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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A depth not often found in thrillers, October 30, 2007
Love can be the most wondrous force in our lives, or the mechanism of our worst nightmare. Regrettably, we can't choose who we love, even when the object of our desire might be the cause of our ultimate destruction. Spanning nearly two decades, from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, THE KINGDOM OF BONES tells the story of how one man's obsession changed a multitude of lives.
Tom Sayers, a once-great prizefighter, has hopelessly lost his heart to Louise Porter, an actress in the theater troupe with which he now travels. Beautiful, sweet Louise. But her affections lie elsewhere. Despite Tom's gentle wooing, Louise thinks of him as merely a friend. Before Tom has much of a chance to try to win her over, an anonymous informant tips off the London authorities about a series of murders ranging across England in towns the troupe has played. The anonymous tipster points the finger squarely at Tom Sayers.
Tom's protests of innocence fall on deaf ears, and he is forced to flee for his life. Someone has set him up well, and he thinks he knows who that someone is. He may not have had much before, but now he has nothing, not even his good name. If he is ever again to find an ounce of happiness, he must stop the killer. It is a huge task he has set for himself, but his very life depends on his success. Somehow, he manages to survive, despite the unwavering attentions of Sebastian Becker, the resolute policeman intent on collaring the man he believes to be a serial killer.
Becker is as determined to catch Tom as Tom is determined to find Louise. Across continents, seas and years, the chase continues. Louise has made herself as diaphanous as the costumes she once wore. Hers is not an easy trail to follow, but difficulty never stopped him before. Besides, what else has Tom to live for now?
Louise has told Tom she can never love him. It is not in her heart to do so. She has given her love to another, a man who trifled with her and robbed her of her soul, she now has come to believe. Despite her declaration of love for that man, Tom Sayers pursues Louise with near-superhuman resolve. At the very least, he wants to restore her faith in herself. At best, he hopes to win her love. It is a dangerous game he is playing, for the actors aren't what they seem and the man shadowing him has much to make up for.
Stepping up to help him is an old acquaintance, Bram Stoker, who knows Tom from the theater. He believes unwaveringly in Tom's innocence as he always felt him to be a forthright and honorable man. Stoker's help proves invaluable.
Beautifully written and tenderly portrayed with a depth not often found in thrillers, THE KINGDOM OF BONES melds history and mystery for a spectacular result.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Your business is yours. I can see that this is dark country.", October 28, 2007
Adding the name Bram Stoker to any late 19th-early-20th century novel introduces an element of otherworldliness in a fascinating tale that winds through England's theatrical world and society's dark dens where purveyors of sin sell their wares. Begun with the chase of an assumed murderer who leaves a trail of death that follows a particular theatrical group, Detective Inspector Sebastian Becker is certain of the culprit, stage manager Tom Sayers, a former boxer with some success in the ring and on the stage. The evidence appears incontrovertible, Sayers the obvious villain as Becker peruses the theater advertisements that perfectly coincide with the dates of the murders.
Sayers is in custody but manages to escape, thanks to the petty bullying of the officers who release Tom for a bare-fisted match. Now the suspect is on the run, Becker determined to recapture his prey. From Tom Sayers' point of view, the problem is not so simple: he knows he is innocent, can suggest the identity of the real killer, but nothing matters once Sayers' name is posted all over England. Turning to the only man who may give him the benefit of the doubt, Sayers approaches Bram Stoker, who is managing a more successful theater company. A man of diverse interests and appetites, Stoker introduces Sayers to a world beyond reason, beyond the obvious, a world where souls enter a godless bargain.
To further complicate his escape, Sayers is obsessed with the well-being of a beautiful young singer-actress to whom he is devoted, Louise Porter. Even with the possibility of eluding the authorities, Sayers cannot turn his back on the innocent Louise, returning to the theater company in hopes of protecting her. Over the course of the next few years, Tom follows the object of his unreciprocated affections, counseled by Stoker as the two men seek a resolution to Sayers' dilemma. Tom remains a wanted man, although the trail has long grown cold; Sebastian is as resolute as his quarry, following from England to Philadelphia to the old south.
Balancing the actions of three pivotal men, Becker, Sayers and Stoker, and the female at the heart of their quest, Gallagher has created an intelligent, challenging novel that explores one man's ungovernable passion and the true nature of evil. As realistic as the abattoirs where the victims are discovered, the shadowy world of theaters, carnies and con men, Sebastian injects the logic of police work, while Stoker suggests darker forces, Sayers single-minded in his pursuit of redemption. One man's good intentions are powerless against a pervasive evil; yet good men agree that the battle must be waged, that good can never acquiesce in the face of attack. Wonderful and frightening characters inhabit this novel, caught in a century in flux, where the truly dangerous slip with ease through an unsuspecting crowd. Luan Gaines/2007.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Haunting and very strange, October 14, 2007
This is one of the strangest books I've read in a long time. Tom Sayers, an English boxer from the late 19th Century, is suspected of killing a Scotland Yard Inspector, and pursued by that man's protege, another Scotland Yard detective. Fifteen years later, in American now, the Scotland Yard man is now retired, working for the Pinkertons, and on his day off he comes across the boxer, and demands answers from him. The book is constructed as a giant flashback for the first half, then a long sequel that takes place during the early 20th Century.
The central thrust of the plot is that the main character, Sayers, is in love with a woman who in turn likes him but doesn't love him. Sayers works as the manager of a traveling theater troop; the woman he's in love with is an actress who works in it. She's in turn in love with one of her fellow actors, who's evil and endlessly blase about everything around him. As the book progresses, it becomes apparent that the evil, such as it is, isn't entirely worldly, though what it consists of is never entirely clear. Sayers pursues that evil, however, to America and finally to an ending that's poetic, if a bit enigmatic.
I enjoyed this book, though I must say the ending was (as I said above) puzzling to say the least. The writing is intelligent and the setting well-described. I would recommend the book to those interested in period mysteries and/or horror novels.
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