Rating: 
Summary: This is not a book to be missed.
Review: River Of Darkness by Rennie Airth is set just after the first world war, in 1921. The story opens with the discovery of the horrifying stabbing of Colonel Fletcher, his wife and two of their staff. At first it looks like robbery, but Lucy Fletcher, the Colonels wife has her throat cut, and the robbery looks staged. Their child found under the bed is unable to speak.When I first started reading it I found myself to some degree confusing Maddam of Scotland Yard with Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard, first introduced to us in 'Test Of Wills', by Charles Todd.. Both men have served at the front, and both are now back at Scotland Yard considerably harrowed by their experiences, which is clear by their hollowed and general appearance of fatigue. But I soon found that the story in River Of Darkness overtook me, being more interesting than the person investigating. It is a powerful, complex and gripping tale. Much of it is narrated by Billy Styles, a young constable eager to prove himself as a police officer. Also I found that the evidence of the effects of war more effective. Rennie Airth transports you back to that time. I really felt that I was there, some of the descriptions are vivid, and I felt for the people trying to put their lives back together. It is clear that with the great loses that this war incurred, everyone was touched in some way. Apart from being a compelling read, this book is beautifully written, and unusual, in that we are to a degree conditioned that most times we know little about the murder victim, often we learn only about them until after they are a victim. To get to like a victim before they are murdered is rare and unexpected.. This is not a book to be missed. Lizzie Hayes
Rating: 
Summary: A terrific new series
Review: RIVER OF DARKNESS is an excellent beginning to a new series by South African author Rennie Airth. Set in England just after WWI, it will please those looking for well plotted psychological mysteries and forensic detail. Scotland Yard Inspector John Madden has returned scarred both from trench warfare and the deaths of both his wife and child in the influenza epidemic just prior to the war. Madden never expected to survive the war and is having great difficulty establishing any kind of life for himself separate from his work. When he is called to the Surrey countryside to investigate the massacre of a family in what appears to be a robbery gone wrong, he quickly recognizes that this particular crime is much more. The murders appear to have been committed with a bayonet and a military style dugout is discovered nearby. The murderer had clearly been holed up in the dugout and watching the family. Inspector Madden also suspects a perverse sexual motivation for the crime that leads him to a Viennese psychologist. A very interesting side light to the story is the resistance at Scotland Yard to looking at any sort of psychological motivation for the crime. We meet the killer as he plans his next crime and Madden slowly uncovers his identity. The narrative builds to a high level of suspense as Madden tries to pinpoint where he might strike next, as well as building a relationship with the supportive female village doctor. We are given chilling glimpses of the targeted family and the mind of the killer as the story unfolds, making this story a riveting read for a hot summer.
Rating:
Summary: Best Mystery in Years - Amazing Debut Novel
Review: River of Darkness is easily the best mystery I can remember reading. It is such an interesting combination of quiet village who-dunnit and the diary of a frantic psycho-killer. The story is told from 2 points of view which makes it twice as involving and twice as difficult to put down. The atmosphere is so thick and engrossing. Turning the pages is like transcending time and becoming, yourself, embroiled in the fast-paced, hypnotic mayhem of a quiet English town, hexed with the drama and tragedy of housing a very cold, unpredictable killer.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of all the acclaim
Review: River of Darkness was either a winner or a nominee for six mystery awards - Edgar, Anthony, Dilys, Peters, Barry and McCavity. It deserves all of that recognition. Why? Because Airth has managed to combine some of the best of the classic British mystery (the aura of Dame Agatha lurks) with some of the most interesting aspects of newer detective fiction - psychology and post war trauma. I'm looking forward to the promised sequel -- as the characters have lots of room for growth. It's also a great time period for exploration. Least you think this is a cozy, please be aware that in Pike, Airth has created a portrait of evil that will make you sure that your doors are locked and you're on your guard. Bottom line -- a very good read for fans of historical mysteries (Caleb Carr, Anne Perry)or British police procedurals.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth Reading.
Review: River of Darkness, by Rennie Airth goes near the top of my bulging list of whodunnits read this year. The central character is Scotland Yarn Inspector John Madden, who has recently returned to police work after serving on the front during WWI. He is "pulling himself together", and at the same time, identifying and attempting to apprehend a rare criminal type -- the serial mass murderer. Airth does a first rate job of portraying investigative work in the first part of the 20th century, the beginnings of psychological profiling, and the Scotland Yarn bureaucracy. The novel portrays several officers (city/rural) and inspectors and most get along well with each other. The police procedural featuring the "lone gunman" alienated from his peers is a little tiresome and Airth avoids this tack. About half-way through the novel the killer is introduced, and the psychological juxtaposition between him, his victims, and particularly Madden makes for a gripping page-turner. Early psychiatric (Freudian) analysis of serial killers and the Yard's distain for what they consider frivolous and unnecessary input is entertaining. The romantic love-heals-all wounds relationship between Madden and a rural doctor was a reason I gave this novel only 4 stars. Given Maddens prior marriage and his battlefield experiences it didn't ring quite true, but then perhaps Madden is a more resilient type. In any event this is a novel well worth buying and reading. Airth's powers of description are excellent and he tells a great tale.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Mystery - Well Done
Review: Superb characters, excellent atmosphere, and fine writing highlight this wonderful English mystery. The shadow of WWI hangs heavy over this story of psychological suspense and the pain of the survivors is thoughtfully addressed. A sensitive, exciting, and immensely interesting novel that will not disappoint. First Rate!
