Ambrose Bierce and the Queen of Spades: A Mystery Novel (Hardcover)

~ Oakley Hall (Author) "When Ambrose Bierce heard of the first Morton Street Slasher murder, he said, "It appears there is a fellow who dislikes women more than I..." (more)
Key Phrases: instant aristocrats, fair beard, San Francisco, Senator Jennings, Captain Pusey (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Tom Redmond, printer's assistant and would-be journalist for a satirical weekly, joins editor Ambrose Bierce in investigating a series of brutal prostitute murders in 1880s San Francisco. Initial conjecture and sleuthing establish links to a nouveau riche family of dubious integrity and the unethical and sometimes violent owners of the railroad monopoly. Quips from the misogynistic Bierce, naive observations from Redmond, and snippets of information about local history and real characters should stir reader demand. Hall, the author of some 20 novels, including Separations (LJ 6/1/97), is best known for his Westerns. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Hall does more here than blend fact with fiction to tell an entertaining tale. He conducts a writing seminar as well. Hall effectively uses a young reporter who works for Ambrose Bierce to narrate the story, and he opens each chapter with an excerpt from Bierce's Devil's Dictionary. He paints word pictures of his characters and gives life to San Francisco in the late 1800s and the mining camps of even earlier days. It all begins when a Jack the Ripper type, known as the Morton Street Slasher, starts butchering young women, leaving a spade playing card with each naked or partially naked body. For reporter Tom Redmond, who fears for the safety of a particular young woman, it is a major mystery. For Bierce, it is an opportunity to continue his war on the mining and railroad monarchs along with the bought-and-paid-for politicians of the day. This is as much a historical novel as it is a mystery, and Hall's portrayal of Bierce, the woman-hating, crusading journalist, is flawless. Budd Arthur

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 321 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (November 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520215559
• ISBN-13: 978-0520215559
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #547,816 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Please don't compare this with The Alienist, April 11, 2002

By	"excession" (Westfield, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ambrose Bierce and the Queen of Spades (Penguin Mysteries) (Paperback)

To start, I liked this book, but not as much as I hoped to like it. It is a nice historical mystery, but it is not in the league of The Alienist, a work to which it is often compared. The narrator, Tom Redmond, is a likeable character, but just as he is confused with the many characters in this mystery, so is the reader.

The story searches for the Morton Street Slasher, but the reader who wants a plot similar to the Alienist (which follows the trail of the killer) will be disappointed to learn that this book is more about mining and railroad politics than the search for a killer. If you are interested in the backroom politics of San Francisco in the 1870's or really love the wit of Ambrose Bierce, then you'll probably love this book ... if you're like me, and you like Ambrose Bierce's dark humor but could do without the smoke-filled rooms, then you'll just find it an interesting diversion.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, informative hystery\mistory, October 31, 2001

By	Brian C. Taylor "smug feldspar magnate" (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book tells the story of young Tom Redmond, apprentice to the famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) Ambrose Bierce. Redmond and Bierce try to track down a Ripper-style killer of prostitutes and unravel a mystery that has ties to the California Gold Rush and the Railroad boom in California. All in all, the history is good (and you'll probably learn a good bit if you know nothing about mining or railroads) and the mysteries provide a nice little puzzle. Despite the title, Bierce is not the main character, Redmond is, and he's quite an interesting, well-developed and sympathetic one. Bierce is kind of a secondary character, although the book is peppered with his acerbic, sarcastic thinking (one of the things I enjoyed most of all, actually). This book is less Holmes-and-Watson than Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, which is a more satisfying arrangement, I think. I enjoyed it and I think most people who like historical mysteries will enjoy it also.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bierce In Form, April 2, 2000

By	Mary J. Grimes (Salem, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ambrose Bierce and the Queen of Spades (Penguin Mysteries) (Paperback)

Hall transports you into the life of both Bierce and Redmond in such a way that you walk with them throughout their adventure. The plot twists and turns, as does Bierce's mind and Redmond's reactions. Redmond's apprenticeship to Bierce and his learning the cynicism and wit of the master takes the reader on a trip into the mind and manner of Ambrose Bierce.....the American Sherlock Homes and Watson teaming up to battle injustice and murder.