The Somnambulist – Jonathan Barnes

Read for the RIP VI Reading Challenge.

Edward Moon is a conjurer. With his partner, the larger than life Somnambulist, he makes a living in his own theater in late Victorian London. He’s also a detective, but in all professions, he’s now a bit past his prime. The rather grisly death of Cyril Honeyman will start Edward on what will turn out to be his last case.

Sounds like a pretty straightforward mystery, that will surely have touches of the supernatural since Edward Moon is a conjurer, right? Well, I can’t even begin to describe what goes on in this book. The plot lines fly think and fast, and there’s plenty of mystery and supernaturalness, and poetry, and well, I read it as quickly as I could, because I just needed to see what the heck was going to happen to next. It’s a day later, and I’m still not sure exactly what hit me. What a book.