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The Scent of Death
From the No.1 bestselling author of The American Boy comes a new historical thriller set during the American War of Independence.
August, 1778. British-controlled Manhattan is a melting pot of soldiers, traitors and refugees, surrounded by rebel forces as the American War of Independence rages on. Into this simmering tension sails Edward Savill, a London clerk tasked with assessing the claims of loyalists who have lost out during the war. Savill lodges with the ageing Judge Wintour, his ailing wife, and their enigmatic daughter-in-law Arabella. However, as Savill soon learns, what the Wintours have lost in wealth, they have gained in secrets. The murder of a gentleman in the slums pulls Savill into the city's underbelly. But when life is so cheap, why does one death matter? Because making a nation is a lucrative business, and some people cannot afford to miss out, whatever the price...
August, 1778. British-controlled Manhattan is a melting pot of soldiers, traitors and refugees, surrounded by rebel forces as the American War of Independence rages on. Into this simmering tension sails Edward Savill, a London clerk tasked with assessing the claims of loyalists who have lost out during the war. Savill lodges with the ageing Judge Wintour, his ailing wife, and their enigmatic daughter-in-law Arabella. However, as Savill soon learns, what the Wintours have lost in wealth, they have gained in secrets. The murder of a gentleman in the slums pulls Savill into the city's underbelly. But when life is so cheap, why does one death matter? Because making a nation is a lucrative business, and some people cannot afford to miss out, whatever the price...
498 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2013
150 people are currently reading
1696 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Taylor
61 books724 followersAndrew Taylor (b. 1951) is a British author of mysteries. Born in East Anglia, he attended university at Cambridge before getting an MA in library sciences from University College London. His first novel, Caroline Miniscule (1982), a modern-day treasure hunt starring history student William Dougal, began an eight-book series and won Taylor wide critical acclaim. He has written several other thriller series, most notably the eight Lydmouthbooks, which begin with An Air That Kills (1994).
His other novels include The Office of the Dead (2000) and The American Boy (2003), both of which won the Crime Writers’ Association of Britain’s Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, making Taylor the only author to receive the prize twice. His Roth trilogy, which has been published in omnibus form as Requiem for an Angel (2002), was adapted by the UK’s ITV for its television show Fallen Angel. Taylor’s most recent novel is the historical thriller The Scent of Death (2013).
His other novels include The Office of the Dead (2000) and The American Boy (2003), both of which won the Crime Writers’ Association of Britain’s Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, making Taylor the only author to receive the prize twice. His Roth trilogy, which has been published in omnibus form as Requiem for an Angel (2002), was adapted by the UK’s ITV for its television show Fallen Angel. Taylor’s most recent novel is the historical thriller The Scent of Death (2013).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 193 reviews
April 25, 2013
Once again Andrew Taylor demonstrates that he is a master of the historical crime novel, and I’d rate The Scent of Death even above Bleeding Heart Square and Anatomy of Ghosts. I especially love authors who help me think of familiar things in a new way. To most Americans the War of American Independence (which they habitually call “the Revolutionary War”) was an international conflict between Great Britain and America. To those of us who are more historically sophisticated, it was also a civil war fought in the American colonies between the Loyalists and the rebels who Americans usually call “the Patriots.” But this story made me aware that it was also a party conflict between British subjects on both sides of the Atlantic, the whigs and the tories, Which explains why British whig politicians such as Mr. Burke and Mr. Fox supported the rebelling American colonists, because they embarrassed the tory government of Lord North. Of course in Britain the struggle was carried on with pamphlets and Parliamentary speeches, in America if was also with gunpowder and lead. Which is why to this day most Americans refer to the Loyalists as Tories, though I doubt if one in a hundred has the foggiest notion of what those Tories had in common with the supporters of Mr. Cameron today. (Yes, there is a real historical relationship.)
Taylor beautifully evokes the atmosphere of New York city under siege. The narrator, Edward Savill, a somewhat naive English visitor from the American Office in London provides an unfamiliar point of view on this uncouth provincial town so crude compared with London. The American Loyalist characters are well-drawn and varied, though I could not help being anachronistically amused that the heroine was named Mrs. Wintour--kept thinking of Prada. I admired the touches of 18th-century diction--one’s “address” is also one’s “direction”.
The author is very generous with his clues (I missed the significance of the title, damn it!) and the alert reader should be able to figure out what the principal characters are up to and the backstory of the slave Juvenal. (Was his master Mr. Froude a reader of the Roman satirists?) Towards the end the story turns thriller with a terrifying struggle on the frozen Hudson River.
I loved one minor character, the very brave and resourceful Mehitabel Tippet, and was sorry she just faded out at the end. She certainly deserved a happy ending.
My favourite of Taylor’s novels still remain the Roth trilogy and the total lack of spirituality renders the characters in The Scent of Death very shallow. But that absence fits the period all too well.
o
Taylor beautifully evokes the atmosphere of New York city under siege. The narrator, Edward Savill, a somewhat naive English visitor from the American Office in London provides an unfamiliar point of view on this uncouth provincial town so crude compared with London. The American Loyalist characters are well-drawn and varied, though I could not help being anachronistically amused that the heroine was named Mrs. Wintour--kept thinking of Prada. I admired the touches of 18th-century diction--one’s “address” is also one’s “direction”.
