The Cadaver Game, the
latest Wesley Peterson murder mystery from Kate Ellis, is the 15th in a series that continues to go from strength to strength. When you bear in
mind that she has also written three books featuring Joe Plantagenet, and one
stand-alone history-mystery, as well as many short stories, it’s fair to say
that Kate’s become extremely prolific. Certainly, her productivity in recent
years puts me to shame. There’s always a danger that, when you write a great
deal at speed, quality will suffer – but I’m pleased to say that there is
absolutely no sign of this in The Cadaver Game. I was sure I’d enjoy it, as Kate
is not only a friend but a writer whose way with a plot I’ve long admired, but
I was especially entertained by some of the concepts in this particular story.
In broad terms, the
story is structured in the same way as its predecessors. A crime from the past,
with an archaeological connection, is linked with a murder puzzle in the
present. Upon that solid structure, Kate has built a complicated and absorbing
puzzle, with many interesting features and a plentiful supply of twists and red
herrings.
The central idea is of
a hunt with a difference – the hunted are real life people, running naked from
their pursuers. It happened in the past, and now it is happening in the
present. A young couple are shot to death by an unknown hunter at the start of
the book, but the question of what happened to them is not the only mystery
that Wesley has to solve. A woman’s body is found, and there is some mystery
about her identity. Meanwhile, extracts from two old journals reveal the
macabre machinations of a rich man’s jester at around the time of Waterloo.
A large cast of
characters is manipulated with unobtrusive expertise – no easy task. I thought
the concept of the game, in both the past and the present, was utterly
gripping, and certainly very dark. Equally, I was fascinated by the story of
Silly John, the jester. And finally, I have to admit, I couldn’t figure out the
murderer. My only complaint is that I too had the idea of a book title
including the word “cadaver” (at one point The Serpent Pool was going to be
called The Cadaver Tarn, but then I decided to save the latter title for a
rainy day – that day may be a few years off now!) Great minds, I guess! Suffice to say, this book is definitely recommended for whodunit fans.
