The Somnambulist
Jonathan Barnes
William Morrow (Harper Collins)
ISBN: 9780061375385
Fiction, Historical Crime Fiction
Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

If you like your historical crime fiction packed full of mystery and intrigue, then you could do a lot worse than picking up The Somnambulist and losing yourself between the covers. From the outset, the anonymous narrator of the tale uses misdirection and half-truths to both draw the reader and throw them off the scent without ever having realized there was a scent to begin with.

It’s a cleverly-written whodunit that borders on the paranormal without ever fully crossing that line and, despite being filed with characters that wouldn’t be out of place in a Victorian circus sideshow, it never quite ventures outside the realms of possibility (or, at the very least, it seems that way during the reading). Characters are wonderfully, humanly flawed and inspire a mixture of sympathy, hatred, fear and loathing, and yes, occasionally even a little love and inspiration.

Next time you’re looking for something a little unusual, give this one a try.