The author is very generous with his clues (I missed the significance of the title, damn it!) and the alert reader should be able to figure out what the principal characters are up to and the backstory of the slave Juvenal. (Was his master Mr. Froude a reader of the Roman satirists?) Towards the end the story turns thriller with a terrifying struggle on the frozen Hudson River.
I loved one minor character, the very brave and resourceful Mehitabel Tippet, and was sorry she just faded out at the end. She certainly deserved a happy ending.
My favourite of Taylor’s novels still remain the Roth trilogy and the total lack of spirituality renders the characters in The Scent of Death very shallow. But that absence fits the period all too well.
o
January 16, 2015
A wonderful book. The characters are so vivid and interesting, the plot complex and expertly woven, and the history has a deeply authentic feel.
I was thoroughly caught up in the story right from the start.
Highly recommended!
I was thoroughly caught up in the story right from the start.
Highly recommended!
April 24, 2013
Frankly, I could barely set it down. It was right up there with Bleeding Heart Square (about which I once taught a class) in evoking atmosphere and time. The plot was superb with just enough hints to keep the reader curious without giving everything away. The attitudes of the characters revealed so much about colonial America and politics about which many, even history students, are unaware.
The characters remind me of some of those in the Roth Trilogy in that there is a (what we used to call "sociopathic" but now say "borderline personality disorder") quality to some of them. Killing is matter-of-fact, no big deal, and is committed with no apparent sense of guilt or remorse. I like this in a novel because by its very nature, a novel is fiction...it's fine with me if characters do not behave as they might in real life...or as only a few might.
It was intriguing to hear the Other Side of the Story of the revolution from the perspective of the British. We are used to thinking of our forebears as "Patriots," not "rebels/traitors."
I smiled when the protagonist boarded the Lydmouth at the end of the story! I thought about his name, Savill, and reflected that while he was socially a cut above the masses he was hardly an aristo and what social standing he had was a result of his employment/association with his employers. So the name Savill, like the famous and historic Saville Row known for fine clothing, was so apt...he had the right appearance but was short a letter. I wondered about Mr. Noak from the first for some reason, perhaps because altruism in your books isn't always free of hidden agendas. Also because of his name...Noak didn't sound like white hat and certainly it rhymes with "No." :)
All in all, a splendid read....Taylor's books are always a genuine treat but Scent of Death was truly grand!
The characters remind me of some of those in the Roth Trilogy in that there is a (what we used to call "sociopathic" but now say "borderline personality disorder") quality to some of them. Killing is matter-of-fact, no big deal, and is committed with no apparent sense of guilt or remorse. I like this in a novel because by its very nature, a novel is fiction...it's fine with me if characters do not behave as they might in real life...or as only a few might.
It was intriguing to hear the Other Side of the Story of the revolution from the perspective of the British. We are used to thinking of our forebears as "Patriots," not "rebels/traitors."
I smiled when the protagonist boarded the Lydmouth at the end of the story! I thought about his name, Savill, and reflected that while he was socially a cut above the masses he was hardly an aristo and what social standing he had was a result of his employment/association with his employers. So the name Savill, like the famous and historic Saville Row known for fine clothing, was so apt...he had the right appearance but was short a letter. I wondered about Mr. Noak from the first for some reason, perhaps because altruism in your books isn't always free of hidden agendas. Also because of his name...Noak didn't sound like white hat and certainly it rhymes with "No." :)
All in all, a splendid read....Taylor's books are always a genuine treat but Scent of Death was truly grand!
January 28, 2016
Well-crafted and satisfying in the end, but the structure of the story made this book really, really drag until the last hundred or so pages.
I had high hopes for this after reading Taylor's Anatomy of Ghosts, and indeed this is, on the whole, a good story. But it's really convoluted and hard to follow, and the reader is asked to slog through a lot of text that drones and drags to get to the payoff at the end.
Had the story been structured differently-perhaps a bit more action in the first 75% of the book-I would probably feel more favorably toward it.
Taylor's books are also tough to "like," even if you can appreciate them, because the characters are not terribly endearing. What they are is, often, exceptionally realistic, which I can certainly respect. It's a brave way to write characters, in a way, because reality casts so few of us as the heroes we like to read about.
Still, as much as I tip my cap to Taylor for going out on a limb with this, most of us read for pleasure, especially when reading novels. And while there's a degree of flawed persona necessary to legitimize a character, too much of that takes away our chance to like those we're reading about, and damages the book's entertainment value. And entertainment is, first and foremost, the primary function a novel is supposed to serve, however realistic, historically accurate, or brutal it means to be.
I had high hopes for this after reading Taylor's Anatomy of Ghosts, and indeed this is, on the whole, a good story. But it's really convoluted and hard to follow, and the reader is asked to slog through a lot of text that drones and drags to get to the payoff at the end.
Had the story been structured differently-perhaps a bit more action in the first 75% of the book-I would probably feel more favorably toward it.
Taylor's books are also tough to "like," even if you can appreciate them, because the characters are not terribly endearing. What they are is, often, exceptionally realistic, which I can certainly respect. It's a brave way to write characters, in a way, because reality casts so few of us as the heroes we like to read about.
