Excellent in every respect.

Provides much food for thought. Kate Summerscale's research has been meticulous. Absorbing, educational and recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

Just seemed to go on and on and on...

It's partly the narration and partly the ending that out me off. This is the second book I'vebought with the same narrator and he just irritates me.


Some spoilers ahead....
As for the story, I quite liked the beginning - learning about his childhood and the time he spent in Broadmoor but the war and Australia bored me to tears. I fell asleep on the first listen, so went back to a point I recognised and started there. I found myself thinking about work on the second listen - jump back a few more chapters - on the third listen I just gave up. Not a book I will recommend to anyone.

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A remarkable true story

Fascinating and ultimately very moving true story underpinned by a wealth of factual detail on a huge variety of topics - like the history of Broadmoor and the Gallipoli landings. Well and very clearly read.

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did he really do it?

It’s hard to see how such a nice guy could really do such a thing and yet, apparently he did. I’ll say no more on that subject tough since it will spoil what is a really well researched story of fantasy and possible temperary insanity. It’s amazing what they got away with then in court. They’d never get away with it now. The style of narration is a bit flamboyant in places but otherwise a very engaging read.

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Brilliant story - irritating narration

Summerscale lets the facts speak for themselves. Her research is meticulous; summaries of theories succinct and clear. This is a fascinating account that all parents, teachers, mental health professionals and members of the justice system and military would do well to read/listen to.
Having said that, I found the narration really off-putting. Diction could not be faulted but oddly robotic delivery, with little tonal variation. It was weird - clearly a good voice but oddly constrained. Poor direction?

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9 people found this helpful

Wonderful

An interesting and enthralling true crime story from the Victorian era that is full of fascinating details, and with a surprise thing and uplifting finale.

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Just the Facts, Ma'am

Something about this didn't click with me at all.

It's something to do with the way the author has presented the story, deciding on a meticulously researched, factual account of the case from day one.

While I more than respect the work that has been done, a lot of the writing seems inconsequential to the case itself, such as an anecdote of a policeman being beaten by a newspaper-seller. I assume this was done to set the scene, as well as fill out a book that refuses to speculate on anything or even attempt to explain actions, but what results is a lot of details about things that have nothing to do with the main plot of the book.

Not only that, but the way the information is presented results in a dry, emotionless account of something shocking. We are never given a chance to get close to anyone, not the boys themselves or the prosecutors.

We are just bystanders reading information in a dry case-history that reads more as an overly detailed police report than anything else.

There is no attempt to do anything other than give us a report of the situation in a dry, factual style that served to bore me more than anything, especially considering the length and amount of filler the writer shoves into her work.

As such, I was so bored by the whole thing that I gave up. Not a terrible work by any means, but top dry to be even the least bit shocking once you get over its initial premise.

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Mixed feelings

Umm! I am a little confused as to how I feel about the book. It's not quite what I expected, there were parts I liked and parts I felt were unrelated to the theme (or rather my expectation of the theme) of the book...and yet I also found it interesting on a social history point of view, particularly of Broadmoor). The epilogue really brought it together and helped me understand the journey the author went through to bring this story to us. Still confused with how I feel about it though 😁

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9 people found this helpful

The Wicked boy

The basic story was interesting but l found it slightly annoying that it was padded out with many extraneous details not really relating to Robert Coombes himself. It was fairly well narrated but as it was written by a woman l would have preferred a female voice, particularly where the narrator refers to herself. One had to keep reminding oneself that she was a woman albeit with a male voice.

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5 people found this helpful

Totally fascinating and engrossing

Kate Summerscale is a master at taking a snippet of sensational news from the past and weaving a genuine whydunnit. This story of the Combes brothers, their family, their environment and the judiciary is truly brilliant.

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1 person found this helpful