Rating:
Summary: River of Darkness
Review: Terrific book. A mystery and a thriller with outstanding writin
Rating:
Summary: This is one of the best mysteries of the year
Review: The press calls this the finest summer since the war to end all wars ended. To the bodies and minds of the soldiers and their families who participated, this fine summer provides very little solace. For instance, John Madden still is hurting from his war experiences, but in his case the prime scar that grips his heart comes from the influenza deaths of his spouse and infant child. Still, Scotland Yard recognizes John as one of their better inspectors. When the murders occurred in the small Surrey village of Highfield, the Yard assigns John to investigate. The local police believe that the killing of Colonel Fletcher, his wife and child, a maid, and the child's nanny occurred during a robbery that turned violent. With the help of Dr. Helen Blackwell, who provides insight using the latest forensic psychology developments, John begins to uncover the truth behind the brutal murders. RIVER OF DARKNESS is a great historical police procedural that will gain Rennie Airth many fans. The story line, predominately told by neophyte police officer Billie Styles cleverly adds the effects of the aftermath of WW I on the various characters. The who-done-it and its investigation are entertaining, and the growing love between the inspector and the doctor augment the plot with a touch of warmth and humanity. However, what makes Mr. Airth's novel so refreshingly good is the genuine feel of the era. Fans of historical mysteries will clamor for Viking to release the sequel as soon as possible. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: River of Flatness
Review: The setting (English country in
the early twenties) had great appeal for a Golden Age fan like me. Would that book change my mind towards serial-killerstories?
Sadly it didn't.
I'll be fair and admit the first hundred pages are excellent. They are the best part of the book. While content is unquestionably "modern", we're in a genuine detective story, vaguely reminiscent of A.E.W. Mason and, of course, Agatha Christie (the Watson is called Styles). The first appeareance of
Inspector Madden, the scene of the crime, the reconstruction, all that is very good. Alas, modernity quickly comes back and spoils what could have been a more than decent effort.
First, Madden has been traumatized by his WW1 experience, and Airth carefully describes his agonies and nightmares. Besides, his wife and his daughter died because of influenza. That melodramatic angst stuff is sadly very frequent in contemporary mysteries. Classic detectives were excentric, modern ones are complexed and traumatized. I'm not sure that it's a
progress.
Second, Madden of course meets a woman, and they of course fall in love at first sight. This is something that classic and modern writers have in common: unavoidable and useless love stories. The difference is that lovers in Golden Age books had no sex the way Madden and Helen Blackwood have here. Of
course, they finally marry, after a predictable climax. The Helen
Blackwood character is completely anachrostic: sexually emancipated women were very rare back then, and a middle-class man like Madden would have taken to his heels before such a pushing girl.
Third and main thing, the serial killer stuff is as stereotyped and silly as usual. While his modus operandi is some original, his deviant behavior is due to his mother, of course. If there's a serial-killer on earth who started his career for other reasons than family (i.e., maternal) problems, modern authors have surely never heard of it. On his lover's advice, Madden
holds counsel with an Austrian psychiatrist, probably the first profiler ever. As usual, the profiler closes in upon the killer's personality at once, and without commiting any error. Even Sherlock Holmes was a dunce in comparison with those guys. SK genre is a stupid one, but this idolatrization of profiler is probably its most idiotic aspect.
These little things said, the plot is well done - not great, but well done. Yet we remain most of the time on well-known
grounds. Characterization is another weak point, often wooden or cliched. Only young Billy Styles comes across like a real character. Writing is pedestrian; but great storytelling partly redeems all these flaws. The book is over-long, but reader's interest never fails. Still, it's an overrated work that didn't deserve all the praise it gained.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been so much better
Review: This book started out good with clear writing and a scary killer, but, it came to a too easy to figure out conclusion. And, at 386 pages, it is way too long for a mystery! It should have ended sooner. After a certain point it dragged on. The author is a reporter and I thought that maybe he gets paid by the word! The female lead was somewhat unbelievable with her romantic abandon, considering her position in the community and in that era. If I come across the second book, I hope that it is a shorter, more suspenseful read.
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