Still, as much as I tip my cap to Taylor for going out on a limb with this, most of us read for pleasure, especially when reading novels. And while there's a degree of flawed persona necessary to legitimize a character, too much of that takes away our chance to like those we're reading about, and damages the book's entertainment value. And entertainment is, first and foremost, the primary function a novel is supposed to serve, however realistic, historically accurate, or brutal it means to be.
February 16, 2015
3.5 stars. My review for USA Today:
The Scent of Death
By Andrew Taylor
HarperCollins, 480 pp.
***
Bad historical novelists almost always give themselves away with their dialogue first ("Blimey, old egg!"), and in good ones the reverse is true — we slide indiscernibly into the rhythms of an older mode of speech, until after a few pages it seems as natural as our own. That's the case in this skillful novel, which perfectly reproduces the loyalist experience of the American Revolution in the year 1778, when the British were beginning to panic about their chances of victory. Its amiable narrator is Edward Savill; he arrives from London to aid his countrymen, but is soon shanghaied into becoming both spy and detective, too. The mystery he hopes to solve, about a murder wrongly pinned to a runaway slave, takes too long to pick up. When it does, though, its threads come together nicely, and throughout the atmosphere makes this a note-perfect voyage into a different time.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/bo...
The Scent of Death
By Andrew Taylor
HarperCollins, 480 pp.
***
Bad historical novelists almost always give themselves away with their dialogue first ("Blimey, old egg!"), and in good ones the reverse is true — we slide indiscernibly into the rhythms of an older mode of speech, until after a few pages it seems as natural as our own. That's the case in this skillful novel, which perfectly reproduces the loyalist experience of the American Revolution in the year 1778, when the British were beginning to panic about their chances of victory. Its amiable narrator is Edward Savill; he arrives from London to aid his countrymen, but is soon shanghaied into becoming both spy and detective, too. The mystery he hopes to solve, about a murder wrongly pinned to a runaway slave, takes too long to pick up. When it does, though, its threads come together nicely, and throughout the atmosphere makes this a note-perfect voyage into a different time.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/bo...
January 9, 2020
I had great hopes starting The Scent of Death. Andrew Taylor authored close to fifty novels, many mysteries and including five historical novels. It turned out to be L-O-N-G (470 pages on Kindle) and excruciatingly S-L-O-W (nothing happens for the first half and even toward the end we’re stuck in endless, polite conversations).
I was most surprised, though, at the questionable historical accuracy.
The first instance came early on. Page 13 to be exact: “Ceiling fans turned slowly in the big room on the ground floor.” In the U.S. the first rotary ceiling fans appeared in the early 1860s, driven by a running water turbine driving a system of belts. A much more elaborate contraption than could be summarized with just “Ceiling fans turned slowly...” A minor slip, perhaps, but it made me skeptical of much of the rest.
I especially questioned whether all blacks in New York at the time were slaves. (Admittedly, Taylor is ambiguous on the point, but he makes it seem that way.) But when the British captured the city in 1776, it became a refuge for thousands of escaped slaves, and, in June 1779 (a year encompassed within the novel), General Clinton offered freedom to all slaves who reached British lines. By 1780, more than 10,000 blacks were crammed into the town. When the British left in 1783, more than 3,000 former slaves sailed away with them to Nova Scotia.
In addition, 1778 and 1779 were filled with significant developments in the war but few make there way into characters’ consciousness, at least in Taylor’s version. Seems unlikely.
I found the main character and narrator a bore. We’re in his mind but not his confidence. Or, if we are, his thoughts are so constrained by the conventions of his time that he is not privy to them himself. It makes him a most uninteresting character.
Elsewhere, Taylor says the novel is both a murder mystery and a love story. As far as the first, the initiating murder (within the context of a city at war) almost disappears for the majority of the story. There’s certainly no urgency for it to be solve. And by the time it is, I didn’t much care about the convoluted explanation. I felt much the same for the love story. By the time he decided he loved the woman, I didn’t care.
I was most surprised, though, at the questionable historical accuracy.
The first instance came early on. Page 13 to be exact: “Ceiling fans turned slowly in the big room on the ground floor.” In the U.S. the first rotary ceiling fans appeared in the early 1860s, driven by a running water turbine driving a system of belts. A much more elaborate contraption than could be summarized with just “Ceiling fans turned slowly...” A minor slip, perhaps, but it made me skeptical of much of the rest.
I especially questioned whether all blacks in New York at the time were slaves. (Admittedly, Taylor is ambiguous on the point, but he makes it seem that way.) But when the British captured the city in 1776, it became a refuge for thousands of escaped slaves, and, in June 1779 (a year encompassed within the novel), General Clinton offered freedom to all slaves who reached British lines. By 1780, more than 10,000 blacks were crammed into the town. When the British left in 1783, more than 3,000 former slaves sailed away with them to Nova Scotia.
In addition, 1778 and 1779 were filled with significant developments in the war but few make there way into characters’ consciousness, at least in Taylor’s version. Seems unlikely.
