Review: Letters from the Dead

Letters from the Dead by Sam Hurcom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sam Hurcom's debut, A SHADOW ON THE LENS, was one of the surprises of 2019, a genre mashup which was a great read. Hurcom's follow up, LETTERS FROM THE DEAD, continues the story of forensic photographer, Thomas Bexley. It is 1905, a year after the terrifying events of the previous book, and Bexley has not recovered. Mentally disturbed, drinking heavily, he loses whole days, weeks even, to blackouts; he does not work, avoids human contact, and believes he is haunted by the dead. Bexley is a mess but is pulled out of his fugue state, at least partially, when his estranged mentor, Elijah Hawthorn, is identified as the chief suspect in a series of kidnappings, and presumed murders, carried out by 'The London Wraith'. Bexley sets out to prove Hawthorn innocent.

As in his last novel, Sam Hurcom weaves a story which crosses genres. There are elements of Sherlock Holmes and Hammer Horror, The 39 Steps and, particularly early on, Scooby Doo (and I really mean that as a compliment) as Bexley evades his former colleagues in Scotland Yard and travels to Scotland, drawn by letter from Hawthorn, a letter sent several months previously. Accompanied by the sister of one of The Wraith's victims, Bexley follows a series of clues which lead to an even bigger mystery. Here the novel becomes a little DaVinci Code-like (albeit with better prose) as the plot is driven by coincidence and I admit my heart sank a little. But...suddenly it ALL changes and the changes cause Thomas Bexley, and the reader, to doubt everything that has gone before. It is a masterstroke.

Ultimately, Hurcom stops short of going where I really wanted him to but still delivers s thrilling, disturbing, and very satisfying second novel and I look forward to his third.

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