A Twist at the End : A Novel of O. Henry (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "WILLIAM Pendleton Gaines, publisher and editor of the Austin Statesman, took a sip of scalding coffee and stepped onto his balcony..." (more)
Key Phrases: blind phrenologist, brown leather satchel, dog ghost, May Tobin, Eula Phillips, Marshal Lee (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Austin, Texas, 1885. Manhattan, 1906. Twenty-year-old ghosts haunt Will Porter, a.k.a. famous writer O. Henry, who may have changed names and cities but hasn't outrun the memory of a series of murders that cast a chilling shadow over a sunny and bustling town. In A Twist at the End, Steven Saylor, author of the Roma Sub Rosa mystery series (Rubicon, The House of the Vestals, A Murder on the Appian Way, The Venus Throw), riffs on reality: brutal and sadistic, the "Servant Girl Annihilator" killed seven Austin women in 1885, but the murders were never solved. Saylor weaves together murder mystery and love story, historical exploration and fictional creation, combining careful research with artistic license to hazard a potential solution to the now-obscure mystery.

Will is summoned back to Austin by a mysterious stranger bearing a letter whose author claims to have discovered the perpetrator of the hideous crimes; Saylor cleverly frames the story as a series of flashbacks during Will's trip to Texas. The sense of the train moving both forward, west toward Austin, and backward, deep into the past, accelerates the story itself, creating a foreboding sense of portent. Will himself is an engaging protagonist: "He considered himself to be fairly well-rounded, for a self-educated fellow. He could throw a lariat, quote from Idylls of the King, and grow an exceedingly fine moustache. Despite this résumé, once in Austin he had encountered some difficulties in earning a livelihood." His youth and naiveté are compelling counterpoints to the gritty boisterousness of the capital city, which Saylor evokes with careful precision.

Saylor has a light touch with historical irony. All too often, writers wrestle unsuccessfully with the temptation to have their characters make claims that we know, with all the wisdom of hindsight, will be disproved. The trick is to do this without making readers feel they've been poked sharply in the ribs (Do you get it? Do you get it?), and Saylor exhibits the commendable talent of grounding his characters' thoughts and observations in their historical context; they never seem forced or sly.

Unfortunately, the urge toward verisimilitude carries its own risks. Too often, Saylor will weave an item of historical record into his narrative--the so-called Female Clerks bill, for example--then seem oddly compelled to dispose of it; he brusquely states its actual outcome and drops it forevermore. The reader has the impression of a file drawer sliding shut (perhaps the one labeled "Historical Atmosphere"). Such moments, though they testify to Saylor's familiarity with Texas history, rupture the flow of the narrative.

The opening of the novel is so successful--with its O. Henry-esque twist that leaves readers ruefully shaking their heads, realizing too late the author's trickery--that one expects great things from the conclusion. Sadly, Saylor falls short of his own inspiration; the dénouement may be logical, but it certainly is neither startling nor ironic, and what, after all, is an O. Henry story without irony? --Kelly Flynn

From Publishers Weekly

Based on the scandal-ridden life of short story master O. Henry and a string of gruesome murders committed in 1885 Austin, Tex., this captivating historical romance noir should be heralded as a breakout for the seasoned author of Rubicon (one of seven mysteries in his popular Roma Sub Rosa series). The intricately structured narrative opens in New York in 1906, when William Sydney Porter, now in his mid-40s and enjoying fame under the nom de plume O. Henry, is being blackmailed by the wife of a wealthy Wall Street broker who threatens to expose his secret past: the writer once served hard time as a convicted embezzler. Porter also encounters a Dr. Kringel, who bears a letter and a train ticket from the celebrated physician, Dr. Edmund Montgomery, and his wife, noted sculptress Elisabet Ney, inviting Porter to return to their plantation near Austin to learn the truth about a 20-year-old series of unsolved murders. Deftly shifting back and forth between 1906 and 1885, the novel describes Porter's life as a likable 25-year-old free spirit who--working odd jobs and hanging out with Dave Shoemaker, a young crime reporter on the Austin Statesman--gets caught up in an unsatisfactory affair with a young married woman. Porter then recalls his unwitting connection to a series of brutal axe murders of seven young women who were sexually ravaged after their deaths. A hard look at racial bigotry and politico-economic deceit in post-Civil War Texas, this well-researched, capably written novel functions not only as cracking good historical entertainment, but also as an effective morality play. Agent, Alan Nevins. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First. edition (April 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684856816
• ISBN-13: 978-0684856810
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,199,745 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Misunderstood, May 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: A Twist at The End (Mass Market Paperback)

