In the Kingdom of Mists

Claude Monet #1

by Jane Jackman

While Claude Monet paints the wintry mists over the Thames, the bodies of two young women are dragged from its murky depths, arousing fears of a return of Jack the Ripper.  Craston, a green diplomat at the Foreign Office, is unwillingly drawn into the police investigation—and ordered to keep an eye on the visiting French artist.  All the while, neither man knows that the source of the horror stalks the floor above M. Monet's suite...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Fiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2002

Reviews

[Katie]

The pacing was great, much of the plot was intriguing, and the story was told well from several points of view - I will say that much.

However - can we please stop with the “man horribly abused by parents grows up to inflict sickening crimes against women” story line? PLEASE? I know it happens. But as a mystery trope, I have just had enough. Also, in a cruel twist, the bad guy WINS. Ugh.

Claude Monet was a character in this book, as was his son Michel, but they added precious little to the storyline. I honestly don’t know how this can be called “Claude Monet #1” when the Monets solved 0% of the mystery. Claude painted and complained about the weather, and Michel nagged his father about things. Maggie Craston was the most interesting character, but she was relegated to the periphery.

[Trisha Owens]

I enjoyed this historical novel, but it was, at times, almost too vivid for me? Is that possible? Descriptions of foggy London, horrifying detail of the murder of two females in the Thames River, and then there are the characters, Claude Monet and his son, Michel, and Oliver Cranston, the diplomat who is thrown into the investigation of the murders. Overall, a good book, but as I said, it was not a happy tale and I don't usually like murder/mystery genre.

[Cathy]

The contrast of the grisly murders, the beauty of Monet's paintings and the gloomy London weather was well written. I enjoyed the blending of relationships, especially of such a famous artist and the intrigue created in the plot. I liked the inclusion of so many of Monet's paintings. They bought the setting to life.

[Deana]

This book started off very slowly, but got to be quite interesting once I got into it. It takes place in London, during the time when Claude Monet is there painting his bridge scenes. Actually, that was my biggest complaint about the book - the Monets (Claude and his son Michel feature in the story) are not really necessary. There are two sort of parallel plots in the novel; in one of them, the Monets are not important at all. In the other, they features only insomuch as a girl they associate with is important to the story, and he wouldn't have met them without her. But they could have been -anyone- really. Though the impressionist art does give the main character a new view of the city...

Also, the book switches point of view frequently by chapter, from Claude Monet (3rd person) to the main character, Oliver (also 3rd person), and then to someone who is unnamed until late in the plot (1st person), which turned me off at first... although I understand why Jakeman chose to do this, so as not to give anything away.

The ending with the detective and his wife made me very sad and somewhat happy simultaneously, which was a strange feeling. It makes me worry for their future, especially knowing the doctor's mental problems may be hereditary.

overall, I enjoyed the book despite the slow start. I read it in three settings - two short ones because I was having difficulty getting excited about the book, and in the third setting I finished the book over the course of about 5 hours. If you like mysteries and historical fiction, I recommend you give it a try.

[Stuart]

An interesting mix of Victorian murder-mystery and a visit by Claud Monet to London. The inclusion of the actual pictures he was meant to be painting at the time was a nice touch -I can understand the passion of the artist a bit better but not sure whether I appreciate the impressionate product any more! The actual murderer could have been built up more as I felt he was a bit flat and much of the plot was left vague. Finally -a pet hate of mine is when the detective (whom I liked in this case)becomes part of the crime though there was a twist at the end this time!

[Manny Molina]

I like this book. The Victorian setting, the description of the characters, and all the historical "side notes" (e.g. the Boer War, post Ripper killings) just give this book a rich flavor. True, the Monet's did not add much to the story, except for the fact that their presence causes an awakening in some of the key characters. I love Claude Monet's paintings, and the way Oliver began to see more of the world because of his exposure to Monet's was quite interesting.

[Sherry]

This is a well constructed book. It starts with Claude Monet as he paints the Thames from the Savoy Hotel. We seem to go into his painting to see beneath the impressions in paint to London of 1900, into the grimy industrial fog, that creates such beautiful color on canvas and hides cruelty and betrayal. Above his room is a make-shift military hospital, where a serial killer lurks.

[Kimberly]

This sounded much more promising than it turned out to be. The beginning was so slow, but the story did pick up momentum by the end. I was curiously to find out the conclusion and also just to be finished reading.

[Michelle]

Decent historical mystery set in London at the turn of the 20th century featuring a diplomat at the foreign office and Monet. Oh, and a bit of murder and mayhem too.

[Kristine]

I could not finish this book. It really difficult to get into. Maybe I will try again.

[Rosslyn]

A really unusual book - part history, part thriller and part murder mystery. kept me hooked from the beginning to the end but was a little too graphic in places.

[Jehnie]

What a strange dark book. And the Monet plot hardly touched on the main plot. They just ran along side by side.

[Barry Parham]

A beautifully written "historical fiction" based on one of Claude Monet's visits to London. Wonderfully detailed writing!

[Devi]

A good read. A nice mystery with historical aspects of one of Monet's visits to London.

Good for the beach.

[Sherri Davis]

''She is a well-known journalist and a art historian and has worked for Oxford University Press!''

[Mary G.]

Good. Interesting sense of time and place.

[lisa]

Borinnngggg