The Salisbury Manuscripts
by Philip Gooden
Soho, July 2008, $24.95

Philip Gooden, currently the chair of the Crime Writers Association in the UK, is author of several Elizabethan mysteries. In The Salisbury Manuscripts he turns to the 19th century. The story is set in 1873 on Salisbury Plain, in the cathedral with its canons, vergers, and sextons, and in the town itself. The tale is reminiscent of Dickens with its shades of Nicholas Nickleby.

Lawyer Todd Ansell is sent from London to visit a client in Salisbury who wishes to entrust a memoir written by his father to the safe keeping of the law firm. When the client, a residentiary canon named Felix Slater, is murdered, the plot thickens. The pace is deliberate, but never dull. The settings are described in enough detail to create images of the time and place. The characters are convincing Victorians—servants, squires, and clergy, who are connected by complex family relationships, and many well-kept secrets. It is a treat for fans of historical mysteries.—Mary Helen Becker

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