Scan barcode
dmcke013's review against another edition
4.0
The sequel to 2006's Ratcatcher, Resurrectionist again follows the exploits of Matthew Hawkwood: a former army officer now working as a Bow Street Runner.
While Ratcatcher, in many respects, was a straight-forward action/adventure set in Regency London, this novel is more of a mystery/crime novel. This time, Captain Hawkwood is on the trail of body-snatchers - colloquially known as 'Resurrection men' - and of an escaped convict from Bedlam Hospital. Initially believing the two cases to be distinct, this later proves to be far from the case ...
Body-snatching was - and is - a pretty gruesome business, and McGee doesn't shy away from the full import of what the grave-diggers were involved in, with some of the scenes described not for the squeamish! Similarly, the early years of medical science are also touched upon - again, some of those scenes are not for the squeamish.
While Ratcatcher, in many respects, was a straight-forward action/adventure set in Regency London, this novel is more of a mystery/crime novel. This time, Captain Hawkwood is on the trail of body-snatchers - colloquially known as 'Resurrection men' - and of an escaped convict from Bedlam Hospital. Initially believing the two cases to be distinct, this later proves to be far from the case ...
Body-snatching was - and is - a pretty gruesome business, and McGee doesn't shy away from the full import of what the grave-diggers were involved in, with some of the scenes described not for the squeamish! Similarly, the early years of medical science are also touched upon - again, some of those scenes are not for the squeamish.
bunrab's review against another edition
4.0
Even grittier than the first one - and a lot gorier. Still fascinating, though.
bookishwendy's review against another edition
3.0
This was pretty great from the research aspect (what can I say, it revolves around a pet topic of mine), and the thriller aspect set in regency London was rather fun as well. However, the writing relies on pages of passive-voice sentence structure that serves to distance the reader from the already distant main character, and the pace felt much slower than a thriller should -- this took me almost 2 weeks to read! I also wanted more in the character development department, and I became weirdly distracted by the naming convention for random minor characters (there are SO many random minor characters). One-syllable names, and doubled-up letters: Ragg, Twigg, Dodd, Grubb, Leech... and those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head. A decent read if you are already a fan of the genre and time period.
jefffrane's review against another edition
3.0
Another solid effort by McGee featuring his Bow Street Runner protagonist. There are some seriously icky parts (well, most of the book) so be forewarned.
curiosityp's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the first book in the series so I didn't bother reading the description before reading this one. It turned out to be a bit more gruesome than I would have preferred but the history of medical science was still vastly interesting.
drannieg's review against another edition
3.0
Much better than the first in the series, which was fine, but clichéd. This rips along at a fair old pace, and, while the fight scenes are a bit pedestrian, the plot is tight and people, if one dimensional, are fun to watch.
deehaichess's review
4.0
It's something of a guilty pleasure reading these books, incidentally not unlike watching a film in my favourite genre which generally involves gun fights, car chases, fisticuffs, shit blowing up and awesome BAMFs kicking ass and taking names. The only real difference is that the Hawkwood books are set before the invention of, oh, pretty much everything and seriously, if Guy Ritchie gets tired of Sherlock Holmes anytime soon, he could do a lot worse than look to McGee for inspiration for his next film franchise.
This book (the second in the series) was quite gruesome - kind of an action film mixed with a slasher film. The main antagonist is a Regency period Hannibal Lecter - i.e. smart and really super insane but minus the culinary skills - and as bodies continue to drop (or, you know, the opposite) the details just keep getting grislier and grislier. But what entertained me most while reading was the understanding that in a very extreme way, the crazy people in this book are kind of actually right. Part of what the antagonist was trying to achieve is something that is a reality now. Looking at it in that light, it makes the story somehow more horrific rather than less. No stranger fiction than truth, I guess! As McGee's notes at the end will attest.
In terms of writing, McGee is fun and a teeny bit frothy, which made this book a really easy read. So easy, in fact, that I think I'll go start the next one! Hopefully there'll be more Hawkwood/Jago buddy movie adventures going on, because every hero needs his lethal sidekick!
This book (the second in the series) was quite gruesome - kind of an action film mixed with a slasher film. The main antagonist is a Regency period Hannibal Lecter - i.e. smart and really super insane but minus the culinary skills - and as bodies continue to drop (or, you know, the opposite) the details just keep getting grislier and grislier. But what entertained me most while reading was the understanding that in a very extreme way, the crazy people in this book are kind of actually right. Part of what the antagonist was trying to achieve is something that is a reality now. Looking at it in that light, it makes the story somehow more horrific rather than less. No stranger fiction than truth, I guess! As McGee's notes at the end will attest.
In terms of writing, McGee is fun and a teeny bit frothy, which made this book a really easy read. So easy, in fact, that I think I'll go start the next one! Hopefully there'll be more Hawkwood/Jago buddy movie adventures going on, because every hero needs his lethal sidekick!