Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Publisher Unknown, 716 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. HTML:His epic masterwork Speaks the Nightbird, a tour de force of witch hunt terror in a colonial town, was hailed by Sandra Brown as "deeply satisfying...told with matchless insight into the human soul." Now, Robert McCammon brings the hero of that spellbinding novel, Matthew Corbett, to eighteenth-century New York, where a killer wields a bloody and terrifying power over a bustling city carving out its identity�??and over Matthew's own uncertain destiny. The unsolved murder of a respected doctor has sent ripples of fear throughout a city teeming with life and noise and commerce. Who snuffed out the good man's life with the slash of a blade on a midnight street? The local printmaster has labeled the fiend "the Masker," adding fuel to a volatile mystery...and when the Masker claims a new victim, hardworking young law clerk Matthew Corbett is lured into a maze of forensic clues and heart-pounding investigation that will both test his natural penchant for detection and inflame his hunger for justice. In the strangest twist of all, the key to unmasking the Masker may await in an asylum where the Queen of Bedlam reigns�??and only a man of Matthew's reason and empathy can unlock her secrets. From the seaport to Wall Street, from society mansions to gutters glimmering with blood spilled by a deviant, Matthew's quest will tauntingly reveal the answers he seeks�??and the chilling truths he canno… (more)
Media reviews
Publisher's Weekly
Set in Manhattan in 1703, this spellbinding sequel to Speaks the Nightbird (2002) from bestseller McCammon finds Matthew Corbett, a 23-year-old magistrate's clerk, on the trail of the Masker, a killer who stalks prominent businessmen. Matthew stumbles on the bodies of two of the Masker's victims,
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including pederast Eben Ausley, the headmaster of the orphanage Matthew once reluctantly called home. Plucky Matthew, who becomes a junior associate of the New York branch of a London problem-solving firm called the Herrald Agency, discovers a possible link to the crimes in the person of an elderly amnesiac patient in a mental asylum who's known as the Queen of Bedlam. Matthew and his cohorts later make a dangerous foray to the headquarters that the villainous Professor Fell maintains for young-criminals-in-training. McCammon brilliantly captures colonial New York and closes with a tantalizing cliffhanger that suggests more exciting sleuthing to come. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member johnmischief
Incredible novel! This the second of the Matthew Corbett books and long may it continue.
Set in New York this historical mystery/thriller is extremely well written, filled with well developed characters,exciting,well paced and will keep you guessing on multiple thread plots until the end.
I cannot
Highly recommended but read Speaks the Nightbird first.
Set in New York this historical mystery/thriller is extremely well written, filled with well developed characters,exciting,well paced and will keep you guessing on multiple thread plots until the end.
I cannot
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wait to read Mister Slaughter, the third in the series(it will be interesting if nothing else to see if Matthew is given the opportunity to have sex whilst not drugged!).Highly recommended but read Speaks the Nightbird first.
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LibraryThing member maryintexas39
An amazing read! Can't wait to start the next one.
LibraryThing member Sandra2891
This is the second book after Speaks the Nightbird and I was excited to see what would happen to Matthew Corbett next. Matthew stays true to form, always looking to solve mysteries and this book is no different, bringing in several different plot twists along the way. Overall, I liked this book
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even better than Speaks the Nightbird. It was more exciting and I liked that it was set in NY City. There were more new and interesting characters and Matthew didn't disappoint. The end was really exciting and I couldn't put the book down until it was over. Show Less
LibraryThing member Suzanne520
Wow this book was even more intersting than "speaks the nightbird" and it really kept me on the edge of my seat! I am not usually into murder mystery detective books, but this was truly fantastic. I definitely would reccomend it and I am excited to read the next in the series!
