Mayhem

Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough

A new killer is stalking the streets of London’s East End. Though newspapers have dubbed him ‘the Torso Killer’, this murderer’s work is overshadowed by the hysteria surrounding Jack the Ripper’s Whitechapel crimes.

The victims are women too, but their dismembered bodies, wrapped in rags and tied up with string, are pulled out of the Thames – and the heads are missing. The murderer likes to keep them.

Mayhem is the latest book of Sarah Pinborough who has received numerous of literary awards like the 2009 British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story and the 2010 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella. She has been shortlisted for the World Fantasy Awards, Shirley Jackson and British Fantasy Awards for her short fiction, novellas and other books. Sarah Pinborough mainly writes horror and thrillers and YA books.

I have been trying to diversify my reading lately by verging into other genres. We all known the famous Sherlock Holmes, these types of stories, murder investigation, horror and thriller always have had that luring sense to me. So when I came across Mayhem, I really wanted to read it. Just to get something clear, this isn’t a Sherlock book and isn’t for the faint of heart!

In Mayhem you follow a murder investigations by the tellings of Dr. Thomas Bond, who works as a Police Surgeon in London. Mayhem takes place in the same day and age as when Jack the Ripper wrecked havoc on the streets of London. However as Dr. Bond soon finds out, Jack the Ripper is the least of their problems, as a new, more terrible murderer is at play here. The Torso Killer. There is a perfect sentence in the book itself, written in the perfect context that gave my goosebumps, that perfectly captures this moment:

“And to think she had been afraid of Jack the Ripper”

Mayhem is divided into three parts and, this was done with a skilful precision that with each new part of the book the story was taken further. The first part of the book narrowly focuses on the first findings of the body in Scotland Yard and how the media and several key players go about these investigations. With the media I mean to say that in the book itself there are several newspaper “clippings” on the pages and you get a glimpse of the reactions to these murders and in which state of terror the city of London is. Also with introducing these clippings it really produced a great sense that you were drawn into the murder investigation itself. Also in the first part you read and learn a lot about Dr. Bond, who takes the lead in the murder investigations. I really liked how Dr. Bond was shown, he has scars and more than a few demons of his own, addicted to opium and suffering from insomnia. By all this, it somehow feels that his only escape in real life is chasing down the new murderer roaming the streets of London, and as his story progresses he growing obsessions become more and more evident. Dr. Bond also soon finds out that he isn’t on his own in hunting down this criminal. There are two more additional characters Aaron Kominski’s who has visions of the future and an unnamed priest, Both Aaron and the priest have their own idea’s behind the murder and think it is more than human…

The second part of Mayhem actually introduced a concept which I hadn’t anticipated. The murder is already revealed, or at least you get to read about him. Now this was very neatly done. Sarah Pinborough uses several drafts from his personal journal to tell his story. Again I really liked this introduction as you see step-by-step the transition as to what it can possibly be and even more she does keep several things hidden for you which makes you wonder and speculate as to how these are related to the bigger story line, this is a definite strong point of the book!

The third part of the book more or less throws everything into a rapid as you see Dr. Bond and his fellow investigators connecting the dots, however it isn’t over that soon. Though for some characters it is obvious, bringing it too justice is much more harder to do, in this you are on the edge of your seat till the end.

I first thought the story of Mayhem to be a “normal” murder investigation. However by the introduction of Aaron and the priest Mayhem turns towards the supernatural, and in describing the actual supernatural threat was done superb, dropping a hint at a time. But don't think Mayhem is overflowing with it in the end. The showing of the threat is done in a reigned in manner, focusing more on the parts of history and all that is happening surrounding the investigation, which makes the threat of the Torsa Killer only that much more intriguing. And even more so, though Aaron and the priest are convinced something supernatural is at play here, Dr. Bond remains a bit stubborn and tries to approach it more down to earth kind of way. I’m not going to mention what the threat is but it is some dark and gruesome… So besides the well drawn and personalized character, the storyline of Mayhem also has richness to it, be it dark, and even as you follow the investigation step by step and learn more as to the how and the why’s you are left guessing to how this book end.

With Mayhem, Sarah Pinborough has achieved to write up one of the finest horror and thriller books for me. From the first page you are thrown in the dark Victorian London, where Jack the Ripper is the least of everyone worries. The characters of the book all have their own influence on the storyline but how Sarah Pinborough shows Dr. Bond really pulls the storyline further. Even more so she not only shows the physical parts that the Torso Killer brings to play, they are quite vivid though, don’t think a simple cuts or murders are  explained, no, think beheadings, missing limbs, etc. all told in detail. But there is also the more mental and psychological sense that the Torso Killer brings to the book, you can just feel the influences of him resonating all throughout Mayhem. How he influences each character on its own and in the group as well.  All these elements make that Mayhem is just superbly written up. If you are looking for a darkly engrossing story, Mayhem must not be missed! And on an even better note, the tales of Dr. Bond aren’t over yet and Murder, the second book will be released in May 2014.