The Queen of Bedlam-Robert McCammon

The Queen of Bedlam
Robert McCammon
Pocket, Oct 2007, $16.00
ISBN 9781416551119

In 1703 in Manhattan a serial killer frightens the community; no one in the bustling city wants to talk about the incident known as the “Thing That No One Spoke Of”. Everyone fears that this unknown Masker dubbed that by the Printmaster following the murder of the doctor. The belief is he or she is everywhere and will overhear discussions that may make you the next victim.

Twenty-three year old Matthew Corbett clerks for the New York office of the London based Herrald Agency, whose mission is to solve problems. He feels like the sheep following the clues left behind by a predatory wolf as he fumbles and stumbles his way into crime scenes. He turns somewhat nauseous when he finds the corpse of someone he loathes, pedophile Eben Ausley, orphanage headmaster where Matthew was raised. As he reluctantly continues his vigil, Matthew believes the motive resides in an asylum where “the Queen of Bedlam” lives in blissful amnesia, but the Masker remains anonymous as more murders occur.

Just a few years have passed since the two volumes of SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD, but the adventures of magistrate clerk Matthew Corbett continue this time in his home city instead of the Carolinas. Matthew remains a fresh protagonist as his bumbling amateur sleuthing brings vividly alive early eighteenth century colonial New York City. The story line is fast-paced as the young hero and his partners try to unmask a brilliant serial killer leaving the audience satiated yet also joyfully implying more to follow.

Harriet Klausner