Summon up the Blood

By R. N. Morris

First in a brand-new historical mystery series featuring decidedly unconventional turn of the century sleuth, Detective Inspector Silas Quinn. London, 1914. A killer is at liberty in the dark alleys of the city. The cadavers of his victims all have one thing in common: there is no blood in their bodies. As the killer’s reign of terror continues, Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector Silas Quinn finds his suspicions focusing on the members of an exclusive gentleman’s club . . . Atmospheric and macabre, Summon Up the Blood takes the reader on a disturbing yet fascinating journey through London’s aristocratic watering holes, seedy brothels and shadowy underworld in the turbulent months leading up to World War I.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Severn House Digital
• Release date: Dec 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781780102825

R. N. Morris

R.N. Morris is the author of five previous Silas Quinn mysteries as well as the acclaimed St Petersburg historical crime series featuring detective Porfiry Petrovich from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. He lives in north London with his wife and two children.

Reviews for Summon up the Blood

[jamaicanmecrazy · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book proved to me that just because you love one series or work by an author, does not mean you will love another. I did NOT like this book. The setting was early 1900's London and the plot centered around a series of murders perpetrated on young male prostitutes. The "renters" (prostitutes) were portrayed stereotypically and homosexuality was characterized as an illness. There is a psychological aspect assigned to the crimes as it is revealed that the murderer identifies with Oscar Wilde and his undoing at the hands of a--you guessed it--young male homosexual. I won't give away the ending but it was disturbing, and left me feeling as if I should have stopped reading the book early on as I had really wanted to. I read all of the Porfiry Petrovich novels by R.N. Morris and I enjoyed every one of them. I am terribly disappointed by this one. I didn't like the "feel" of the story and I felt like his writing has taken a step back from the earlier works. I would never guess that they were written by the same author, actually.

[dorie.craig · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was really difficult to get a handle on the protagonist, Detective Inspector Silas Quinn. Just when I thought I understood him he did or said something that made me change my mind. Questions were raised that were not really answered. I did enjoy the book overall, although I was a little disappointed in the resolution to the mystery. I do plan to read the next book in the series. I may also try the author's other books.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

1914 London. D.I. Silas Quinn of the Special Crimes Department is told by his superior Sir Edward Henry to investigate the case of the murdered man found in the London Docks area. A young man had been exsanguinated. Is the dead man's orientation the motive for his death, will there be more murders.
An enjoyable historical mystery, a good start to the series