London, 1885. In a city of fog and darkness, the notorious thief Edward Shade exists only as a ghost, a fabled con, a thief of other men's futures -- a man of smoke. William Pinkerton is already famous, the son of a brutal detective, when he descends into the underworld of Victorian London in pursuit of a new lead. His father died without ever tracing Shade; William, still reeling from his loss, is determined to drag the thief out of the shadows. Adam Foole is a gentleman without a past, haunted by a love affair ten years gone. When he receives a letter from his lost beloved, he returns to London in search of her; what he learns of her fate, and its connection to the man known as Shade, will force him to confront a grief he thought long-buried. What follows is a fog-enshrouded hunt through sewers, opium dens, drawing rooms, and seance halls. Above all, it is the story of the most unlikely of bonds: between William Pinkerton, the greatest detective of his age, and Adam Foole, the one man who may hold the key to finding Edward Shade.
The first of 27 books on my TBR list (I may have gotten three more books) is read!
I really wanted to take my time and savour this book as it was the first book post-semester (not counting reading week) that I read, but, predictably, I ended up devouring it almost in the course of a day. I started on Thursday, but only got 100 pages in and it's 731 pages not counting the author's note and the acknowledgements.
I super enjoyed this book. It has an absurd charm to it that is hard to describe. It was not quite what I expected, but it kept me guessing and doubting my guesses as to who Shade ended up being. Once it was revealed it was totally obvious, who else could it be without it being contrved?, of course it's you, but only added to the absurd charm. I could not put this book down. I needed to know what happened next. I really enjoyed the connection that the two main characters had, and it only intensified as the story progressed. Both know loss. Both are denying their grief. It's a really well-done message conveyed through nineteenth-century mystery and intrigue.
Price's writing style is really tight and different. It is a bit odd that he doesn't use quotation marks when characters are saying things, but it only adds to the chaos and mystery. It forces you to pay attention. I really like how he adds history to the story. I don't know all that much about the Civil War, besides the basics, so it was interesting to see it through the lens of historical fiction. The writing style is organic and hooks you in almost instantly. The themes of familial relationships, grief, obsession and loss really stand out in a mystery akin to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, but Price deftly makes it work. While I did enjoy the 1885 scenes more than the "flashbacks" so I could see what would happen next, they are equally as important to see character motivations, and Price interweaves them well, and makes it work, and it easily justifies the 731 page count.
In using historical and literary references (I caught Dickens a few times, H.G. Wells, and Wilkie Collins, among others, but those were the Big Three) in addition to Victorian England dialect, especially with the lower class, Price makes his novel all the more believable. I really enjoyed By Gaslight and I'm giving it 4.5/5 stars; it hooks you in and you won't want to put it down until you have finished it.
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