I found the main character and narrator a bore. We’re in his mind but not his confidence. Or, if we are, his thoughts are so constrained by the conventions of his time that he is not privy to them himself. It makes him a most uninteresting character.
Elsewhere, Taylor says the novel is both a murder mystery and a love story. As far as the first, the initiating murder (within the context of a city at war) almost disappears for the majority of the story. There’s certainly no urgency for it to be solve. And by the time it is, I didn’t much care about the convoluted explanation. I felt much the same for the love story. By the time he decided he loved the woman, I didn’t care.
August 25, 2013
Edward Savill, a London clerk, lands in Manhattan in the wake of the War of Independence. It's a city fraught with secrets, divided loyalties and double agents, home to a swelling tide of refugees seeking justice from the British crown. It isn't long before Savill is swept up in the city's struggles, trying to solve a murder for which a falsely-accused slave was hanged. Distracted by his host's beautiful daughter-in-law, Arabella, Savill must search under the masks worn by those around him, for the dangerous truth at the city's heart.
There is something wonderfully reassuring about the weight and tactile beauty of this book. It promises long nights curled in a favourite armchair, absorbed in a story by a master storyteller. And it doesn't disappoint.
Taylor is at the height of his powers, weaving a complex set of strands with such skill that the effect is almost effortless. His narrator, Savill, is a convincing observer. Arriving emotionally numb from his long journey away from a difficult marriage to an alien Manhattan, the first human he sees is the floating corpse of a rebel. This introduction to a world-famous city - visceral and unsettling - stays with the reader throughout the story. It reminds us that nothing, and no-one, is quite as it seems.
Read on: http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/reviews/Th...
There is something wonderfully reassuring about the weight and tactile beauty of this book. It promises long nights curled in a favourite armchair, absorbed in a story by a master storyteller. And it doesn't disappoint.
Taylor is at the height of his powers, weaving a complex set of strands with such skill that the effect is almost effortless. His narrator, Savill, is a convincing observer. Arriving emotionally numb from his long journey away from a difficult marriage to an alien Manhattan, the first human he sees is the floating corpse of a rebel. This introduction to a world-famous city - visceral and unsettling - stays with the reader throughout the story. It reminds us that nothing, and no-one, is quite as it seems.
Read on: http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/reviews/Th...
March 8, 2013
The Scent Of Death is set in New York during the American War Of Independence, where Edward Savill, an English clerk, is sent to New York to investigate claims by Loyalists that they have lost property. Soon Edward Savill is thrown into a murder enquiry after a body is discovered, and more secrets and danger await him…
I have never read a book by Andrew Taylor before this, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I really quite enjoyed this book! Having never read anything about The American War Of Independence, I must admit I did find it a little bit hard to get into the story at first, but within a few chapters I had settled into the narrative.
The descriptions in the book were very well-written. As soon as Savill arrived in America I could sense the atmosphere, and everything was so vivid that I could picture every single clearly in my mind. It was as if I’d been transported back in time, wow. Andrew Taylor has clearly done his research and it shows, for me the descriptions and setting were my favourite part of the story.
There is a lot to devour and uncover in this book. The Scent Of Death is brilliant for fans of historical novels or anyone with interest in the American War Of Independence. Not only that, but there is mystery, adventure, murder and suspense, making this an intriguing and compelling read.
I have never read a book by Andrew Taylor before this, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I really quite enjoyed this book! Having never read anything about The American War Of Independence, I must admit I did find it a little bit hard to get into the story at first, but within a few chapters I had settled into the narrative.
The descriptions in the book were very well-written. As soon as Savill arrived in America I could sense the atmosphere, and everything was so vivid that I could picture every single clearly in my mind. It was as if I’d been transported back in time, wow. Andrew Taylor has clearly done his research and it shows, for me the descriptions and setting were my favourite part of the story.
There is a lot to devour and uncover in this book. The Scent Of Death is brilliant for fans of historical novels or anyone with interest in the American War Of Independence. Not only that, but there is mystery, adventure, murder and suspense, making this an intriguing and compelling read.
October 10, 2014
Edward Savill is a clerk sent to British occupied New York during the American War of Independence to log the claims of dispossessed loyalists. His job is a tedious sinecure, dependent on the patronage of his lofty father-in-law and it takes him away from his beloved daughter and from his strained relationship with his wife. In New York he becomes a participant in a mystery involving murder, espionage and the search for an elusive `box of curiosities'. He also falls in love with the wife of his host, Mrs Arabella Wintour, who has secrets of her own.
This is a very gripping read: the historical setting of New York under the British is interesting; the mystery is tantalising; the story has many twists and turns. For me the two most successful aspects are how the author captures the historical context so convincingly and how he portrays the character of Savill, who becomes a detective despite himself. Here is a clerk with all the mindset of a man who owes his position to others, who is reluctant to become involved, who is honest and perhaps a bit boring to those around him, but who, despite himself, has the reserves, imagination and integrity to press the mystery to its tragic conclusion. It may be that some may find Savill's transformation from passive participant to man of action rather sudden, but for me this is a small quibble in an otherwise very convincing tale.
