The Mysterium [Hardcover]

Eric P. McCormack (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1994

When, one by one, the normally quiet residents of a British village with a disturbing past become compulsive monologuists, and then die, reporter James Maxwell learns it is impossible to get at the truth about what is happening.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McCormack (The Paradise Motel) keeps disbelief at bay throughout this strange, ingenious riddle of a mass extermination that won't stay solved despite a confession written in ink all over the body of the man who confesses. Carrick is a fog-shrouded, former mining town-a place of coal smoke, dead bracken and heather-in the Uplands of a country identified only as the Island. Recent acts of vandalism-the mutilation of a war memorial, desecration of a cemetery, acid thrown on books at the library-are followed by the death of a shepherd, whose body is found with his lips cut off. Then a plague strikes, killing first the animals, then children and adults. Most of the victims become garrulous, in effect talking themselves to death. Could a mad poisoner be avenging the loss of 19 Carrick soldiers in the collapse of a bridge during what is referred to as "the War?" Or are the events related to the apparent accident in which enemy POWs working the Carrick Mine were drowned? James Maxwell, a cub reporter from the Capital, assists Reeve Blair (a reeve is a police official) in his investigation. Maxwell finds patterns that lead him to utterly false but intriguing conclusions.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Canadian McCormack has written a darkly obscure story that's as mesmerizing as it is mystifying. Set in the isolated British mining village of Carrick, the tale is related by newspaper reporter James Maxwell years after he learned of the town's odd history. Carrick has been the victim of several disasters: a plague that wiped out its entire population after turning its normally reserved citizens into loquacious gossips; a suspicious mining disaster during World War II that killed an entire camp of German prisoners; and a horrifying accident that collapsed a bridge and killed dozens of Carrick's male citizens. Were these disasters part of a curse, a terrible act of retribution, or the result of the town's efforts to cloak its most damaging secrets behind a web of lies? Maxwell tries to discover the elusive truth by piercing together the stories behind the lives of Carrick's leading citizens, but years after the fact, he's still uncertain about where the mystery ends and truth begins. McCormack's story will not only appeal to mystery fans, but also to readers of more literary fiction. Emily Melton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 259 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031211320X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312113209
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,207,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous Mysterium, September 29, 2001

By 

Dr. Chronos (Grosse Pointe Park, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mysterium (Hardcover)

An absolutely marvelous book.

The detective in the story visits an isolated hamlet. Where? When? We have no idea. The mystery, who is murdering the townspeople? Indeed, how are the townspeople being killed, as each perishes from entirely different symptoms? Is the motive revenge for a past mining accident involving war prisoners? Was it an accident at all? Or is this a case of romance gone bad? Is this outcome of natural disease or unnatural poisoning? Do we ever find out? It is hard to discover when the prime suspect, pinned by convincing evidence, may just as likely be the next victim.

The murders are the the mystery. The mysterium is glimpsed as the reader eventually realizes that the story is a meditation on the meaning of truth and on the meaning of knowing of truth and even of the knowability of truth. A mysterium wrapped in an enigma...

McCormack draws wonderful characters in strange circumstances with beautiful skill. I bought his book on clearance while in Stratford to see a few plays -- the impact of this Canadian author has stayed with me far longer than those now forgetten theatrical productions.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Certum quia impossibile, August 3, 2004

By 

J. Shayer (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mysterium (Mass Market Paperback)

A great read with enough twists and turns to keep you going.

Later,
J.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious and Engaging, November 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mysterium (Hardcover)

McCormack's novel is a must read. Combining elements of mystery and horror, McCormack's brilliant prose weaves a mystical and terrifying web. Dazzling, absolutely dazzling!