Tangled Web UK Review May 2008
The Frightened Man by
Kenneth Cameron
hbk out April 08
Published by Orion
at £14.99
As there have already been at least seven new (or new editions of) studies of Jack the Ripper published in the first five months of this year, it seems Orion have timed the release of this novel well. In turn, Mr Cameron uses two very appropriate devices to engage with the reader. The first is the scepticism of his protagonist, Denton, when he is approached by a man who claims to know the identity of the Ripper. Denton’s doubts mirror those of the reader, who is likely to be wondering what Mr Cameron thinks he can bring to the Ripper oeuvre that hasn’t been done before. The second device also concerns Denton: his nationality neatly removes the problem of Americanisms creeping into the speech of Victorian Londoners. There are in fact one or two questionable terms used by English characters, and at least one historical inaccuracy, but they are all minor and don’t detract from the enjoyment of the story.
Denton is a Civil War veteran and ex-sheriff who lives in London and earns his crust as a writer of popular fiction. He is as intelligent as he is intense, with an interesting background and just enough flaws to make him credible while still sympathetic. He employs a single servant - an ex-fusilier sergeant called Atkins - who is insubordinate and sarcastic, but at the same time deeply concerned with maintaining the appearance of a genteel household. The narrative begins at the end of 1900, when Denton’s reputations as an author and sheriff combine to bring a stranger to his house. Mulcahy allegedly knew the Ripper before his notoriety, received correspondence from him while he continued his murders on the continent, and believes he has returned to London after a twelve year absence. Denton naturally suspects his visitor of being a charlatan or degenerate and is glad to see the back of him - until he reads of a brutal murder in the East End.
Particular care is taken to provide Denton with a realistic point of access to the police investigation, as his curiosity and professional instincts lead him to undertake his own enquiries. He works with - and, at times, against - two official detectives: Munro, an ex-Canadian Mountie invalided from the CID; and Guillam, a detective who is currently responsible for all Ripper-related matters, and eager to disprove any suggestion of the killer’s re-emergence. Denton becomes convinced that Mulcahy knows the Ripper’s whereabouts as well as his identity, and directs all his efforts to finding his visitor.
There is only one serious criticism worth making, and that concerns the Oscar Wilde/Café Royal subplot. Wilde is one of several historical characters often used by authors to provide period flavour, and much mention is made of his recent death here. It adds nothing to the plot, however, nor does it augment what is otherwise a rather proficient reconstruction of fin de siècle London, and feels a little like ‘name-dropping’ in conversation. Mr Cameron more than makes up for this failure by his revelation of the identity of the Ripper: there is no attempt to shock with a famous suspect or a Jill-the-Ripper-type twist; the killer is, quite simply, a nobody.
He is the man-in-the-street rather than a twisted genius or misguided zealot; an unimportant, demented, frightened man, with little to distinguish him other than a great capacity for evil. Rather than being an anticlimax, the prosaic choice makes this novel something special. Not only is it a refreshing change from ‘usual suspects’ like Prince Albert Victor, Sir William Gull, Walter Sickert, Lewis Carroll, and recently Frank Miles, but it also smacks of verisimilitude, so essential for writers of crime fiction. It is a wise decision, artfully delivered, and the The Frightened Man is a worthy addition to the subgenre from a confident, competent author.
(
Rafe McGregor
Rafe's own site - www.rafemcgregor.co.uk)
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