PAPP), also staged in NY and England.

Short fiction has escaped me since I left undergraduate college, as has 'literary' fiction; I've always written genre novels. My favorite is the first, perhaps because it was the first, OUR JO (1972), a comic historical about a 17th-century actor. I wrote some I still like, too, under the pseudonym George Bartram (names of two of my then cats), especially FAIR GAME and THE SUNSET GUN and an odd and obscure send-up of a thriller, YELLOW PERIL. And, of course, the novels I wrote with my sun, Christian Cameron (author of THE TYRANT and WASHINGTON AND CAESAR) under the pseudonym Gordon Kent (the Alan Craik novels).

I've written some non-fiction, and it's a good respite from writing fiction; research keeps one honest. AFRICA ON FILM was a good book, I think, and well received (MLA Award for Independent Scholars).

Now I enjoy writing the Denton mysteries (THE FRIGHTENED MAN, THE BOHEMIAN GIRL, THE SECOND WOMAN, more to come). The mystery novel is a kind of social comedy, a genre that seems to fit me. It would perhaps be better to write social comedy about my own time, not the turn of the twentieth century, but at the moment I'm content with Denton's world. Next year, however....

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Moody, atmospheric Victorian mystery, August 17, 2009

By 

J. Pravatiner "corglacier7" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Frightened Man (Hardcover)

Many a mystery author has turned their hand to solving the Jack the Ripper crimes of 1888, and many suspects and scenarios have tried the wits of many sleuths. In the end, however, almost inevitably the Whitechapel monster is caught in short order and Victorian London resumes its life.

But what if the Ripper hadn't been caught in the 1880's, and after years lying low, resumed his frenzied crimes? It's a realistic enough scenario with serial killers, and it forms the basis of Kenneth Cameron's "The Frightened Man". Amidst the splendor and squalor of 1900, the Ripper still lurks at the back of the mind of Englishmen and women. And then a familiar criminal signature begins to show up as a mutilated prostitute is discovered, and once again London will be gripped in terror...if the news gets out. The police are quite happy to dismiss one dead prostitute, however, rather than risk widespread panic.

Matching wits with the killer is Denton, American, ex-Western lawman, Civil War veteran, and a noted author. No gunslinging cowboy, however, Denton is a peculiarly engaging mix of natural American egalitarianism and adopted British reserve, the toll from the war and from his badge-toting days heavy on his mind.

Along the way of his investigation Denton makes the acquaintance of Janet Striker, feminist and provider of a home for unwed mothers, a woman who carries numerous scars of her own. Acerbic manservant Atkins also throws in some real gems of wit, and his banter with Denton is a treat.

The mystery is entwined with a well-balanced sense of period atmosphere and detail; along the way to catching the Ripper and deviating from the usual laundry list of suspects, a great deal of the British Empire on the cusp of the twentieth century comes to light. Attitudes towards women, the iron-cast class hierarchy with the desperate grinding poverty a stone's throw from the sumptuous mansions, bureaucracy, corruption, and social morality are all addressed, neatly a part of the plot so that the information provides context and yet doesn't come across as cloying or clumsy.

The outrage about the crimes of murder and of society is muted but genuine, the characters no shining beacons of reform and law. There are no shining heroes in "The Frightened Man", no plucky do-gooders. Denton and Striker make for a formidable, street-smart team who believably can survive the moody, fog-riddled night streets of London to find the truth and bring justice, and in the end, the tale is a satisfying one.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "London was like monster child that ate its mother and never stopped growing.", April 28, 2009

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Frightened Man (Hardcover)

In a historical thriller that is both compelling and compassionate, Cameron unveils a London in 1900 whose racket expands exponentially with its buildings: "London was like monster child that ate its mother and never stopped growing." Amid the inventiveness and economic sprawl, Denton, an infamous American with a past, clings to his Dickensian sensibilities. An author of some repute, Denton is in constant need of finances; attended by Atkins, an ex-Fusilier, the enigmatic writer lives a marginal existence. A bit dashing, a bit dangerous, Denton's repartee with his truculent manservant is a fascinating mix of pride and democratic tendencies in class-conscious England. But when Denton is visited by a hysterical man who claims he is being followed by Jack the Ripper, Denton is disinclined to believe the frantic Mulcahy: "Ripper stories popped up like daffodils in spring."