LibraryThing member Timothy_Dalton007
McCammon!! You make me want to smack my Grandma into a coma! In all forms of the word, you are badass! Once again, masterfully, you delivered another story of epic proportions. This one was a breath of fresh air, as I usually read multiple books at once, this one was paired with Stephen King’s,
So as it is, The Queen of Bedlam lies in her personal asylum, drifting alone in her mental prison. But were she to speak from the depths, what a secret story she would tell! Thus, Mr. Matthew Corbett is at it again. He embarks on a trek to uncover the murders of three profound members of New York City. (Errr, well population 5,000 at the time) Now, I’m not talking about the Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick maker, but you get the drift. The night assassin makes quick work of cutting masks into their faces as well as slicing their throats. Which causes the denizens of New York to give the murderer his fitting moniker, The Masker. Here lies the mystery of who is The Masker, and why has he selected these specific targets selected for his nocturnal pleasures? Once again there is mystery, there is adventure and there are comedic moments. Matthew seems to always find trouble at his doorstep, and not only is it there, but it’s thundering loudly against his door with Thor’s hammer!
In this novel, Matthew moves another rung up the ladder and now begins working for the Herrald Agency. Further reeling me in and given me pause to wonder in the next novel will he indeed take on the characteristics of Sherlock Holmes himself? McCammon blends action and dialogue, history and fiction, and intrigue with mystery; throws them all in a bowl mixes them up and serves up the perfect tale of cordon bleu mystery stew! The only puzzling question I have now is at what tender age did Mr. McCammon sell his soul to the Devil for such talent, and if not his soul the purchasing price what was the cost? Cause’ I might be willing to get in on that! Anyway, as before Robert doesn’t fail to entertain and as always this novel ends on another moment of piqued interest in what sort of shenanigans will Mr. Corbett get himself into during his next adventure.
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Cell. The horrendousness of that book only made this one all the better!So as it is, The Queen of Bedlam lies in her personal asylum, drifting alone in her mental prison. But were she to speak from the depths, what a secret story she would tell! Thus, Mr. Matthew Corbett is at it again. He embarks on a trek to uncover the murders of three profound members of New York City. (Errr, well population 5,000 at the time) Now, I’m not talking about the Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick maker, but you get the drift. The night assassin makes quick work of cutting masks into their faces as well as slicing their throats. Which causes the denizens of New York to give the murderer his fitting moniker, The Masker. Here lies the mystery of who is The Masker, and why has he selected these specific targets selected for his nocturnal pleasures? Once again there is mystery, there is adventure and there are comedic moments. Matthew seems to always find trouble at his doorstep, and not only is it there, but it’s thundering loudly against his door with Thor’s hammer!
In this novel, Matthew moves another rung up the ladder and now begins working for the Herrald Agency. Further reeling me in and given me pause to wonder in the next novel will he indeed take on the characteristics of Sherlock Holmes himself? McCammon blends action and dialogue, history and fiction, and intrigue with mystery; throws them all in a bowl mixes them up and serves up the perfect tale of cordon bleu mystery stew! The only puzzling question I have now is at what tender age did Mr. McCammon sell his soul to the Devil for such talent, and if not his soul the purchasing price what was the cost? Cause’ I might be willing to get in on that! Anyway, as before Robert doesn’t fail to entertain and as always this novel ends on another moment of piqued interest in what sort of shenanigans will Mr. Corbett get himself into during his next adventure.
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LibraryThing member flashflood42
2nd in series dealing with Matthew Corbett. Here he as a "problem solver" investigator must learn the identity of a woman in a mental hospital as well as solve the problem of a corrupt orphanage official that leads to a far greater problem. Face paced and marvelous about what pre-America must have
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smelt, looked, and been like. The scenes of violence held me spellbound though sometimes they were overlong. Show Less
LibraryThing member Carl_Alves
I was glad to see Robert McCammon return to Matthew Corbett and his circa 17th century novels. I’m both a fan of historical fiction and McCammon, who is one of my all time favorite writers, making his mark in the horror genre. Making it even better, I had a chance to meet McCammon, and he signed
Anyway, I really enjoyed the other two Corbett books prior to this one, and The Queen of Bedlam did not disappoint. The prose is rich in this novel. The pacing worked out great. The character development and the array of characters was really strong. There were some very memorable characters, including the villains, which mostly consisted of some strange individuals. The backstory behind this when it got revealed was compelling. The elements of mystery were well done. There really wasn’t much that I can complain about, except that I thought there some parts that were perhaps a bit too long winded, and some of those sections could have been trimmed to make the novel better.
