The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
Ratings3
Average rating3.3
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.3
This carefully crafted ebook: "THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB (Thriller Classic)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a mystery novel, which takes place in Melbourne, Australia. It focuses on the investigation of a homicide involving a body discovered in a hansom cab, as well as an exploration into the social class divide in the city. The city of Melbourne plays a significant role in the plot and, as the author describes: "Over all the great city hung a cloud of smoke like a pall." Fergus Hume (1859-1932) was a prolific English novelist. His self-published novel, "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab", became a great success. It eventually became the best selling mystery novel of the Victorian era, author John Sutherland terming it the "most sensationally popular crime and detective novel of the century".
Reviews with the most likes.
A novel of historical significance, but tedious to a modern reader. It varies between Victorian melodrama and deary domestic and observational detail which is both uninteresting and unnecessary to the plot. The denouement is completely lacking in suspense and the whole second half of the book seems an anticlimax. The big secrets of the story are ones that seems insignificant by contemporary standards, and the use of devices such as “brain fever” seem quite hokey and dated. I'm glad I read it, as it is of historical importance, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is not a mystery nerd like me.
I really enjoyed this classic mystery. I liked the way Hume would lead the reader down one path and then throw in an unexpected twist. A real page turner that had me captivated till the last page.
Series
2 primary booksMelbourne Trilogy is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 1886 with contributions by Fergus Hume.
