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Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective | Kate Summerscale
The national bestseller, now in paperback. In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat slit. T he crime horrified all England and led to a national obsession with detection, ironically destroying, in the process, the career of perhaps the greatest detective in the land. I nspector Jonathan Whicher's real legacy, however, lives on in fiction: the tough, quirky, all-knowing and all-seeing detective that we know and love today from the cryptic Sgt. Cuff in Wilkie Collins's "The Moonstone "to Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade. "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher "reads like the best of Victorian thrillers, and has been nominated for the Samuel Johnson Prize in London."
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AnneCecilie
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30th June 1860, 3 yr old Seville is found dead on his family‘s estate. That such a grotesque murder could happen in a middle class family shocked the nation and would take up a lot of space in the newspapers. Both the press and the detective (a new thing of the day) wanted to know: Who was the murder?

This murder would also be the inspiration for novels like The Woman in White and Moonstone by Wilkie Collins and Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

AnneCecilie I feel like a reread of some books might be in order. 1y
Vansa One of my favourite books. My Platonic ideal of what the true crime genre should be 1y
AnneCecilie @Vansa I‘m not sure I‘ve read enough true crime to have an ideal, but this was very good. 1y
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LeahBergen
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Here‘s my #LastFirst, @BookNAround !

Daniil and Vanya will be my last read of the year and I‘m starting off 2023 with the tagged book (one that‘s been sitting on my shelves for several years 😆).

Happy New Year! 🌟

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Happy New Year!! 🎆🎈🎊 2y
MaureenMc Happy New Year!🎊 2y
batsy Happy New Year, Leah! 😘🥂 2y
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Cathythoughts Very good ! Happy New Year ♥️ 2y
Tamra Happy 2023 Reading Leah! ❤️🤗🎉 2y
BookNAround I have your first book on my tbr shelves too (also for years at this point). 2y
LeahBergen @BookNAround It‘s shameful, isn‘t it? 😆 2y
BiblioLitten Happy New Year🎉 2y
LeahBergen @BiblioLitten And to you, as well! 😘 2y
53 likes10 comments
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Magpiegem
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Chelsea.Poole
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Found this title from a list of true crime books not to be missed. It was equally focused on the setting of the crime (Victorian England), as the crime itself. And the crime is horrific: a three year old child is murdered, found in the privy. The detective in the case, Mr. Whicher, is considered one of the first in the profession. This case gripped Britain at the time and it‘s also considered one of the first that was widely reported on.

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Centique
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This looks like a mystery but really it is a history book. The Road Hill murder in 1860 England was perhaps the first time that a whole nation became obsessed with a crime, and the first time that the role of a detective inquiring into the privacy of a middle class family caused controversy. Summerscale lays out the mystery in great detail and the police and detective proceedings following but she also looks at the reporting ⬇️

Centique ..and the cultural impact on authors such as Dickens and Wilkie Collins and the birth of the detective story. Really well done but it may be a bit lengthy if you‘re not into the historical side of true crime ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2y
Centique The cheesy detective image is not intended to be accurate in any way 🤪 2y
Ruthiella I‘m normally not interested in true crime, but if was during the Victorian period, sign me up! I liked this book a lot along with 2y
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EvieBee I really liked this one, although it‘s been a long time since I read it. The ending shocked me! 2y
Centique @Ruthiella that sounds great. Stacked! 2y
Centique @EvieBee I know! At first I was leaning the other way entirely. 2y
batsy Great review! This sounds intriguing. 💕 2y
Centique @batsy yes, you might like this 😘 2y
59 likes8 comments
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Emma_PK
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This is about 3 types of books rolled into one. An observation of life in English Victorian times, a real true crime drama of a very tragic and strange murder and a commentary on the development of the Scotland Yard Detectives. I came to it thinking it would be just the puzzle of the murder and I had to realign my expectations but was suitably drawn in, informed and entertained.

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Magpiegem
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Catching up on the Olympics (we finally have a 🏅🇬🇧medal!) and looking at my new charity shop haul… I‘ve just leaned into it now. If I‘m going to give money to charity I may as well get books at the same time!! The tagged book has been on my TBR for ages and the other just looked good!

