Reviews of Devoured

Devoured is the first in D. E. Meredith’s series of Hatton and Roumande mysteries.

“The whole plot is not so much a complex spider web, with a vicious spider at the centre and half a dozen dead flies, as an old sash window, home to two or three overlapping cobwebs, several spiders of varying unpleasantness, and a host of slightly worrying crane flies, dead wasps and so on. The plot of Devoured is complex and a well-crafted thing of chilling beauty…” S.J.A.Turney’s Books & more Blog

“Elegantly gory, this is not only a great story but also supremely interesting in regards to the exploration of early forensics and their role in police investigations. After every glimpse of the missing letters and after every appearance of a new corpse, another piece of the puzzle is formed, leaving you hungry for its conclusion. The characters are clever and a wintry London makes for an atmospheric setting for the grim murders described. Devoured is a compelling thriller for crime, science and history readers alike.” Bookshelf Butterfly

“I found myself enjoying this debut novel enormously. I thought Meredith vividly brought to life the atmosphere of Victorian London and I will certainly be looking forward to the next instalment.” Sylvia Dixon at crimesquad.com

“D E Meredith gives a very vivid picture of life at this time and I was transported by the wonderfully evocative story telling right back to Victorian London. The book in its hardback edition has sumptuous packaging including, very unusually, a ribbon page marker (I wish that all publishers followed this example) and a printed hardback case. All in all, a delightful and most extraordinary first novel in a new historic mystery series about the Victorian forensic pathologists Hatton and Roumande; the second novel, THE DEVIL’S RIBBON, is due out in the UK in February 2013 and I look forward to reading it.” Euro Crime

“The best advice I can give is to run, not walk, to your nearest bookshop and buy a copy – then snuggle under a blanket with a pot of tea because once you start Devoured, you won’t be able to put it down.”  For Books’ Sake

“I really enjoyed this book, and was both fascinated and horrified at the attitude of the police to forensics and the preserving of murder scenes, to the point where it was almost laughable. From 1856 London to the jungles of Borneo, there is plenty here to provoke reading group discussion.” NewBooks

“D.E. Meredith’s measured prose and eye for exquisite detail moves seamlessly from the filthy docks on the Isle of Dogs to the jungles of Borneo and the drawing rooms of London’s upper class. Her slow-burning mystery builds to a shocking conclusion, consuming Victorian London – and victims – as it goes.” Book Depository

“Atmospheric and riveting, gory and polished, and always well-written, Devoured is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller and mystery, set at a time when forensics were in their infancy and science was undoing beliefs.” For Winter Nights – a Bookish Blog

“Superb Victorian mystery, encompassing scientific and evolutionary expeditions in Borneo, the glamorous mansions of dukes and the muck and gloom of London’s poorest streets. Devoured is a thrilling and intelligent thriller which weaves together a thread of trails in an atmospheric and riveting manner. Gory and polished, this is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller and mystery, set at a time when forensics were in their infancy and science was undoing beliefs. Plus lots of twists which I didn’t guess. Proper review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.”
Good Reads (5 stars)

“This is a compelling and sparkling murder mystery set in a time of new scientific ideas of evolution; a time when religion and the establishment, the power-holding upper-class elite, had everything to fear from change. Meredith explores these ideas through the eyes of her extremely likeable protagonists… Taken on face value, this is a great thriller. Before becoming a full-time novelist, Meredith worked for several conservation charities. She sees a clear link between the way the science of Victorian naturalists proving evolution was received and the way evidence on climate change is denied today… This is a slow-burning mystery that addresses human frailties and desires, fears and hopes, which are as relevant today as they were back at the dawn of science a century and a half ago.”
Sydney Sun Herald

“The reader gets immersed in the London of 1856, with its bad smells, dirty streets, dark alleys and constant bustle; but where the author really succeeds is in creating a sense of paranoia and chaos between science and religion…”
The House of Crime and Mystery

“Meredith’s debut novel delves into the ugly secrets of that straight-laced time and believably renders life among the different social strata… Think Michael Cox (The Meaning of Night) meets Jonathan Barnes (The Somnambulist). Strongly recommended for fans of historicals.”
Library Journal (starred review)

“Devoured is a fascinating and sinister mystery set in Victorian London—in a time when a person could be killed for believing in something other than what was accepted.”
nightandweekends.com