This is a very gripping read: the historical setting of New York under the British is interesting; the mystery is tantalising; the story has many twists and turns. For me the two most successful aspects are how the author captures the historical context so convincingly and how he portrays the character of Savill, who becomes a detective despite himself. Here is a clerk with all the mindset of a man who owes his position to others, who is reluctant to become involved, who is honest and perhaps a bit boring to those around him, but who, despite himself, has the reserves, imagination and integrity to press the mystery to its tragic conclusion. It may be that some may find Savill's transformation from passive participant to man of action rather sudden, but for me this is a small quibble in an otherwise very convincing tale.
February 8, 2019
I had such high hopes for The Scent of Death. The premise sounded really interesting and I always love historical fiction/thrillers. Unfortunately, Andrew Taylor did not deliver. There were certainly parts that were interesting and fulfilled the "thriller" component of the story. However, there was a lot of unnecessary filler that just wasn't particularly interesting. I think the Scent of Death would have benefitted from some serious editing (at least 100 pages worth). I also felt that Taylor could have done a more job of creating the atmosphere. The best historical fiction are the books that completely immerse you, so that you feel that you are actually living in the story with the characters. While Taylor did describe the setting, I only felt as if I was reading it, not living it.
While this book was a little bit of a letdown to me, I have heard such good things about some of Taylor's other books that I will give them a try.
While this book was a little bit of a letdown to me, I have heard such good things about some of Taylor's other books that I will give them a try.
July 10, 2014
I got about 200 pages into this book and was so bored that I had to put it down. While one doesn't need to necessarily like the protagonist to enjoy a book, I found myself unable to empathize with any of the characters, nor did I find any of them likable in their own right. I may try to get through the rest of it, but despite the overall historical accuracy and unique perspective, it simply wasn't worth it at this time.
February 13, 2019
Another solid historical novel from Taylor, who does his homework and has a gift for describing the period details of the era about which he is writing. Here he paints a bleak picture of the last days of Colonial New York - a compelling setting for a series of missteps and murders.
August 10, 2015
Great historical novel. As always, Andrew Taylor's research is impressive.
February 29, 2024
I was a bit miffed off when I discovered this was a novel with the same character as Andrew Taylor's "The Silent Boy" (TSB).
When I read the book's synopsis on the back, I quickly recognized the name Edward Savill and on checking TSB on Goodreads, had it confirmed.
It wasn't necessarily that much of a problem, but because this book is first in the timeline of Mr Savill, I would have much preferred to read them in order.
Goodreads usually has a series clearly marked under a books title, #1, #2, #3 and so on, so if I go to enter a new book I'm starting and I see it's part of a series and indeed, it's not the first in that series, I stop and seek out the first title.
More often than not, books that are in sequence, can technically still be read out of order or indeed as stand alone, but ever since I read Martin Cruz Smith's "Arkady Renko" books all higilty pigilty, I've much preferred the orthodoxy of the literary linear line.
It certainly lends itself to a better understanding and enjoyment of books, especially when dealing with plots that intertwine and span through several of the individual novels. Reading out of order, can sometimes make it seem disjointed and can lead to confusion and spoilers.
So I was clearly disappointed when I discovered the omission of a series marker here on Goodreads for the Edward Savill episodes. Booooo!
Unfortunately the copy of the novel I bought (on-line), must have been printed for pensioners, as the size of the font was ENORMOUS! I could almost see It without using my reading glasses and I'm quite sure the font could be read from outer space!
It was humongously large and that rendered it a little off putting, but luckily I did get somewhat used to it and thankfully so, because putting those couple of gripes aside, it was yet another winner from the pen of Andrew Taylor.
I won’t go into too much detail about the actual plot, as
1. Spoilers and
2. You can read that for yourself in the synopsis.
I won’t read any reviews that start off just repeating the synopsis verbatim, what the feck is the point in that?! I’ve never understood why people do that? It’s not really a review is it? It’s just the plot which people have just read in the synopsis. Jeezo, think for yourself!
So anyway, this is the story of civil servant Edward Savill's posting by The American Department of His Majesty's Government, to the Americas, during the American Revolution, a situation quite often mentioned and referred back to in TSB. (Hence my complaint about it's non marking as a series!)
However, almost from the get go, Savill is thrust into murderous intrigue and the plot continues to weave and twist through to the end against the backdrop of the American War of Independence.
Touching on the almost societal breakdown during what was effectively a siege of New York by Washington and the Continental army, and the effects it has on its inhabitants, from British officers and the civilian middle classes to the unfortunates of enlisted men, loyalist refugees and most importantly for this novel, it’s slaves.
The Scent of Death unlike TSB and The American Boy, fortunately didn't suffer from the central part of the novel dragging on a bit and seeming like it wasn't bringing the story any further on, chapter after chapter.
Thankfully it was well measured and the constituent parts all came together nicely and helped to bring us to the plots conclusion at an appropriate pace, with none of the laborious writing which was prominent in the above mentioned other works by the same author.
This was also the first time I've experienced a tale featuring the American Revolution, where the POV is ostensibly from the British side.
Every other book, TV series or movie I've read or seen, have all been from the American quarter and it was definitely somewhat of a novelty finding myself unwittingly, and albeit, only for the book's duration, rooting for Brits and indeed the Redcoats!
Well done Mr Taylor, wonders will never cease!