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Minervasbutler
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True account of a murder that shocked and rocked respectable Victorian England in 1860, the killing of a 3-year-old boy. Summerscale takes this crime as the starting point for an exploration of the relatively novel figure of the detective (Mr Whicher was one of the original eight Scotland Yard detectives at its founding in 1842), as well as a myriad of other themes. Enjoyable and informative.

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ChristineJardine
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2009

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Argon
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Mehso-so

An interesting book. I‘d never heard of this particular crime before and was surprised to learn how often it came up in England, especially in the couple decades after it‘s occurrence. At times, especially at the beginning, the writing seems to include unnecessary facts (like the price Whicher paid for a carriage ride) or big claims about how influential Whicher was, but it got better and painted quite a picture of late 19th C England! 6/10

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CoffeeK8
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The Woodchuck in the backyard does NOT want his picture taken.

TheSpineView Fun fact here.... the old folks call them Whistle Hogs. 5y
Caroline2 Cute!!! 😍 5y
54 likes2 comments
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CoffeeK8
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A little bit of #audiogardening during this heatwave. With a few lovely friends.

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StaceyKondla
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I‘ve been chipping away at this non-fiction. I have no idea why, but I‘m really digging historical crime non-fiction right now. Also makes me glad to be alive now 😬

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EmilieGR
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Detecting the detective- where did the real and the literary detectives come from?

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Mdargusch
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Shot day for the puppies, so while they are passed out, I can get a chance to read!

This Victorian true crime had many
#carelesswhispers amongst the townspeople as Mr. Whicher tried to find out which household member killed a little sleeping boy and left him in the privy. No one would believe a member of an upperclass family could do something so heinous.

#Rose&Jack #anglophileapril

mabell Wow those cuties are passed out! 🐶❤️ 6y
KarenUK Omg! They are melting my heart! 6y
mreads Too cute ❤🐕🐕❤ 6y
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emilyhaldi I can't focus on anything but those pups 😍 6y
Reviewsbylola Such a good book and they are so cute! Hope they‘re not up burning all their energy at midnight!! 🤪 6y
BookNAround So precious! 6y
JoScho Seriously I just want to kiss those sweet little faces!!!! 6y
kspenmoll Adorable pups! 6y
Cinfhen It‘s really like having toddlers again!!! Too cute 6y
LeahBergen Ooooohhhh! I need to squeeze them! 6y
Swe_Eva 🥰 6y
RohitSawant 😍🐶💕🐾 6y
Mdargusch It definitely is! @Cinfhen except I can lock the puppies in a cage when I need to. 😼 6y
Cinfhen Hahahaha 😂😂😂 6y
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Mdargusch
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Starting a new vacation read today that comes highly recommended by @Reviewsbylola and it has character lists AND a floor plan of the house! 💙💙💙

LeahBergen Waiting on my shelf, too. 🙄 6y
Laughterhp I watched the BBC TV movie of this book. It was pretty good!! Didn‘t realize it was a book though! 6y
Mdargusch It‘s a quick read and good so far @LeahBergen @Laughterhp 6y
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BarbaraBB I really liked this one! Enjoy your holidays! 6y
Mdargusch Thanks! @BarbaraBB this is my favorite kind of crime - historical true crime. 6y
emilyhaldi Oohhh hope this means the rain cleared up!! 🙏🏻 6y
Reviewsbylola I hope you liked it!! 6y
Mdargusch Love it so far @Reviewsbylola 6y
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wintergeist
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Pickpick

One of the Victorian era's most intriguing murder mysteries.

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Jadams89
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Mehso-so

Meh - I enjoy Victorian Era detective stories, but I found this to be incredibly boring. 😐

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rwmg
Pickpick

True crime story of a case in 1860 which heavily influenced the public perception of detectives in Victorian fiction and down to our own day. Agatha Christie would have had a field day with this case.

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rwmg
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Read66
Mehso-so

A little slow moving but interesting in how this true crime case went on to inspire Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens in their writing about detectives and crime.

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OrangeMooseReads
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Searching through Prime Video seeing what was there and if I wanted to watch anything I came across this one. Based on the book which is based on true events. So far not bad. The book was good, so 🤞🏽

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Morr_Books
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Mehso-so

While I thought aspects of this book fascinating like the mystery of the crime and the incorporation of famous literary authors. My attention definitely waned a few times. I think this happened because the author would bounce around a bit and not always just focus on the murder and Mr Whicher. However, I'm still planning to check out the movie that I saw on Amazon streaming based on this book.

