by Matthew Pearl
Rating PG-13
When Charles Dickens passes away in England, his publishers in the U.S. are left with only the first half of his last book - The Mystery of Edwin Drood. When the junior partner of the publishing company, James Osgood, goes to England to try to find the end of "Drood", he encounters more than he bargained for. Tracing Dickens steps as he wrote the book, James finds himself being dogged by a malicious assailant who will do anything to stop him from finding the last half of the book. Perhaps The Mystery of Edwin Drood is not Dickens last fictional foray, but fact. . . .
I thought the premise of this mystery was very creative. I enjoyed the writing style and the twists and turns of the plot. Overall this was a very enjoyable "laying on the beach" summer read:-)
The book is rated PG-13 as the plotline does involve violence in the form of murder scenes, a mugging or two and the opium black market in the 1800's including an opium den - although it doesn't romanticize the subject but portrays it as the addictive and destructive drug it is.