But when the mutilated body of a young prostitute, Stella Minter, is discovered in an unsavory part of the city, Denton is intrigued. That is, until he and Atkins are attacked by an intruder: then he is incensed, determined to locate Mulcahy and learn more about his wild claims. When the local police are less than helpful, Denton begins his own investigation, one that takes him to London's impoverished streets and the various charities that serve the poor. With few clues or resources, Denton is impulsively creative, stumbling upon a feminist with an infamous past of her own, Janet Striker, who proves an invaluable asset. Beyond the accelerating mystery, Cameron delves more deeply into his protagonist's life and the society that spawns the violent murderer Denton pursues, among them Striker's Society for the Improvement of Wayward Women, another a charity for unwed mothers that profits from the helpless women's labor and Mulcahy's unique Photographic Inventorium.

Through a maze of pubs, police departments and government agencies, Denton charges from one new clue to another, his search ultimately revealing a far more sinister crime than the outrageous murder of one of society's unfortunates. A murderer is at large to be sure, but this novel addresses more than this foul deed, shining a bright light on a turn of the century thicket of bureaucracies, social mores, male attitudes towards women and the suffering of the poor in a city that exalts the rich and perpetuates a male-dominated class system. In a wonderful pairing of the sensitive Denton with the brave and outspoken Janet Sinclair, shadowed by the loyal, acerbic Atkins, Cameron has written a wonderful tale of murder and morality, the city teeming with ambition, greed, graft and brutality. Not to mention the dark heart of the malevolent killer Denton meets in a final violent confrontation. Luan Gaines/2009.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cheeky New Victorian Thriller Series, November 8, 2010

By 

Jeannie Mancini "vernefan" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Frightened Man (Hardcover)

The Frightened Man by Kenneth Cameron is an excellent Victorian thriller with a Jack-the-Ripper style plot. Cameron's debut in this new series of Denton Mysteries was extremely well written, had endearing lovable characters who are very cheeky, and talent to weave a darn good yarn!

Our new perceptive detective Denton is an American transport living in London at the turn of the century. Escaping the States from a heroic deed while acting as a U.S. Marshall in the wild west and an incident involving his wife, he begins a new life as a popular author of fictional books and sets himself up in a grand London house complete with one hilarious valet named Sergeant. Everyone is going to fall in love with this smart-mouthed house servant who has charm, wit and one heck of an attitude! In the midst of a writer's block slump, hard up to pay the bills, one evening Denton and Sergeant are visited at their home by a raving mad man seeking Denton's help for protection against a murderer. It appears he has witnessed a brutal slaying of a young woman and fears he was seen. Near hysteria the man begs Denton's help in finding the killer before he too becomes the next Victim at the hand of what the man feels could be Jack-the-Ripper returned.

With the help of the local police, a band of woman in the literary circle to help him to do research, and a suffragette style brassy bold woman to be reckoned with, Denton takes up the chase to find the slasher in hopes of seeking justice and at the same time find a story for his next book.

I found the novel very evocative of the times. The author really allows the reader to feel they are being transported to London in 1900, complete with the gaslit, fog shrouded nights as horses and carriages rumble along cobblestone streets to the high society of the ton down to the seedy wharf-side pubs crawling with whores, pickpockets and knife wielding vagrants. I very much liked Cameron's ability to blend characters so sarcastic you can't help but laugh, while at the same time making you cringe at the graphic and grotesque murders most macabre. Can't wait for book two, the Bohemian Girl. Excellent Victorian who-dun-it, just loved it!