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erzascarletbookgasm
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This one‘s still languishing on my TBR piles..😬

#litsyclassics #maylovesclassics #truecrime

Bambolina_81 Same here! It's been there for years :( 6y
Sarah83 Me too 😂 6y
Crewgurl One package received!!! #conandoyleswap 6y
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Moray_Reads And me! 6y
erzascarletbookgasm @Crewgurl Yay! I 🤞🙏 the other one arrives soon! 6y
LitsyOwl This looks good! Adding TBR 🦉📚 6y
Crewgurl Same to you lady!!! 6y
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BookishMarginalia
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An interesting look at a murder investigation in Victorian England — this book meanders and rambles in most enjoyable ways through detecting, court cases, the workings of Victorian households, the lives of suspects and victims... I truly enjoyed it! Thanks, @WanderingBookaneer for the rec!

MarriedtoMrT I enjoyed it, as well. It was pretty great on audio! 6y
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rwmg
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WanderingBookaneer I‘m hoping to start this one tomorrow. 7y
DGRachel I really enjoyed this one. 😊 7y
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Caksf
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Outstanding non fiction! A gruesome unsolved murder in Victorian England? The first sensational murder in a “locked English country estate”? Yes, yes and YES! Countless writers from Dickens to Wilkie Collins were directly influenced by this crime. The author also traces the evolution of the mystery novel, and our obsession with them. (ok maybe just my obsession lol) @HardcoverHearts you would love this! Highly, highly recommend! 5/5

TheKidUpstairs I've had this one on my shelf for almost a year now. I have to get to it! It sounds so good. 7y
Caksf @thekidupstairs Definitely! And as a bonus, it‘s also a page turner! I blew through it in 3 days ( staying up late to squeeze in more chapters) I hope you like it!! 7y
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jfount
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Pickpick

Sometimes you wait long enough to read something that a swanky new edition comes out. Bought this in a bogo deal at Dubray‘s and read it within about 36 hours.

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LornaDH
Suspicions of Mister Whicher | Kate Summerscale
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Thanks to @Christine11 for my #2018NFBE box. Puts my own lack of wrapping to shame, too. But it's all about the books. And thanks to @inwhichHeikereadsharder for organising the exchange!

Reviewsbylola The Summerscale is fantastic!! 7y
Christine11 You‘re welcome 😊 I‘m glad it arrived safely! I really hope you like it all! 🌸 7y
heikemarie Is that a bookmark in the lower left? I like it!! It was my pleasure! 7y
LornaDH @Chrissyreadit @inwhichHeikereadsharder - I could not track it. It left my house and all I have is the receipt. I can resend the books through amazon once I get back to my computer, but I'm not at home til later. 💜 7y
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OrangeMooseReads
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Finally get around to my review. Well written and interesting true crime. Scotland Yard‘s best detective is sent out to solve the murder of a small boy. Jonathan Whicher was the inspiration for many literary detectives. Very interesting book, you could make 2 separate books really but the interweaving is excellent. I would recommend this one 👍🏼
More at OrangeMooseReads.wordpress.com

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OrangeMooseReads
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I‘m diggin this one. The real life detective that inspired many literary detectives and the case that inspired many literary “who dunits”

Tamra This sounds entertaining. 7y
OrangeMooseReads @Tamra it was good. I‘m going to try to get a review up this weekend I‘ve got a couple others to get to first. 7y
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Jen2
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Pickpick

Very interesting

Reviewsbylola Loved this! 7y
Mrsjarv Loved this read! 7y
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toofondofbooks
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Mehso-so

Nonfiction account of the murder of a three year old boy in 1860 England. It was a little overly researched and the author pretty much alludes to every single fictional detective ever. But it was okay.

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BarbaraBB
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“Perhaps this is the purpose of detective investigations, real and fictional -- to transform sensation, horror and grief into a #puzzle, and then to solve the puzzle, to make it go away.”

