Speaks the Nightbird and Queen of Bedlam by Robert McCammon

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The first book is about a witch trial in the ficitious town of Font Royal in South Carolina. The second book is a about a slasher roaming the streets of New York. They both take place in the colonies in the late 17th century, back when the population of New York was a booming 5000 residents. The books tell the tales of Matthew Corbett who is OCD about asking questions and getting answers. He is a budding detective. In Speaks the Nightbird, he is seventeen and out on the road as a clerk to find out if a woman is guilty of Witchcraft. The book is very evocative of time and place although the murder mystery is a bit murky. But I think I enjoy the books most for their evocation of the time. Towards the end of the book you just wish he would solve the mystery already.

The second book, Queen of Bedlam, is a much tighter read. It's as if McCammon used the first book to find his voice for the character and in the second book he lets the Corbett out to play. He has now switched careers from Clerk to Detective. His big case is to find out who is slashing the throats of the town residents. Corbett is hired by a detective agency that recognizes his skills and puts him to work. They teach him sword fighting which comes in handy for a great sword fight scene at the end. It reminds me a lot of the American Samurai fight scene with Toshiro Mifune where everything in the house comes into play during the battle.

I remember reading McCammon years ago and giving up on him and haven't read him until these books were recommended to me. They are part of what will be a long series. The third book, Mister Slaughter, is out and I'm waiting for the library to give it to me. The books are stand alone, although I'm sure it will help to read them all as there is a criminal mastermind lurking in the shadows. His name has only been mentioned so far, but I'm sure he will be making an appearance in the books to come.

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Here is what happens when you get famous and too full of yourself.

Corbett is hired to transfer Mister Slaughter from the mental hospital in Pennsylvania to New York City. Bad things happen along the way.

Another good slice of murderous life in Colonial New England. This book is better than the first two. He's using something called plotting and it seems to be working. This book is much more grisly. It would have to be when the title of the book is "Mister Slaughter".

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Book the fourth.

Finally the dark shadow of the early books makes his debut on the stage.

Corbett is dragooned into helping the heretofore mysterious Professor Fell. Fell has traitors in his camp and wants Corbett to feret them out. It is also a ploy to seduce Corbett into joining forces with Fell.

Corbett still lives fretfully, fearing his actions will hurt those around him. It gets worse when buildings start blowing up all over town with his name painted at the scene. Eventually we learn they are a message to Corbett that he needs to sit down with representatives of Fell in New York and hear Fell's offer.

that doesn't goes as planned but eventually Corbett ends up on Fell's Island where they are having a meeting of all Fell's heads of department. Corbett is in disguise as one of Fell's henchman. thing go wrong from the dock when others of Fell's boys try to kill him.

It is all very well written. And I really like the sense of place McCammon gives the books. My quibble is the hero of the books, is always being saved by other people. When he first get's kidnapped he is attacked by a monster Arab only he is saved by a friend from another book. On the docks at Fell's Island, he is saved by a girl. The big catastrophe towards the end of the book he has to do with the aid of the girl, who is smarter and a better fighter than Corbett. At the end, he is again attacked by the Monster Arab and again is saved by Zed. Once, I wish he won one of these battles. It's like he is an observer in his own life.

Good read. Need more assertiveness from Corbett.

[Greg]

Cardinal Black (Matthew Corbett Series #7

I read books 5 and 6 as well, but I never reviewed them. I wish I had because it's been so long since the last installment that I kind have forgotten where we are in the series.

But Corbett is in England. In book six he had adventures in London but eventually he fell into the clutches of Professor Fell in Fell's town in Wales. 

In Book 7, Corbett must retrieve a book that was stolen from Fell at the end of Book 6. Corbett does this because the book holds the key to saving his girlfriend Betty's Mind. It's a road picture from Wales to London and back with lots of mayhem along the way. The key antagonist is Admiral Lash. Cardinal Black works for him. Corbett does better at the mayhem, more able to stand on his feet. Bu his partner along the way is another broken character named Devane. Lots of murders. Lots of strange characters.

The end of the book sets up the plot to sail to Italy to find a mirror that summons demons.

It's still well written. But like so many series these days, it seems like only a chapter in ongoing book rather than a discreet story.