Like myself, fans of historical fiction will be in their element with this novel, it has the lot, enjoy.
When I read the book's synopsis on the back, I quickly recognized the name Edward Savill and on checking TSB on Goodreads, had it confirmed.
It wasn't necessarily that much of a problem, but because this book is first in the timeline of Mr Savill, I would have much preferred to read them in order.
Goodreads usually has a series clearly marked under a books title, #1, #2, #3 and so on, so if I go to enter a new book I'm starting and I see it's part of a series and indeed, it's not the first in that series, I stop and seek out the first title.
More often than not, books that are in sequence, can technically still be read out of order or indeed as stand alone, but ever since I read Martin Cruz Smith's "Arkady Renko" books all higilty pigilty, I've much preferred the orthodoxy of the literary linear line.
It certainly lends itself to a better understanding and enjoyment of books, especially when dealing with plots that intertwine and span through several of the individual novels. Reading out of order, can sometimes make it seem disjointed and can lead to confusion and spoilers.
So I was clearly disappointed when I discovered the omission of a series marker here on Goodreads for the Edward Savill episodes. Booooo!
Unfortunately the copy of the novel I bought (on-line), must have been printed for pensioners, as the size of the font was ENORMOUS! I could almost see It without using my reading glasses and I'm quite sure the font could be read from outer space!
It was humongously large and that rendered it a little off putting, but luckily I did get somewhat used to it and thankfully so, because putting those couple of gripes aside, it was yet another winner from the pen of Andrew Taylor.
I won’t go into too much detail about the actual plot, as
1. Spoilers and
2. You can read that for yourself in the synopsis.
I won’t read any reviews that start off just repeating the synopsis verbatim, what the feck is the point in that?! I’ve never understood why people do that? It’s not really a review is it? It’s just the plot which people have just read in the synopsis. Jeezo, think for yourself!
So anyway, this is the story of civil servant Edward Savill's posting by The American Department of His Majesty's Government, to the Americas, during the American Revolution, a situation quite often mentioned and referred back to in TSB. (Hence my complaint about it's non marking as a series!)
However, almost from the get go, Savill is thrust into murderous intrigue and the plot continues to weave and twist through to the end against the backdrop of the American War of Independence.
Touching on the almost societal breakdown during what was effectively a siege of New York by Washington and the Continental army, and the effects it has on its inhabitants, from British officers and the civilian middle classes to the unfortunates of enlisted men, loyalist refugees and most importantly for this novel, it’s slaves.
The Scent of Death unlike TSB and The American Boy, fortunately didn't suffer from the central part of the novel dragging on a bit and seeming like it wasn't bringing the story any further on, chapter after chapter.
Thankfully it was well measured and the constituent parts all came together nicely and helped to bring us to the plots conclusion at an appropriate pace, with none of the laborious writing which was prominent in the above mentioned other works by the same author.
This was also the first time I've experienced a tale featuring the American Revolution, where the POV is ostensibly from the British side.
Every other book, TV series or movie I've read or seen, have all been from the American quarter and it was definitely somewhat of a novelty finding myself unwittingly, and albeit, only for the book's duration, rooting for Brits and indeed the Redcoats!
Well done Mr Taylor, wonders will never cease!
Like myself, fans of historical fiction will be in their element with this novel, it has the lot, enjoy.
January 29, 2020
A very good read about life in New York in 1778 during the American War of Independance. The author really had a knack for evoking life in New York at that time and the circumstances particularly the poor white people and the slaves had to endure. I could feel their desperation and smell the stink in the slums. Next time I'm in New York I will probably see that area of Manhattan with completely different eyes.
he main character Edward Savill was a bit of a bore though in my eyes but the story was told from his point of view so I guess I had to put up with him.
Overall it was a fab historical novel and I'm glad I picked it up at the Meet Up.
he main character Edward Savill was a bit of a bore though in my eyes but the story was told from his point of view so I guess I had to put up with him.
Overall it was a fab historical novel and I'm glad I picked it up at the Meet Up.
October 15, 2020
NEW FAVOURITE AUTHOR
I know I am late to the party (again) - Andrew Taylor has been writing award-winning historical mysteries for decades - but I've only just discovered his incredible novels!
I really enjoyed 'The Scent of Death' and have happily ignored everything else on my TBR pile to go straight into the sequel, 'The Silent Boy'.
Americans may find 'The Scent of Death' particularly fascinating as it is set in 1778 in the besieged loyalist stronghold of New York in the middle of the War of Independence against Britain. I had a bit of a personal connection. Some of our Charlton ancestors left Northern England, emigrated to the Colony and farmed around New York at this time. When the Yankee rebels won the war, like many loyal to the Crown, they emigrated again to Canada. Having now read this vivid description of what life was like at the time, I can understand why they fled.
'The Silent Boy' is set ten years later in the aftermath of the French Revolution.
Both novels are highly recommended.
I know I am late to the party (again) - Andrew Taylor has been writing award-winning historical mysteries for decades - but I've only just discovered his incredible novels!
I really enjoyed 'The Scent of Death' and have happily ignored everything else on my TBR pile to go straight into the sequel, 'The Silent Boy'.
