The Wolves of Savernake

The Wolves of Savernake: A Disappointing Historical Mystery

The Wolves of Savernake is an installment in Edward Marston's historical mystery series featuring Inspector Robert Colbeck. Set in 1856 England, the story follows Colbeck as he investigates a series of violent crimes surrounding an aristocratic family and their estate in Wiltshire. Unfortunately, I found it failing to live up to the potential suggested by its intriguing premise.

The opening chapters introduce an array of characters and scenarios that seem ripe for drama, danger, and intrigue. However, once the setup is complete, the plot begins to drag as the mysteries are parsed out slowly without enough momentum to drive the story forward. Clues are revealed at a glacial pace, and even shocking events like murder fail to inject much excitement into the proceedings.

Too much time is spent on mundane daily activities of the characters rather than building the thrills, twists and tensions expected of a mystery novel. Detective Colbeck himself does not make an appearance until over a third of the way into the book, and when he does finally investigate the crimes, his techniques are more pedantic than suspenseful.

The writing evokes the time period of rural 19th century England well, but dense paragraphs of description often stall the plot instead of enriching it. The occasional action sequences feel rushed and inserted out of obligation rather than arriving organically within an intriguing storyline. None of the characters are written with much depth or complexity either.

In the end, The Wolves of Savernake fails to deliver on its promise of an exciting historical mystery. The story unfolds slowly without enough intrigue, action, or character development to maintain engagement. Colbeck's eventual solution to the crimes comes across as lackluster. Readers seeking thrill and suspense in this genre would be better served looking elsewhere. I could not bring myself to finish this meandering, lackluster novel.

Cozy mystery set in 11th century Britain, when the Domesday book was compiled. Charming. Well told. Nice cast of characters.