#QuotsyNov17

tpixie Awesome quote!!! 7y
kspenmoll Like this!!‘ 7y
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rjsthumbelina
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Panpan

Meh. I feel like this book should have been so much shorter. There was so much extra stuff thrown in - it was not pertinent to the story at hand and muddled the story and made it so boring! Too bad- could have been an interesting story. I also didn't think that there was very much characterization, which was also a shame (50)

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Sace
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#blameitonlitsy Well. I'm weak as hell. I swore to myself that I would stick to a book diet this month and I've already broken it three times. I feel like a failure. 😂 I need to stick to one. I don't have the space on my shelves and I need to learn to be happy with the books I *do* have.

CoffeeCatsBooks I know the feeling! Twice this morning I almost placed book orders and I have books arriving today. I don't even want to admit how behind I am on book boxes and gift exchange books. Maybe cheer yourself up and think about all those books you haven't ordered!! 📚📖😉 7y
mklong If it helps ease the guilt, that is a really great book. 7y
quirkyreader I almost bought this yesterday. 7y
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mrozzz I really like the term "book diet" over ban... ? I too continue to show poor impulse control. We'll get there eventually! 7y
Sace @CoffeeCatsBooks there's nothing like book mail after a bad day at work. It's so nice to get packages. 7y
Sace @mklong it sounds good. And that cover! 7y
Sace @quirkyreader I almost bought a lot yesterday too. 😂 7y
Sace @mrozzz I used to use "book diet" as well. I may have to go back to it. I swear I was better at dieting. Impulse control is not one of my strong suits either. 7y
RadicalReader @RestlessFickleBookSlut that‘s why I absolutely adore a library don‘t have to worry about having bookcases of books that I have a tendency to only read once and that was it 7y
Sace @RadicalReader I'm trying to use my library more, but I would say that 90‰ of the time, my library doesn't have the books I see on Litsy. I always do a library search (Hoopla, overdrive and the library database) before I purchase. 7y
RadicalReader @RestlessFickleBookSlut inter library loans and seeing if there is a form that the library can give you where you can suggest a book and if they can they‘ll purchase the book for the library 7y
93 likes2 stack adds11 comments
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Lizpixie
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#Rocktober #day7 #SuspiciousMinds This is a NF story about the murder of Saville Kent in June 1860. Found at the bottom of the outdoor "privy" with his throat cut, Scotland Yard sends detective Jonathan Whicher, to find the killer. Problem was, Inspector Whicher believed a member of this prominent family was the culprit which of course went down like a lead balloon amongst his superiors. Sent home in disgrace, he was proved right 5yrs later.

Tamra This sounds great! 7y
tpixie Interesting!! 7y
Cinfhen Fascinating ❣️❣️❣️ 7y
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Marchpane What a gorgeous edition you have! 😍 7y
Lizpixie @Marchpane it's part of the new Bloomsbury Modern Classics. There's about 8 books I think and they're all gorgeous! 7y
ephemeralwaltz 😍 so pretty! 7y
BarbaraBB I liked that book a lot! 7y
73 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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Lizpixie
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#BookMail time! Today was these two hunks of gorgeousness.The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher in the Bloomsbury Modern Classics edition,which I'm loving! It has a textured paper finish to it & I love the colours. I'm definitely buying the rest of the books in this edition. The other is the new Rowly Sinclair novel from Sulari Gentill. Set in late 30s Sydney, Rowly is a trust fund boy, who prefers to be with painters & bohemians & leads an exciting life.

erzascarletbookgasm The tagged book is so pretty! 💖 7y
TheKidUpstairs 😍😍😍 7y
batsy That's a beautiful edition of the Whicher! 7y
LeahBergen Gorgeous! 😮 7y
69 likes4 comments
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MarriedtoMrT
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Pickpick

Great on audio. While the story was interesting and I loved the facts about the rise of the detective, I'm not sure I would have wadding through the whole thing if Simon Vance hadn't been speaking so wonderfully into my ear.

This was a #blameitonlitsy read but I can't find the original post so if you mentioned it in the past few months, thank you!

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MarriedtoMrT
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I just started using Hoopla for audiobooks. In the past I've been lucky enough to get them on Overdrive/Libby or OneClick. I got pretty spoiled with those platforms, I guess, because I had some expectations. For one, there is no chapter list? Or even track list? Am I missing it? I use the sleep timer at night and the chapter list is particularly helpful in getting myself back on track the next day. Any Hoopla regulars have tips or tricks?