“A remarkable debut, Meredith’s research is superb. The smallest details show the interior life of the characters and the conditions they lived in. This is a dark story, but fascinating and brilliantly executed.”
RT Book reviews (4.5 stars)

“There was something for everyone….science, history, politics, sedition, religion….everything….it has all the makings of a great series and one that I plan on continuing to read.”
The Lit Bitch

“Devoured steeps us in the danger of Victorian London and the discovery of modern forensics, combining classic storytelling with a finely-executed historical moment. Meredith packs her debut with charm and wit enough to carry us into any adventures to come with these sparkling characters.”
Matthew Pearl, New York Times bestselling author of The Dante Club and The Last Dickens

“Lovers of Victorian mystery will delight in D. E. Meredith’s terrific debut, where murder, the science of specimen collecting, and early forensic medicine combine into a riveting adventure.”
Stefanie Pintoff, Edgar Award-winning author of In the Shadow of Gotham

“A complex amalgam of mystery and bloody terror, Devoured ties new and sacrilegious theories of evolution to the mysteries of nineteenth-century forensic techniques.… From the series of gruesome murders to the exotic delights of Broderig’s letters to Hatton’s burgeoning science, Meredith’s tale is filled with dissenters and religious bigots, devious villains and buried animosities. The ultimate truths of men is lit by a microscope and a lamp, and it appears that all is ripe for Hatton and Adams to return in another outing, their vibrant partnership already taken to the brink as they walk the streets of a violent London, determined to protect the innocent against the deadliest schemes of men.”
Curledup.com

“Reader, be warned: there are grisly details aplenty in this tale of seamy backstreets and shameful secrets. The murders, and they way the bodies are displayed for the police to find, leave little to the imagination. But the book also employs the staple elements of the ‘penny-dreadful’ to excellent effect, to create the murky, foggy atmosphere of Victorian London so popular with readers of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins… Many readers will look forward impatiently to the next volume in the series.”
bookbag.com (4.5 stars)

“D.E. Meredith’s Devoured is a complex, highly engrossing Victorian mystery with a truly insane Jack the Ripper-type killer. Through Meredith’s expert writing skills, I felt that I’d been transported back in time to Victorian England. Furthermore, Hatton and Roumande are protagonists I can admire for their surgical and detective skills and, most importantly, their caring hearts… I looked upon this delightful pairing of good friends Hatton and Roumande as another version of Sherlock Holmes and Watson. I know I’ll be devouring future novels that have these two Victorian sleuths…”
Gumshoe Mystery Reviews

“The tension between science and religion runs through history, sometimes with a small voice, sometimes with a shout such as the Scopes trial and the creation-vs.-evolution controversy. But rarely has it been portrayed in fiction, especially in a detective novel. And that makes D.E. Meredith’s debut effort, Devoured … something special. And then some… Meredith fills this story of unbridled evil and immense sorrow with memorable characters and graceful prose, and her portrait of a world at an intellectual crossroads is powerful and evocative.”
Richmond Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA

“Devoured is an absorbing mystery, with an atmosphere that captures wonderfully the contrasts of science and superstition, of domesticity and imperial exoticism, that made the Victorian era so richly interesting. Hopefully a sequel is already on the way!”
Charles Finch, author of The Fleet Street Murders

“Cleverly plotted… charming and convincing – very well done, and this likable and brainy team of detectives probably has a future.”
Sullivan County Democrat

“If this debut is any indication, we are in for a long run of entertaining and thoughtful books.… Dark, creepy and fascinating Devoured is a book that lingers long after the reading is done.”
Crime Spree Magazine

“This debut novel by D. E. Meredith is an entertaining read. It reminded me of Masterpiece Mystery… The author does a good job of bringing the wintry streets of Victorian London and the steamy jungles of Borneo to life as she tells her story.”
Historical Novel Society

“This historical thriller is a cross between Caleb Carr’s Alienist and Amanda Quick’s Arcane Society novels. A Fun and engrossing read.”
Good Reads

“I first chose to read Devoured because I love murder mystery novels and am interested in the Religion/Science debate. The book however offered so much more than that. The main character Hatton is well thought out, and there are so many twists in the plot you are constantly being surprised. I cannot wait to read the sequels when they are released…”
Waterstones Customer Review

“The blurb about London in 1856, specimen collectors, new theories of evolution, early forensics, and a pathologist was more than enough to pique my interest. Into the book bag it went… [I] have discovered a new series to enjoy and anticipate.”
Jenclair: A Garden Carried in a Pocket