Except the Dying

"I really wanted to love this book. I have loved Detective Murdoch since I started watching <em>Murdoch Mysteries</em> <em> </em>several years ago (around 2010?). I may be a bit biased because I have been a big fan of Yannick Bisson since 2002 when I started to watch <em>Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye</em>. Anyway, I love the television show: the characters, the setting, the forensic science used.<br/><br/>I expected to have a similar experience with this book.<br/><br/>That was not the case. The characters are quite different. Murdoch is more gruff than in the tv series. I was quite surprised to see him curse at one point. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing, but it was just not what I was expecting from Murdoch. Crabtree is physically very different from Jonny Harris. Again, that's not a bad thing, just...different. I believe that in the book he is also married with a whole lot of kids at home? I don't have the book with me any more, so I can't go back and check. Brackenreid was very different, hardly ever seen, but referenced as a much less likable person.<br/><br/>I think those were the majority of my "problems" with this book. They weren't truly problems, but my own preconceptions of what I thought I would get. So I was kind of disappointed as I made my way through this novel.<br/><br/>Once I was able to push those aside, I was able to enjoy the book for what it was and not what I expected it to be.<br/><br/>I don't know why, but it took me a <i>really</i> long time to read this book. That's unusual for me, especially for a book of this length. I usually read at night before bed, but I guess I didn't read as much at night during April. Anyway, that might have contributed to my "difficulty" with this book. <br/><br/>I thought Jennings did a really nice job of using the language of the time (1895), but I did find it a little confusing at times. I like reading Victorian era stories, but I admit I was not familiar with all the terms and slang used in this book. But I really did feel like she captured the essence of that era. Not only the language used by the characters, but also the social conventions and overall culture.<br/><br/>I did have some trouble with the motive behind the crime in this book. I never really did understand <em>why</em> the murder was committed.<br/><br/>Overall, I enjoyed the book decently enough. I plan on reading the next two that my local library has. I hope that I can get my hands on the later books in the series if I like the next two as well."