A Twist at The End

Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: After reading and highly enjoying all the Gordianus the Finder books by Saylor (which I do highly recommend), Twist at the End finds Saylor taking a new tact. Using O'Henry as the key character, we follow the unfolding of a series of brutal rape/murders in Austin, Texas in the late 1800's. Saylor shows he knows as much of this time period in Texas as he did about Ancient Rome...but somehow, the book left me cold. Perhaps it is the length, soem 550 pages, but about half way through, my one thought was "get on with it, already!". Not much of a twist at the end...it's obvious. In short, quite a letdown for an otherwise excellent author of ingenious historical mysteries.

Rating:
Summary: Misunderstood
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Misunderstood
Review: His research in the Sub Rosa Series paints a very believable picture of life at the end of the Republic. Likewise, his excavation of late 19th Century Central Texas is both accurate and verifiable. Lady liberty of the State Capitol building is every bit as ugly faced as he describes and no Texas City would have survived without a tenderloin district like "Guy Town." ( In Waco, we called it " The Reservation" and it lasted right up until Prohibition and other such noble experiments did so much to unravel the moral fiber of the nation).

William Sydney Porter really did live in Austin and San Antonio in the time frame of the novel and no doubt traveled the region on the extensive rail system that then extended all over the fifty-year-old fifedom of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston.
By 1888, The Texas Capitol plaza was lighted by electric arc lights
The actions and nature of Saylor's characters are real- or real enough to let the reader suspend disbelief and he unravels a true century-old mystery in a most believable and satisfactory manner.
The title " A Twist at the End" is more of a bow to the trademark of the main character than a synopsis of the book. That the reader is able to sort out the mystery well before Mr. Porter learns the whole truth, in no way detracts from the satisfing nature of this story.

Rating:
Summary: Saylor is a Detective
Review: His research in the Sub Rosa Series paints a very believable picture of life at the end of the Republic. Likewise, his excavation of late 19th Century Central Texas is both accurate and verifiable. Lady liberty of the State Capitol building is every bit as ugly faced as he describes and no Texas City would have survived without a tenderloin district like "Guy Town." ( In Waco, we called it " The Reservation" and it lasted right up until Prohibition and other such noble experiments did so much to unravel the moral fiber of the nation).

William Sydney Porter really did live in Austin and San Antonio in the time frame of the novel and no doubt traveled the region on the extensive rail system that then extended all over the fifty-year-old fifedom of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston.
By 1888, The Texas Capitol plaza was lighted by electric arc lights
The actions and nature of Saylor's characters are real- or real enough to let the reader suspend disbelief and he unravels a true century-old mystery in a most believable and satisfactory manner.
The title " A Twist at the End" is more of a bow to the trademark of the main character than a synopsis of the book. That the reader is able to sort out the mystery well before Mr. Porter learns the whole truth, in no way detracts from the satisfing nature of this story.

Rating:
Summary: Was the Austin Slayer Jack the Ripper?
Review: I was fascinated by this book. Every so often, the Austin papers would throw out tantalizing tidbits of information about these 1880's murders. There were never many details given,probably because of the lurid nature of the crimes. They were so heinous, especially since that was considered a "gentler" time. They terrorized Austin and like the Ripper killings, suddenly stopped with no solution.

I am not a reader of Saylor's Roman series, so I can't make a comparison with his other works. His research was thorough, and I found the book hard to put down. I loved that he used many characters from that era, including my great-great uncle John Ireland. A previous reviewer criticized this book for showing off too much research and not fleshing out O. Henry more. I am a fan of Mr. Porter's, and I disagree. I liked the inclusion of Elisabet Ney, whose castle-like studio, Formosa, can be visited to this day.

Since the crimes were never solved, Saylor had to be a bit cagey with his ending. It would be nice if he tied up everything neatly with a bow, but that would not have been believable, given the amount of fact he included.

Rating:
Summary: Boring Botch of a Great Idea
Review: My God, what a great idea--and my God, how thoroughly Saylor has botched it!

To begin with, Saylor doesn't stay on track at all. The narrative is constantly interrupted so that he can show off every single bit of research he's done for the novel. A good historical novelist uses research to flesh out and propel his narrative--Saylor uses it to slow the book down and make it bloated.

Second, the solution to the mystery--the trumpeted titular "twist"--is pedestrian in the extreme.

Third, the character of O. Henry, as presented in the novel, is not a character at all--he's a blank, a black hole at the book's center.

I have never read a more boring or disappointing thriller in my life.

Rating:
Summary: Simply, this is not very good
Review: Steven Saylor is known for his fine (Roman) historical detective series. However with the unfortunately titled 'Twist at the End' (..known as 'Honour the Dead' in Britain) Saylor spins a mystery fable based in his home town of Austin (Texas), circa 1885. He has cleverly recontructed a story surrounding a series of true crimes: the brutal murders of young women over a two year period (..in fact these crimes were never solved). Saylor makes use of some infamous/notorious late 19th century Austin residents to embellish his story. Sadly, these embellishments completely ruin any sense of believability; this is a major "no-no" with any piece of historical fiction. And as other reviewers noted, despite its title no one will find a "twist at the end" here.

But all is not lost. The prose flows very well, and the characterizations have some depth to them. I actually enjoyed 'Twist at the End' for its snapshot of 1880s Austin life. Folks interested in Texas history will appreciate the author's obvious detailed research.

Bottom line: certainly a half-baked mystery novel. But the overall writing talents of the author and historical perspectives make 'Twist a the End' a surprisingly decent read.

Rating:
Summary: enjoy it for the history, not the mystery...
Review: Steven Saylor is known for his fine (Roman) historical detective series. However with the unfortunately titled 'Twist at the End' (..known as 'Honour the Dead' in Britain) Saylor spins a mystery fable based in his home town of Austin (Texas), circa 1885. He has cleverly recontructed a story surrounding a series of true crimes: the brutal murders of young women over a two year period (..in fact these crimes were never solved). Saylor makes use of some infamous/notorious late 19th century Austin residents to embellish his story. Sadly, these embellishments completely ruin any sense of believability; this is a major "no-no" with any piece of historical fiction. And as other reviewers noted, despite its title no one will find a "twist at the end" here.

But all is not lost. The prose flows very well, and the characterizations have some depth to them. I actually enjoyed 'Twist at the End' for its snapshot of 1880s Austin life. Folks interested in Texas history will appreciate the author's obvious detailed research.

Bottom line: certainly a half-baked mystery novel. But the overall writing talents of the author and historical perspectives make 'Twist a the End' a surprisingly decent read.

Rating:
Summary: THE ALIENIST of the West
Review: 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.