Redwritinghood I use Hoopla, but I'm not aware of any way to access chapters or otherwise find your place other than the time signature. 7y
emtobiasz Yeah... Hoopla is really slim on the bells and whistles, particularly with the app. It has a lot of good stuff available, but Overdrive and now Libby are way ahead in terms of features. 7y
merelybookish Even the sound quality on Hoopla isn't great. But I still resort to it occasionally. Overdrive is by far the best. 7y
MarriedtoMrT @merelybookish I noticed the sound quality but I thought it was the headphones at first even though they sounded fine with my last OneClick audio. 7y
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Listener15
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Pickpick

I had not heard of this book until I saw it in an Audible sale. Glad I picked it up! Interesting history and seeing how things have, and haven't, changed over the years. Warning, this does depict the murder of a child so if that is hard for you, skip this. Simon Vance is an amazing narrator who did Audible's "The Complete Sherlock Holmes." He is a narrator to look for. Definitely recommend this book to those who love True Crime books!

sprainedbrain Ooooooh. How did I miss this one? Looks great! 😃 8y
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Oblomov26
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Pickpick

Well this was an interesting book. The true tale of a child murder in a British country house in the early days of the detective. A detective from Scotland Yard is dispatched, his investigation and the ramifications arising from his accusation. A tale of the hidden pain within families, class prejudices of the time (the detective is working class, the family middle class) the impact this case had on detective tales in general.

Reviewsbylola I loved this book but I read two of her other books afterward and thought they were both awful. 8y
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Oblomov26
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Well who knew that the origins of the words detection came from Latin and specifically refers to removing the roof of a premise so that you can look and uncover what is happening within? Etymology can be fascinating.

CrowCAH I agree. I like learning about word origins. 8y
LeahBergen Cool! 8y
68 likes2 comments
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MrBook
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#TBRtemptation post! Who likes a good #truecrime account based in Victorian England? Yeah, exactly 😁👏🏻. June, 1860. 3-year-old Saville Kent was found with a slit throat. A national obsession overtook the country to find the killer. Scotland Yard's Jon Whicher was 1 of only 8 detectives in England, & he was assigned. He blamed a family member but it didn't hold for insufficient evidence. His career suffered. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

DGRachel I loved this book. So good. 8y
moranadatter @DGRachel Agreed! This book is fantastic. 8y
melissanorr I enjoyed the book as well. It was incredibly interesting and I always think of it when I read fictional mysteries set during that time period. 8y
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Ottergirl I love this type of book usually, but couldn't get into this series at all 8y
LeahBergen On my shelf! 👍🏼 8y
erzascarletbookgasm On my shelf too 😊 8y
OrangeMooseReads This was an audible deal of the day recently 👍🏽 8y
Jinjer Stacked! 8y
TheLondonBookworm A-mazing book- one of my history teachers used it instead of making up lessons 😂😂 8y
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Dorianna
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Current read: Murder, a detective's downfall, public scandal.

Victorians, it would seem, half-assed nothing. 😛

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mlzbthc
Mehso-so

The beginning was interesting; the middle drags a bit, and then, bam, the ending gets really interesting.

Of course, the end is full of conjecture, but the author supports her suppositions quite well with the use of hindsight applied to historical documents.

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rachelm
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Pickpick

For lovers of mystery and non fiction alike, may I offer up this gem? Set in Victorian England and centered around the real life grisly death of a child, the author digs into The Who-dunnit and the Why-dunnits of the case. Fascinating look into the beginnings of detective fiction are a bonus!

DGRachel I loved this one! 8y
erzascarletbookgasm Ooo I have this on my shelf, haven't read. Happy to know it's good :) 8y
58 likes6 stack adds2 comments
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amypeveto
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Pickpick

Not quite to the last page because I'm savoring it. Summerscale writes some AMAZING stuff!

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thebookmagpie
Suspicions of Mister Whicher | Kate Summerscale
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Just started this and not sure what to think yet! I like the cover though 😊

BookishMarginalia The cover and title are both intriguing. Keep us posted! 8y
Reviewsbylola I really liked this one! 8y
AndrewDeYoung I loved this book! 8y
moranadatter I loved this one. It was fascinating. I'll be curious to hear what you think. 8y
LeahBergen I have this one, too, but haven't started it. Did you end up liking it? 8y
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