In the Kingdom of Mists

by Jane Jakeman and Jane Jackman

Book Overview

While Claude Monet paints the wintry mists over the Thames, the bodies of two young women are dragged from its murky depths, arousing fears of a return of Jack the Ripper. Craston, a green diplomat at the Foreign Office, is unwillingly drawn into the police investigation and ordered to keep an eye on the visiting French artist. All the while, neither man knows that the source of the horror stalks the floor above M. Monet's suite..."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425195120
• ISBN13: 9780425195123
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.5" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating historical mystery set in late Victorian England

Jane Jakeman's In the Kingdom of Mists is a well-sculpted novel about a diverse group of people (among them Claude Monet and his son, Michel) affected directly and indirectly by the murders of two young women whose bodies have been found in the Thames. A knife to the heart caused their deaths, but there are also signs of mutilation on their bodies. Though Jack the Ripper struck more than twenty years earlier, the comparisons are inevitable and the police keep the specifics hidden as best as possible to avoid a panic. There is already unrest as the Boer War rages and England's soldiers are dying or returning home badly wounded, physically and mentally. The story centers around Oliver Craston, a young man newly employed by the Foreign Office. As Oliver is walking alongside the Thames one day, he witnesses the remains of a woman being dredged out of the water; this is the second victim of the Ripper-esque murderer. Oliver is catapulted into the investigation. Not long after his shock, he is making his way home unsteadily and is aided by two French gentlemen, Claude and Michel Monet. Claude has come to London to paint and young Michel is there to learn English. They befriend Oliver and unwittingly place him in a position to gain knowledge of political unease and to help the police in their murder investigation. Inspector Will Garrety heads up the investigation and faces pressure from his superiors to tread lightly in some areas and, worse, to stay away from the people and the place that could hold the key to solving the heinous crimes. Garrety is also struggling on a personal level as he and his wife, Aline, desperately want a child and are unable to conceive. It makes our big, red-headed detective very human. In the Kingdom of Mists is much more than a mystery, it is an intriguing study of people from various walks of life in turn of the century London. Much of the novel is devoted to Oliver and his need to live on his own and his desire to help his sister overcome her parents refusal to allow her to study medicine, something they believe to be improper for a young lady. Another part of the novel follows Claude Monet as he paints scenes of London and as he finds himself drifting back in time to when his first wife, Camille, was dying and he had taken a lover, Alice, who became his second wife. Most interestingly, Jakeman includes several chapters where we hear from the murderer in first person. These are very disturbing and very revealing. Jane Jakeman is not only an very talented writer, but also an art historian and this is evident in her wonderful descriptions of the atmosphere surrounding her story and of Monet's paintings. In the Kingdom of Mists is a well-written novel that may not be for the squeamish, but it does leave me wanting this to be turned into a series.

Great historical mystery

When a woman of quality is fished out of the Thames River in London, the police are quick to see that she was murdered, a knife wound through the heart. A second woman is taken out of the Thames also with a knife wound through the heart and the police are eager to keep these killings quiet. Both women had professional abortions before they were killed The year is 1900 and Londoners have not forgotten the Ripper murders and if they know a serial killer is on the loose, panic would ensue.Oliver Craston, who is just beginning his career as a diplomat in the Foreign Office, found the body. He tells the police the only reason he was kept on after calling attention to himself is his friendship with the painter Monet who has contacts with radicals living in England. Inspector Garrett is in charge of the case but although he has some clues to the killer's identity, it is Oliver who can break the case wide open if he has the courage to go against his superiors and risk his job. It is the start of a new century and Jane Jakeman expertly captures the atmosphere of England as she engages in the Boer Wars. The hero of IN THE KINGDOM OF MISTS is Oliver who always tries to do the right thing even though the repercussions for him might be costly, both financially and emotionally. Some of the scenes are told from the point of view of the killer and his perspective makes for a chilling historical police procedural.Harriet Klausner