Rating: 
Summary: A dark medieval mystery; heavy going.
Review: A densely crafted medieval mystery reminiscent of Umberto Eco's "Name of the Rose." Added to the cruelty of Restoration England is the pustulating evil of Pears' characters. Not light reading, but rich in period history and brightened by a surprise ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Compulsive readable, absolutely unforgettable.
Review: I read this book in a single afternoon. I cannot recall any boook of its genre that excited me so much, or which filled me with more intellectual excitement. It was the best mystery novel Ive read since a book of an entirely different genre and setting, L.A. Confidential. In fact I would compare it to Kurosawas film Rashomon, both in its intellectual complexity and in its use of multiple narrators. It is a book full of philosophical and even theological insight. I would even rank it as SUPERIOR to The Name of the Rose, because it is more compassionate and richer in human interest.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Deliciously plotted, remarkably well written, this book is one that couldn't be put down! I was intrigued from one character's perspective to the next all the way to the end. Pears does a marvelous job having his characters narrate their version of what happened to Dr. Grove and how their stories all intertwine together. Even when the murderer is revealed, I still found myself reading on because of all the subplots in this book. It had humour, religion, conspiracy, love, honor, pride...it had it all! A fascinating tale about 17th century England - I felt as though I was there in the taverns, the college, the laboratories, etc. I have recommended this book to everyone I know that loves mystery and suspense. Well done!
Rating:
Summary: History, philosophy, politics, psycology, murder, faith
Review: A complex story told from four angles, the resonance of the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts. The parts themselves are amazing alone. Four different voices, and four different basic understandings of what is happening in the world, mundane and cosmic. Not really beautiful as a lyrical text (Pears is not for example Robertson Davies) yet the structure of the work produces a kind of polyphony. History is more dominant than psycology, but the work is also an interesting hymn to faith. A 9 rather than a 10 means its not James Joyce but what else is? This is a wonderful book which effortlessly, deftly, arches across multiple genres, is beautifully constructed, and compelling.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: This is the best thriller novel I've read since THE SHAPE: A NOVEL OF INTERNATIONAL SUSPENSE by Craig Furnas. FINGERPOST is a real page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: Great after you get going
Review: Am I the only one who had trouble getting through the second section? Not because the writing was poor, but because the narrator was so off-putting. The first and fourth narrators are so likable, and the third one at least is cool, so I galloped through those sections. If you're stuck in the second part, take heart and keep going--it's well worth it in the end.
Rating:
Summary: A captivating murder mystery laced with 17th-century history
Review: Although a rather long book, the author's
use of short chapters and a narrative told
from 4 different points of view, makes this
title a brisk and stimulating read.
With the murder of an Oxford Don as the focus of
the book, the reader, early on, becomes
engaged with Pear's richly developed
characters, some fictional and others based
on well-known seventeenth-century figures
like Locke, Wallis, Lower, and Wood.
This book should be of particular interest to
those intrigued by the history of
seventeenth-century medicine. The first
section of the book, which is told from the
point of view of an Italian physician, is
remarkable for its real-life depiction of what
is must have been like to be a practitioner
and patient during, what some historians call,
the age of " medical revolution."
For those interested in a very well done
historical novel, this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Superb combination of mystery and historical rumination.
Review: I agree with another reader who disputed the comparison of this excellent book to Eco's The Name of the Rose. While Eco's novel was a moderately interesting mystery attached to some of the most leaden and self-indulgent intellectual digressions, Pears' novel successfully integrates the intellectual/medical issues of the day into the plot. This is a far superior book. Pears use of four narrators is not only convincing, it has the effect of peeling back the plot like the layers of an onion. This one kept me up late at night and demands to be re-read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent historical/philosophical mystery
Review: This book is told in four sections, each from a different point of view, and each section illuminates and builds on earlier sections, so that I found myself flipping back to reread certain passages in light of later revelations. I read the last half of the book practically at a gallop, eager to learn what had really happened in this compelling novel. I look forward to more books by Mr. Pears.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic philosophical murder mystery
Review: The beauty of this book lies not within the intricate plot (which is formidable at first glance, a tightly woven fabric of inordinate weaves and wefts which each thread is examined) but within the successful use of four quite independent voices. The parallels are many: to the classic film, "Rashomon", to "In the Name of the Rose", and "The Moonstone," even to novels like "The Sound and the Fury." Yet his style is his own and not easily dismissed with parallels. One of the best books I have read in several years. A mystery where the mystery plays but a small role in the thoroughly engrossing plot of intrigue, deception, high and low religion, messianic voices and scurrilous evil louts, medical inventiveness and the need for recognition at all costs. Who would have guessed that all these and Oxford too could be pressed into such a small space?
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