The Scent of Death
The Scent of Death book cover

The Scent of Death

Kindle Edition

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Price
$9.99
Publisher
HarperCollins
Publication Date

Description

Review ‘An absolutely gripping, absorbing historical crime thriller … If you like CJ Sansom, or Hilary Mantel or Philippa Gregory, I think you’d absolutely love Andrew Taylor’s The Scent of Death’ PETER JAMES ‘If you’re wondering “what should I read next?” try it – because it opens up a whole new world for you’ LEE CHILD ‘The key to what makes this book work is that Taylor contrives a brilliant mystery plot, and yet the historical detail is just so compelling … The language is interesting, the historical detail is fascinating and the central mystery is absolutely gripping … The Scent of Death is a perfect read for anyone who likes a mystery that’s as finely crafted as a Swiss watch – Andrew Taylor is at the top of his game’ MARK BILLINGHAM ‘Andrew Taylor has built this beautiful and exquisite stage set, so everything we need to know about Manhattan in the 1770s is right there … What makes a crime novel work – you’ve got to have a cracking good story, you’ve got to want to know what happened. And here, you’ve got all of it’ KATE MOSSE ‘Andrew Taylor is arguably the most consummate writer of historical fiction today. He achieves to perfection the crucial balance between the mystery to be solved and the historical context surrounding it. A mesmeric read’ The Times ‘An absorbing and harrowing epic historical detective novel … Taylor is as good at this period as C. J. Sansom is at Tudor England, and like him pulls off novels that work both as literary fiction and detective stories’ Independent ‘Andrew Taylor has been producing superb historical fiction since long before Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker wins bestowed literary respectability on the genre’ Daily Telegraph ‘Taylor once again shows how skilful a historical novelist he is’ The Sunday Times --This text refers to the hardcover edition. About the Author Andrew Taylor is the author of a number of novels, including the Dougal and Lydmouth crime series, the psychological thrillers Bleeding Heart Square and The Anatomy of Ghosts, the ground-breaking Roth Trilogy, which was adapted into the acclaimed drama Fallen Angel, and The American Boy, his No. 1 bestselling historical novel which was a 2005 Richard & Judy Book Club choice. He has won many awards, including the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger, an Edgar Scroll from the Mystery Writers of America, the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award (the only author to win it twice) and the CWA’s prestigious Diamond Dagger, awarded for sustained excellence in crime writing. He also writes for the Spectator. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Features & Highlights

  • *WINNER of the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award 2013*‘Andrew Taylor wrote superb historical fiction long before Hilary Mantel was popular’ Daily TelegraphFrom the No.1 bestselling author of THE AMERICAN BOY comes a new historical thriller set during the American War of Independence.
  • ‘This is the story of a woman and a city. I saw the city first, shimmering from afar like the new Jerusalem in the setting sun. It was Sunday, 2nd August 1778.’
  • Edward Savill, a London clerk from the American Department, is assigned to New York to investigate the claims of dispossessed loyalists caught on the wrong side of the American War of Independence.
  • Surrounded by its enemies, British Manhattan is a melting pot of soldiers, profiteers, double agents and a swelling tide of refugees seeking justice from the Crown.
  • Savill lodges with the respected Wintour family: the old Judge, his ailing wife and their enigmatic daughter-in-law Arabella. The family lives in limbo, praying for the safe return of Jack Wintour, Arabella's husband, who is missing behind rebel lines.
  • The discovery of a body in the notorious slums of Canvas Town thrusts Savill into a murder inquiry. But in the escalating violence of a desperate city, why does one death matter? Because the secret this killing hides could be the key to power for whoever uncovers it…

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(162)
★★★★
25%
(135)
★★★
15%
(81)
★★
7%
(38)
★
23%
(125)

Most Helpful Reviews

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It's also a good read for those who enjoy detective style stories

Well written historical fiction. The author did his research to make the historical setting (New York City during the Revolutionary War) come to life and be very convincing. Very interesting to read this period from the standpoint of the British (Royalist) viewpoint. The story contains some very gruesome violence, but I would not consider it gratuitous, given the nature of the situation described in the book. A novel that requires patience in reading, as its descriptions and dialogue are extended. It's also a good read for those who enjoy detective style stories, with the clues coming together at the end to wrap up the tale.
3 people found this helpful
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Long, slow, and historically dubious