Based on what I have read from majority of the prior reviewers, I have discovered a trend. All of the reviewers were fans of the Roma Sub Rosa series, and obviously were looking for more. I had not heard of Steven Saylor (as I am not a "Roman Reader") until an interview on this very book on NPR. The next day I carried a hard cover out of Book People and had finished it within 24 hours, happy to have found a great new author to enjoy. Saylor's has a great ability to bring fact and fiction together, both with his characters and the environment in which he surrounds them, he completely emerges the reader in the events of the time. Afterwards I proceeded to purchase the Roma Sub Rosa series, as I wanted more of Saylor, and I enjoyed each one as much as this book, and also hope there will be more, but I will always be glad my first Saylor novel was "A Twist at the End". I believe every author needs to branch out and try new interests, but it shows here how loyal fans can easily turn on a great writer.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars THE ALIENIST of the West, April 15, 2002

By	Robert Crawford (Hudson, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Twist at The End (Mass Market Paperback)

Steven Saylor is perhaps, barring the great Caleb Carr, the best historical novelist around today. Known for his Roma Sub Rosa series and his wonderful Gordianus the Finder, Saylor travels forward in time and regales the reader with a murder mystery that is based on real life and a "detective" who is a fellow writer- O. Henry.

In terms of plotting and chracterization, Saylor cannot entertain the reader in A TWIST AT THE END as Caleb Carr did in THE ALIENIST. The latter book, a hefty 500+ page tome, gave us an indelible and fascinating look at late 19th century New York city with the kind of perspective that only a gifted historian can give to a lively period in a great metropolis's history. Here, Saylor excels when he confines his novels to ancient Rome.

1884-5 Austin is rocked and caught unawares with what is falsely credited as the nation's first serial murders. The police are of course baffled and William Sydney Porter, the so-called detective in this novel, is more concerned with slacking off and warbling love ditties under the windows of Austin's young ladies than in solving the case. Even after his beloved Eula Philips is brutally murdered, Porter does not do much to advance the investigation. Nor should he. It was a classic case of the wrong protagonist being at the right time, as O. Henry was indeed present in Austin during the murders. Imagine Oscar Wilde being made the hero of a Jack the Ripper novel and you'll see my meaning.

A large reason why THE ALIENIST and its sequel worked is because we got a sense that an investigation was being made, that, if not the police someone was doing their best to apprehend the killer. As Saylor rightly posits, the Austin police dragged their heels during this real-life investigation. However, there's no talented and well-characterized task force to pick up the slack and the only thrill of the novel is the cheap one of waiting for the next murder, one that we already know will be committed.

Porter makes for a weak, unsatisfying protagonist and the bland characterization is only enlivened by the love between himself and Eula Philips, a real-life victim of "the servant girl annihilators". The recreation of a long-lost Austin is something that I imagine would be fully appreciated only by a native of that city (as Saylor is), since it lacks the recognition and universality of Carr's 19th century NYC. Still, the pacing is even, although dragged out, and the characterization adequate. The lack of reknown for this unsolved series of murders baffles me as it did the author and I believe that the story deserved to be told.

Unlike Carr, who does not shy away from the horror of the murders and allows the reader to look over his detectives' shoulders in his two brilliant period pieces, Saylor affects the sensibilities of his genteel characters and gives us virtually no details of the servant girl murders, thereby depriving himself of the chance to more fully immerse the reader as a novel of this length must do. It's also quite obvious from the first half of the book who the killers are. No twist at the end, there.

And, aside from the identity of Porter's blackmailer in 1906 New York, which alone doesn't justify the title and the buildup, there *is* no twist at the end. All in all, a journey in which the train ride is more memorable than the destination.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Twist in the End, April 11, 2000

By A Customer

As one who loved Saylor's Roman mysteries, I purchased this book with great anticipation. The plot, concerning O. Henry and a true series of murders in 1884 and 1885 Austin, Texas, seemed intriguing. The beginning was great. Unfortunately, the story itself seemed to wander and, without giving too much away of the plot, the murders seemed curiously remote form the main character. In addition, the indentity of the murderer (or murderers?) becomes clear all to early in the book. I awaited the twist promised by the title, but found it predictable. Still, the book is worth reading.