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Feb 12, 2018gillescoughlan rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I'll start by saying it's a very good read, with an enjoyable story. Murdoch is the essentially the same, if older, as in the previous books, even though he did evolve. What I find disappointing, is that the author felt the need to change the setting, as she explains it, so as to not confuse the viewers of the TV series. I like the series, and it is because of the TV shows that I discovered the books. Well, it did not take me long, when I read a Murdoch novel for the first time, to realize that Murdoch and Crabtree had considerably different personas that their TV representation. Please trust your readers to be intelligent to figure it out. True, some viewers might decide they like the tv shows better and give up on the book or books when they find out Crabtree does not provide comic relief, and Murdoch and Dr Ogden are not a couple. But would those viewers really take to a book in which Crabtree, Ogden and Brackenreid are not features? Furthermore, the plot revolve around Murdoch son coming home from WWI, and Crabtree is said to have 2 sons fighting in Europe. Would that not confuse fans of the series unfamiliar with the books, as both characters are childless as of this season, set in 1905 ? Whereas I don't see the need to have rebooted the novel series, the reboot is done successfully, with a new assistant and a new potential romance for Murdoch. If Maureen Jennings decides to keep this setting for the next novel, it will be interesting to see how the new characters develop. As someone who prefers the novels to the TV series (even though I do enjoy the series), I hope more novels will follow, whether they are set in Victorian times or in the WWI era.