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The Frightened Man Kenneth Cameron 9780312538965 Books

Download As PDF : The Frightened Man Kenneth Cameron 9780312538965 Books

The Frightened Man Kenneth Cameron 9780312538965 Books

Well written and enjoyable, this story nonetheless falls flat on mystery. There is very little to actually ponder, as the protagonist spends much of the story consulting directories for clues. Characterization is fairly decent and I rather liked most of the characters. Sadly, much of the story is cliche, as we have the comic-relief sidekick, the down on his luck hero, and the woman who rejects him.


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The Frightened Man Kenneth Cameron 9780312538965 Books Reviews

In Kenneth Cameron's "The Frightened Man," Denton is a veteran of the American Civil War who lives in England. He is a successful writer who has not produced any publishable work of late, and he is quickly running short of funds. His closest companion is Sergeant Atkins, a loyal manservant who is always ready with a quip or clever retort. One evening, a stranger named Mulcahy rings Denton's bell and asks to speak to him about an urgent matter. The visitor spins a wild tale in which he claims to have seen Jack the Ripper at work; he declares that he needs protection from the fiend, who is still at large. Denton thinks that Mulcahy is delusional and is relieved when the man abruptly leaves. Much to Denton's horror, he soon finds out that a young woman has been found brutally murdered and mutilated; he is convinced that Mulcahy knows something about this unspeakable crime.

Denton, who once served as a marshal, embarks on a mission to find the killer of the dead girl, a prostitute named Stella Minter. He has no confidence in the police, who appear to be inept and in no particular hurry to solve this case. Luckily, there is one officer, Detective Sergeant Munro, who is willing to lend a hand. Denton uses a valuable contact in the police department to give him access to the postmortem and the crime scene. He later gains an ally when a formidable woman named Janet Striker agrees to help him. The obstacles that Denton and Striker face seem insurmountable, but the pair is determined to do whatever it takes to learn the truth about Minter's death.

Although Denton is a likeable enough protagonist and the novel has vivid descriptions of turn-of-the century London ("noisy, hard-driving, bursting at the seams"), the story is wildly implausible. Denton is not particular energetic, and it is unlikely that such a man would be galvanized to defy the police's orders and launch his own rigorous inquiry. He squanders what little money he has to bribe people, pay for cab fare, and hire researchers. In addition, he interviews numerous individuals and even resorts to breaking and entering when it suits his purposes. It requires a huge suspension of disbelief to accept Denton's transformation from a lethargic middle-aged man to a crusading investigator. The book is too talky, the dialogue is artificial, and the narrative meanders and drags long before Cameron finally comes to the climactic scene in which our hero confronts his adversary. The author inserts the usual social commentary about the subjugation of women and the disparity between London's upper and lower classes; this territory has been covered many times before in much more pointed and sharply written historical fiction.
The Frightened Man by Kenneth Cameron is an excellent Victorian thriller with a Jack-the-Ripper style plot. Cameron's debut in this new series of Denton Mysteries was extremely well written, had endearing lovable characters who are very cheeky, and talent to weave a darn good yarn!

Our new perceptive detective Denton is an American transport living in London at the turn of the century. Escaping the States from a heroic deed while acting as a U.S. Marshall in the wild west and an incident involving his wife, he begins a new life as a popular author of fictional books and sets himself up in a grand London house complete with one hilarious valet named Sergeant. Everyone is going to fall in love with this smart-mouthed house servant who has charm, wit and one heck of an attitude! In the midst of a writer's block slump, hard up to pay the bills, one evening Denton and Sergeant are visited at their home by a raving mad man seeking Denton's help for protection against a murderer. It appears he has witnessed a brutal slaying of a young woman and fears he was seen. Near hysteria the man begs Denton's help in finding the killer before he too becomes the next Victim at the hand of what the man feels could be Jack-the-Ripper returned.

With the help of the local police, a band of woman in the literary circle to help him to do research, and a suffragette style brassy bold woman to be reckoned with, Denton takes up the chase to find the slasher in hopes of seeking justice and at the same time find a story for his next book.

I found the novel very evocative of the times. The author really allows the reader to feel they are being transported to London in 1900, complete with the gaslit, fog shrouded nights as horses and carriages rumble along cobblestone streets to the high society of the ton down to the seedy wharf-side pubs crawling with whores, pickpockets and knife wielding vagrants. I very much liked Cameron's ability to blend characters so sarcastic you can't help but laugh, while at the same time making you cringe at the graphic and grotesque murders most macabre. Can't wait for book two, the Bohemian Girl. Excellent Victorian who-dun-it, just loved it!
Well written and enjoyable, this story nonetheless falls flat on mystery. There is very little to actually ponder, as the protagonist spends much of the story consulting directories for clues. Characterization is fairly decent and I rather liked most of the characters. Sadly, much of the story is cliche, as we have the comic-relief sidekick, the down on his luck hero, and the woman who rejects him.