The Anatomy of Ghosts

(book 7 for RIP)

The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor.

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Hyperion (January 25, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1401302874

Book Description

1786, Jerusalem College, Cambridge
The ghost of Sylvia Whichcote is rumored to be haunting Jerusalem ever since student Frank Oldershaw claimed to have seen the dead woman prowling the grounds and was locked up because of his violent reaction to these disturbed visions.
Desperate to salvage her son's reputation, Lady Anne Oldershaw employs John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts--a stinging account of why ghosts are mere delusion--to investigate. But his arrival in Cambridge disrupts an uneasy status quo as he glimpses a world of privilege and abuse, where the sinister Holy Ghost Club governs life at Jerusalem more effectively than the Master, Dr. Carbury, ever could.
And when Holdsworth finds himself haunted--not only by the ghost of his dead wife, Maria, but also by Elinor, the very-much-alive Master's wife--his fate is sealed. He must find Sylvia's murderer, or else the hauntings will continue. And not one of this troubled group will leave the claustrophobic confines of Jerusalem unchanged.

This is my second book by Andrew Taylor, and although this book was fine, I found the first one, An Unpardonable Crime, more to my liking.   And yet I have a third book by Andrew Taylor waiting in the wings, but I think I will break from him and read something else first.

This book related a great deal about college life back in 1786, along with a mystery of a young man who has gone insane, and a murder.  It has quite a number of things to follow, but in the end, they all come together (as well they should!).

The book description is accurate and tells enough for one to determine if you would be interested in reading it or not.  I believe the reason I liked Unpardonable Crime better was that much of the book was written around the college and it’s goings on and for whatever reason that didn’t hold a charm for me.  However, I have to admit that Taylor made a number of very interesting characters and that alone had me reading each time I sat down.  I sometimes think that when modern day writers write things from the 17 an18 hundreds that they feel obligated to make characters as well defined as  Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins did…. and that’s probably wise of them!

I think if others like early England mysteries this one would fit the bill.  It was refreshing not to be in the London underground for a while :o)     But I know I’ll be back Britain as much as I can with my gothic mysteries!