Liz Currently Loves…Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough

A more beautiful looking book you would be hard put to find out there in the literary world at the moment – the cover art is stunning and it immediately entices you to dive right in. A brilliantly woven tale, “Mayhem” is set during the time of Jack the Ripper, but concerns a completely different set of murders. When a rotting torso is found in the vault of New Scotland Yard, we meet Dr Thomas Bond, Police Surgeon, drafted in to investigate from a medical standpoint, who quickly realises that something sinister is occurring. Eventually becoming obsessed with tracking down this killer, we follow Dr Bond on his foray into the seedier side of London and into darkness. I have to tell you – I fell madly in love with this book very early on and pretty much read it in a day..something I regret somewhat now as I’m very sad to see it done. Ms Pinborough has used real people and real events and then twisted them into a macabre and enthralling tale, with a supernatural twist and some absolutely stunning scene setting. Other real characters grace the story with their presence and each one is terrifically imagined – I wouldnt be at all surprised if the author has the personalities spot on, but I guess we’ll never know! The ongoing investigation into the Ripper killings sits nicely alongside our story – some of the characters are involved in both cases- and this adds to the ambience and addiction that this novel brings. Atmospheric and at times very scary, writing this review I am actually tempted to look over my shoulder at what might be lurking there..but perhaps I won’t. Just in case. Shiver.