The Bloodless Boy

In 1678 London, a young boy was found dead under a bridge, drained of his blood. The Justice Sir Edmund Bury Godfrey sent for Hooke and Hunt from the Royal Society of London for the Improving of Natural Knowledge for their expertise. Together they uncover a dangerous political and religious conspiracy using scientific methods to get to the bottom of it.

I found the title intriguing but the writing was overly complicated and had excessive use of old speech. The descriptions of life in 1678 London were vivid and dark, the characters well described and the plot was interesting. I had a hard time getting into this one, though I do love historical mysteries and have read many British authors before. The beginning was slow, it picks up about halfway through but the conspiracy was so complicated it was hard to follow and the end fell flat. I don’t think The Society’s role was adequately explained and motives were fuzzy. Overall I just did not enjoy this as much as I thought I would.