I had great hopes starting The Scent of Death. Andrew Taylor authored close to fifty novels, many mysteries and including five historical novels. It turned out to be L-O-N-G (470 pages on Kindle) and excruciatingly S-L-O-W (nothing happens for the first half and even toward the end we’re stuck in endless, polite conversations).
I was most surprised, though, at the questionable historical accuracy.
The first instance came early on. Page 13 to be exact: “Ceiling fans turned slowly in the big room on the ground floor.” In the U.S. the first rotary ceiling fans appeared in the early 1860s, driven by a running water turbine driving a system of belts. A much more elaborate contraption than could be summarized with just “Ceiling fans turned slowly...” A minor slip, perhaps, but it made me to be skeptical of much of the rest.
I especially questioned whether all blacks in New York at the time were slaves. (Admittedly, Taylor is ambiguous on the point, but he makes it seem that way.) But when the British captured the city in 1776, it became a refuge for thousands of escaped slaves, and, in June 1779 (a year encompassed within the novel), General Clinton offered freedom to all slaves who reached British lines. By 1780, more than 10,000 blacks were crammed into the town. When the British left in 1783, more than 3,000 former slaves sailed away with them to Nova Scotia.
In addition, 1778 and 1779 were filled with significant developments in the war but few make there way into characters’ consciousness, at least in Taylor’s version. Seems unlikely.
I found the main character and narrator a bore. We’re in his mind but not his confidence. Or, if we are, his thoughts are so constrained by the conventions of his time that he is not privy to them himself. It makes him a most uninteresting character.
Elsewhere, Taylor says the novel is both a murder mystery and a love story. As far as the first, the initiating murder (within the context of a city at war) almost disappears for the majority of the story. There’s certainly no urgency for it to be solve. And by the time it is, I didn’t much care about the convoluted explanation. I felt much the same for the love story. By the time he decided he loved the woman, I didn’t care.
2 people found this helpful
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So much effort, so much disappointment

This book PLODS for hours. I stuck with it because the prose is good, and he captures the feeling of the period very well. Eventually enough plot forms to create interest and the writing stirs affection for the characters. So you bear with it, hoping that amidst the turmoil, confusion and death, maybe he'll deliver something worth having spent the effort. YOU WOULD BE VERY WRONG IN THAT ASSUMPTION. If you want to know what it is like to be the fly the little boy is pulling the wings off of, this is your chance.
1 people found this helpful
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Andrew Taylor Always Worth Reading

Taylor's books tend to be set in England or America in the 1600's or 1700's. They seem accurate and are always interesting and easy reading.
1 people found this helpful
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All in all a very good read.

Excellent story with a good look at the period in which it is set. Liked the characterizations and the roles they played. The only flaw was a certain dragging of pace in places and the repetition of several of the author's favorite descriptive lines.
1 people found this helpful
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The American Revolution as seen through British eyes.

The Scent of Death by Andrew Taylor is a stand alone book which combines good story telling, compelling characters, and historical context. It happens during the time of the American Revolution but we hear little of our mighty heroes. The story takes place in and around British held New York City which is not a place much liked by the narrator Edward Seville, a clerk in the American Department of the British Foreign Service who has been assigned to duty there to handle verification of refugee claims by the Loyalists. Those duties are rather light and not very challenging, but what is difficult is solving problems of homicide which seem to center around the family with which he is lodging. People and circumstances are not quite what they seem, and despite the fact that sometimes the reader will catch on before Edward does, the story line still contains many unknowns. I had not read any of Taylor's books before, but now I will have the pleasure of searching out the sequels.
1 people found this helpful
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Hidden battles raging

The five stars were the enjoyment level. I had to put the book down at times, but with serious reluctance because each event had a reaction that revealed the true significance of the event which was one more step toward resolution. The story also showed the effect of war on business and society, even though battles themselves were fought elsewhere.
1 people found this helpful
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Interesting to see American Revolution from the Loyalist point of view

I enjoyed this stand-alone mystery. It is a leisurely paced murder (among other crimes and misdemeanors) mystery with a good sense of time and place. The most interesting aspect to me was looking at the American Revolution from the Loyalist side with the rebels being mainly rough, crude, and rude. And the unsavory attitude toward slaves at the time.
1 people found this helpful
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Very good

The story isn't for every reader, you need to have patients. Andrew Taylor stories are complicated but in the end Well Worth The Time you take to read them.
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Revolutionary War through the eyes of an Englishman

I enjoyed reading about the Revolutionary War from a British perspective in New York. The plot was interesting and moved along at a good pace.

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