The novel concluded nicely. The final action sequence was strong, and it left itself open for additional novels in the future, as Corbett now has a job as a private detective and has made some really serious enemies. I look forward to reading more in the series.
Carl Alves - author of The Invocation
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a copy of this book for me.Anyway, I really enjoyed the other two Corbett books prior to this one, and The Queen of Bedlam did not disappoint. The prose is rich in this novel. The pacing worked out great. The character development and the array of characters was really strong. There were some very memorable characters, including the villains, which mostly consisted of some strange individuals. The backstory behind this when it got revealed was compelling. The elements of mystery were well done. There really wasn’t much that I can complain about, except that I thought there some parts that were perhaps a bit too long winded, and some of those sections could have been trimmed to make the novel better.
The novel concluded nicely. The final action sequence was strong, and it left itself open for additional novels in the future, as Corbett now has a job as a private detective and has made some really serious enemies. I look forward to reading more in the series.
Carl Alves - author of The Invocation
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LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
In this sequel to Speaks the Nightbird, McCammon offers such a breathtaking mix of suspense, historical fiction, and even sprinklings of horror, it's a bit breathtaking. As a character, Matthew Corbett is as real and flawed as he is entertaining, and it's wonderful to travel with him through the
Absolutely recommended.
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branches of this novel. More than in any of McCammon's other works, I found myself guessing as to how all of the threads could possibly come together, but of course they did. I read the last 200 pages of this one in one sitting--it was impossible to do otherwise--and the book has been a reminder of how entrancing McCammon's worlds are.Absolutely recommended.
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LibraryThing member TobinElliott
Poor Matthew Corbett. Dude kinda can't get a break.
Having read the first two novels now, I think I have the basic outline of a Matthew Corbett adventure:
1 - Become embroiled in a mystery.
2 - Go against his authority figure to solve the mystery.
3 - Along the way, get handed some deeply encrypted
4 - Watch the only person that could possibly decrypt them disappear.
5 - Meet a girl and develop a heavy crush.
6 - Defend that girl against some sort of clawed wildlife and end up getting rather mauled.
7 - Get raped while drugged.
8 - Solve the mystery and earn the grudging respect of the authority figure he'd previously defied.
9 - Walk away from the girl he has a crush on for no good reason.
10 - Somewhere in between all this, get beaten up at least once.
For all of that, I actually enjoyed this one more than the first. The pace was a bit more brisk, the historical facts piled on a little more judiciously. Even though he doesn't get along with animals and can only get laid when he's drugged, the little bugger's kinda growing on me.
I'll give him another shot.
Having read the first two novels now, I think I have the basic outline of a Matthew Corbett adventure:
1 - Become embroiled in a mystery.
2 - Go against his authority figure to solve the mystery.
3 - Along the way, get handed some deeply encrypted
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clues.4 - Watch the only person that could possibly decrypt them disappear.
5 - Meet a girl and develop a heavy crush.
6 - Defend that girl against some sort of clawed wildlife and end up getting rather mauled.
7 - Get raped while drugged.
8 - Solve the mystery and earn the grudging respect of the authority figure he'd previously defied.
9 - Walk away from the girl he has a crush on for no good reason.
10 - Somewhere in between all this, get beaten up at least once.
For all of that, I actually enjoyed this one more than the first. The pace was a bit more brisk, the historical facts piled on a little more judiciously. Even though he doesn't get along with animals and can only get laid when he's drugged, the little bugger's kinda growing on me.
I'll give him another shot.
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Subjects
Awards
International Thriller Writers Award (Nominee — 2008)
Original publication date
2007-10