It was the original British country-estate murder case. It was investigated by one of the eight detectives who started Scotland Yard. It captured the imagination of Charles Dickens and directly inspired Wilkie Collins. And it all took place at Road Hill in 1860, with the discovery of the throat-slit body of a 3-year-old boy.

Haven’t heard of the case? Good. Because not knowing how it ended will make Kate Summerscale’s account of it – THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER: A SHOCKING MURDER AND THE UNDOING OF A GREAT VICTORIAN DETECTIVE – as suspenseful as any fictional mystery you’re apt to read this year.

Saville Kent was the toddler found murdered one morning on the estate of his father, factory inspector Samuel Kent. The patriarch lived in the three-story house with his wife, six other children and several servants. Because of the nature of the crime, it was assumed that the evil act was carried out in the middle of the night by someone under the same roof, perhaps even a family member. Therefore, everyone was a suspect.

The investigation was somewhat of a joke until celebrated Detective-Inspector Jonathan Whicher of Scotland Yard was sent in. After extensive questioning and a multitude of theories – some rather saucy for the buttoned-down time – an arrest is made. I won’t reveal whom, but of course, the matter isn’t settled so simply, as new twists and turns keep popping up, eventually leading to the tarnishing of Whicher’s otherwise spotless reputation.

Clearly, Summerscale has conducted extensive research, and the result is highly detailed, yet highly readable. With so many people who logically could have committed the murder, it’s difficult to ferret out the culprit, even with all the clues doled out to the reader as Whicher discovers them.

Tackling SUSPICIONS is a simple matter, although the list of characters you’re presented with upfront may prove worrisome; in the Kent house alone, for instance, there are three Marys, two Elizabeths and two Sarahs. Not all of them, however, prove vital to the story, so Summerscale is to be commended for helping keep all the players straight.

If SUSPICIONS reads like an old-fashioned murder mystery, the effect is intentional, as the author makes the case that Whicher’s methods and madness live on in Victorian literature, even though the memory of the man himself does not. Her book may help reverse that. –Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.