Americans may find 'The Scent of Death' particularly fascinating as it is set in 1778 in the besieged loyalist stronghold of New York in the middle of the War of Independence against Britain. I had a bit of a personal connection. Some of our Charlton ancestors left Northern England, emigrated to the Colony and farmed around New York at this time. When the Yankee rebels won the war, like many loyal to the Crown, they emigrated again to Canada. Having now read this vivid description of what life was like at the time, I can understand why they fled.
'The Silent Boy' is set ten years later in the aftermath of the French Revolution.
Both novels are highly recommended.
December 24, 2018
This is the third book written by Andrew Taylor and I can only say that each book is as excellent as its predecessor. This was a complicated mystery wrapped around a murder and a love story.
May 8, 2020
Closer to 3 3/4 stars
Enjoyed it but it was fairly predictable.
Enjoyed it but it was fairly predictable.
March 10, 2021
Actual rating 2.5 stars.
This was a difficult book for me to review. The sense of time and place was very strong, with 18th century New York and the horrors of the War of Independence leaping from the pages, and there were occasions when I found the storyline quite gripping, but there were other times when I was incredibly bored. Whole swathes of the book seemed to pass with nothing of note happening. However, my main problem was with the characters. None of them really came alive for me and I found them all cold and difficult to like. Or to feel anything for really. Also, I had no idea what the motives of several of them were, even when I reached the end of the book. The whole thing was just a bit of a letdown, despite some parts being fairly entertaining. Which is a shame as I have previously read another book by this author and really enjoyed it. Oh well, I guess you can’t win them all.
This was a difficult book for me to review. The sense of time and place was very strong, with 18th century New York and the horrors of the War of Independence leaping from the pages, and there were occasions when I found the storyline quite gripping, but there were other times when I was incredibly bored. Whole swathes of the book seemed to pass with nothing of note happening. However, my main problem was with the characters. None of them really came alive for me and I found them all cold and difficult to like. Or to feel anything for really. Also, I had no idea what the motives of several of them were, even when I reached the end of the book. The whole thing was just a bit of a letdown, despite some parts being fairly entertaining. Which is a shame as I have previously read another book by this author and really enjoyed it. Oh well, I guess you can’t win them all.
June 26, 2015
I love Andrew Taylor’s modern gothic crime books, in fact his Fallen Angel Roth Trilogy was one of my best reads of 2014. The intriguing 18th century setting of war torn New York attracted me to this novel, a fascinating moment in American history that is very cleverly portrayed. The first half of the book was rather slow, as fresh from his transatlantic voyage English clerk Savill seems no more than a dullish cipher, inspecting bodies and clearly being out-witted by his colleagues. Savill’s love interest, Mrs Arabella, was also rather sketchy and her backstory ‘mystery’ too well sign-posted to intrigue. Then, at about the half-way point the novel takes off and delivers a series of superb set pieces. The reader realises Savill is trapped in a Kafkaesque situation, worthy of the eerie setting of a New York of beggars clustered around braziers, a dissolute Canvas Town of war refugees, runaway slaves and assassins. With a treasure map, horrific kidnap, and ice-bound river, there were many pleasures to this novel but at times I struggled with the short blunt sentences and a priggish hero who seemed to have no inner spark. One point that intrigued me was the instruction to read a secret message by use of a ‘salamander’, which Savill interprets as meaning the mythological creature and therefore holds it before an open fire and nearly destroys it. Yet a ‘salamander’ was also a common flat iron kitchen instrument used to toast food – so perhaps it would have made more sense for Savill to use that?
November 5, 2015
I very much enjoyed Andrew Taylor's The Anatomy of Ghosts and was looking forward to this one. It is not as good, but is still an enjoyable read.
Set in New York in 1779-79 during the War of Independence, the plot concerns Edward Savill, an English civil servant sent from London to deal with claims by Loyalists who have lost property during the fighting. Narrated in the first person by Savill the story develops into a mystery and an adventure in which he and his acquaintances become embroiled and endangered. I won't give away any plot - I wouldn't have wanted to know more than that before I started - but it is a period mystery/thriller which began well, dragged somewhat and then picked up for the last two hundred pages or so.
Taylor creates a very good sense of place and of period. The privations of a freezing winter are especially well done and I thought this a real strength of the book. His prose is easy to read and preserves a good sense of the language of the time while not sticking rigidly to it: a difficult balance which he pulls off very well. The plot unfolds at a leisurely pace, and while this can be very effective, I did feel that there wasn't quite enough real content to carry the book for quite long periods in the central section and I thought it could do with being a good deal shorter.
Nevertheless, I think this is a generally involving and enjoyable book, and I recommend it, especially if you like historical fiction.
Set in New York in 1779-79 during the War of Independence, the plot concerns Edward Savill, an English civil servant sent from London to deal with claims by Loyalists who have lost property during the fighting. Narrated in the first person by Savill the story develops into a mystery and an adventure in which he and his acquaintances become embroiled and endangered. I won't give away any plot - I wouldn't have wanted to know more than that before I started - but it is a period mystery/thriller which began well, dragged somewhat and then picked up for the last two hundred pages or so.
