| Plot Summary of River of Darkness |
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"Wounded by the death of his wife and infant daughter from influenza, Scotland Yard Detective Inspector John Madden has physically survived two years of trench warfare during World War I, but the mental scars haunt both his waking activities and his dreams. He and young Detective Constable Billy Styles are sent to investigate the brutal murder of a family at Melling Lodge, in the English countryside about an hour's drive south of London, in the summer of 1921. They find a scene of such violence and cruelty that Madden immediately suspects that this is the work of a crazed individual.
Working closely with the Yard's Chief Inspector Angus Sinclair, a sharp and natilly-attired Scotsman from Aberdeen whose consonants are "as precise as cut glass," Madden doggedly sifts through every scrap of evidence produced by an exhaustive round of interviews of the nearby village's residents, conducted by a squad of police officers lead by Sinclair. Fending off a hostile superior officer at the Yard who has a proclivity for leaking information to the press, Madden and Sinclair reach for a method to understand the relationship, if any, between the killer and his victims. Madden has cause to enlist the help of the village's doctor, the beautiful Helen Blackwell, who herself lost both her brothers and her husband to the war. Blackwell introduces Madden to a family friend, Dr. Franz Weiss, a Vienna psychotherapist on lecture tour in Britain.
Slipping outside the strict orders of his superiors, Madden arranges to meet with Weiss and describe in detail the murders, hoping to gain some palpable "lead" from the therapist's knowledge of criminal pathologies. Weiss does indeed provide Madden with the clues which enable him to refine and redirect his investigation: When Madden interprets Weiss to say that this killer will not stop, Weiss replies that this is not his meaning -- in Weiss's view, the killer "cannot stop killing."
Consequently, Madden requests the British military's help in sifting through their criminal records of the war. But the military is slow to respond, and Madden and Sinclair must race to identify the killer before their jealous Yard superior can contrive to wrest control of the investigation away from them, and before the killer strikes again. A massive search of a woodlands area yields clues which bring the Yard's men closer to their prey, but another round of murders unfolds before their diligence finally results in a fatal confrontation with the killer, in the home of Dr. Blackwell. Almost fatally wounded in the struggle, Madden is saved by the quick action of the village bobby, Will Stackpole, and the determined efforts of Helen Blackwell, with whom Madden has fallen in love. This superb epic concludes with Mr. and Mrs. Madden's making a tour of France, so that he may revisit the battlegrounds."
William S. Solomon, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of River of Darkness |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1900-1920's
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, British
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- government investigator
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- accused criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- insanity
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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