Published By: Seven Dials
Pages: 299
Released On: 22/02/2024
Great Yarmouth, September 1900: A young woman is found dead on the beach, a bootlace tied tightly around her neck. Despite her death attracting national attention in the press, nobody claims her. Detective Inspector Robert Lingwood of the Great Yarmouth police force declares he will not rest until the mystery of the young woman’s death is solved. But it’s only once the case has been referred to Scotland Yard that the layers of mystery start to peel away…
‘Mrs Hood’ was in fact Mary Jane Bennett, and this is her story.
Following clues and tracking red herrings leads the police to close in on their one and only suspect. With arson, fraud, an affair and a sensation-hungry press, the murder gripped the nation in one of the most eagerly anticipated trials of the early twentieth century. Author Kim Donovan finally tells her great-great-aunt’s story and the truth of evil duplicity in Victorian England.
*****
Thanks to Seven Dials for the gifted proof of this title in return for an honest review.
It’s unbelievable that this is a true story. Things like this…they happen in crime novels, in the whodunnits of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, not to a normal family in Great Yarmouth. It’s hard to remember it’s true when you read it as it juts sounds so shocking. But I suppose they do say that truth is stranger than fiction.
My paternal grandparents lived in Gorleston, about 5 miles away from the main part of Great Yarmouth, and so we’d often spend summers visiting them. Yarmouth holds many fond memories for me, and it was fascinating fitting this crime with what I remember of the place.
I know this is family history to Kim, but the sheer amount of research she’s clearly had to do is very impressive. I mean, I don’t know the ins and outs and so I can’t say 100% that they’re truthful, but it certainty reads so. It sounds so well crafted, even down to the very last detail.
It may not be the first thing you think of if you’re a crime novel fan. Non-fiction can have the possibility of being a bit dry and stale and dull, with facts just listed. But this is as atmospheric and absorbing as any murder mystery, and I think it would appeal to both those who love a good crime novel, and those who enjoy history, as she’s made it as interesting historically as it is shocking story-wise. We have the history of the police force in the UK, the history of Great Yarmouth, the history of the characters; and yet it doesn’t feel bogged down in detail.
I admit, at one point I did forget who was related to whom and how, but that’s more my inability to remember names, but the family tree at the start really helped clarify.
I preferred the chapters set after the murder, I felt they were juicier, but that’s just because I love a good mystery. The backstory chapters were interesting too, but I just kept wanting to get back to the investigation to try and figure out the truth. At the end of it all, whilst an individual is charged with the crime, it does leave room for your own verdict.
It’s got so much depth and so many layers that it’s really difficult to believe it is a true account, and not an imagined crime novel.
I believe this is Kim’s debut non-fiction book, and from what I’ve looked up, her debut book of any kind (please correct me if I’m wrong). I’m really interested to see where she does from here; in the non-fiction world yes, but also, if it’s something she is interested in, in the fictional world, to see if her energy that she carries out in this book can be transferred across the board. I, for one, am very excited about her writing future.
It’s a combination of your favourite whodunnit and your favourite true crime podcast. It’s a real triumph!
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