Taylor creates a very good sense of place and of period. The privations of a freezing winter are especially well done and I thought this a real strength of the book. His prose is easy to read and preserves a good sense of the language of the time while not sticking rigidly to it: a difficult balance which he pulls off very well. The plot unfolds at a leisurely pace, and while this can be very effective, I did feel that there wasn't quite enough real content to carry the book for quite long periods in the central section and I thought it could do with being a good deal shorter.
Nevertheless, I think this is a generally involving and enjoyable book, and I recommend it, especially if you like historical fiction.
January 20, 2016
It is 1778 and Edward Saville arrives in Manhattan in the midst of the American uprising that was to result in independence from Britain. He represents the British Govt and his job is to assess the claims of loyalists who have suffered during the war.
Saville is an alert and sensitive narrator. He is an outsider but with a respectable job that gives him entry to places where he can observe and share his impressions and gradually build up a story to explain what he sees and hears.
Much intrigue and dissembling of course because of the war but there are secrets in the house of Judge Wintour and his family where Saville boards and their gradual unravelling is very satisfactory.
This is an old fashioned thriller with set villains, a beautiful heroine, a missing fortune and a treacherous journey into enemy territory with death at every turn. Taylor does it well. I found the insight into conditions during the War of Independence interesting. Taylor calls it a civil war in an afterword and I have no doubt that his picture has been researched well.
Altogether a satisfying book by a master storyteller.
Saville is an alert and sensitive narrator. He is an outsider but with a respectable job that gives him entry to places where he can observe and share his impressions and gradually build up a story to explain what he sees and hears.
Much intrigue and dissembling of course because of the war but there are secrets in the house of Judge Wintour and his family where Saville boards and their gradual unravelling is very satisfactory.
This is an old fashioned thriller with set villains, a beautiful heroine, a missing fortune and a treacherous journey into enemy territory with death at every turn. Taylor does it well. I found the insight into conditions during the War of Independence interesting. Taylor calls it a civil war in an afterword and I have no doubt that his picture has been researched well.
Altogether a satisfying book by a master storyteller.
December 21, 2018
This novel introduces Edward Savill, whom I first met in The Silent Boy, which is a sort of sequel to this story. Savill, an agent for the British government's American Department, is sent in 1778 to British occupied New York to review the claims of Loyalists displaced by the war. He becomes involved in what appears to be a murder mystery, but expands in to be so much more. Savill is a sympathetic character embroiled in revolution, shifting loyalties, and domestic upheavals both in London and New York. The novel is very atmospheric in its descriptions of New York city caught between the violence of warring factions, the lives of slaves, daily living conditions, and the uncertainty of the truth.
January 8, 2016
"This is the story of a woman and a city." Set in revolutionary New York City, this is a another well written and well plotted mystery from Andrew Taylor. Taylor makes the city a character of its own, highlighting its dark corners (literal and metaphorical) and shifting loyalties. Actually loyalty, and its potential to be highly subjective in nature, is the central theme of the novel. The American Boy is still my favorite but this one is worth the read.
Favorite quotes:
Wild speculation circled and swooped in my mind like predatory crows about a sheeps carcass. P. 183
...under the surface, I sensed a restless, prying intelligence pursuing a subterranean course towards a hidden end. P.281
Favorite quotes:
Wild speculation circled and swooped in my mind like predatory crows about a sheeps carcass. P. 183
...under the surface, I sensed a restless, prying intelligence pursuing a subterranean course towards a hidden end. P.281
February 4, 2014
A different kind of novel from the always readable Andrew Taylor, The Scent of Death tells the story of Edward Savill, a British civil servant in New York on 1778. This is a slow, but absorbing book, detailing Savill's investigation into the death of a soldier. It's a character-driven story, with the mystery elements less prominent than in many of his other books. I'd be hard pressed to describe it as a crime novel, but one that should be read as much for the elegance and smoothness of the prose, as for the gripping nature of the plot.
© Koplowitz 2014
© Koplowitz 2014
November 18, 2014
I read 150 pp, then abandoned it. I know I didn't like any of the characters and it got boring. I didn't care 'whodunit.' I knew it would be torture to continue and there are many more books out there. I did appreciate the author's telling his story from the Loyalist viewpoint, unusual in a novel on the American Revolution. As a whole, I'm just not interested in this time period, but I thought I'd give this one a shot. Or, maybe I'm just not in the mood...
February 10, 2017
Very poorly written, totally lacking in any character development, weak dialogue, and with a main protagonist that one could have little sympathy or empathy with because he was unable to see what was blindingly obvious from a very early stage. However, if you like plot driven novels, of the boys own variety, you might find it suits you better than it did me; and it did thankfully gather pace during the last third which helped me stick with it to the end.
May 23, 2015
As usual a beautifully wrought novel of great psychological depth. Andrew Taylor is not necessarily the best for his mysteries, but for his characterizations, his sense of place and history, and his beautiful writing. This was perhaps not my very favorite of his, but anything of his is always a treat.
September 17, 2017
Absolutely brilliant! This was a gripping read with fabulous historical detail and interest.
August 23, 2018
Slightly racist, slightly sexist and very dull. Not my most hated book this year, but certainly not one that I could bring myself to enjoy.
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