Devoured: A Hatton and Roumande Mystery

Set in 1856, Meredith's so-so debut mixes murder with the growing anxiety in Victorian England about evolutionary theory. Insp. George Adams of Scotland Yard brings in St. Bart's professor Adolphus Hatton, who serves as adviser on medical jurisprudence to the London police, to consult on the murder of Lady Bessingham, who was bludgeoned to death with an ammonite fossil. The victim was a controversial figure in society because of her patronage of men of science unconstrained by the biblical account of the creation of humanity. More figures connected with the Bessingham inquiry die strange deaths. Meanwhile, Hatton and his morgue aide, Albert Roumande, also investigate the murders of several girls, all around 12 years old, whose skins bear curious pinpricks. The author fails to do her intriguing premise justice, nor does she bring Hatton and company sufficiently to life. (Nov.)