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Matthew Corbett #9
Seven Shades of Evil
The New York Times–bestselling author continues his colonial-era thriller series with eight tales of mystery, adventure, and supernatural suspense. From his first appearance in Speaks the Nightbird to his latest adventure in The King of Shadows, Matthew Corbett has faced enemies of all kinds, from serial killers to sorcerers. Now author Robert McCammon presents eight gripping stories featuring the professional problem solver and his associates that take place between the popular novels.Seven Shades of Evil includes four original stories, including “Wandering Mary,” and four additional tales that previously appeared in limited form and are no longer available elsewhere. Ranging from twisting murder plots to ominous portents of the paranormal, these stories are an intriguing blend of everything that has drawn readers to the Matthew Corbett series for more than twenty years. This volume • “The Four Lamplighters” • “Night Ride” • “The House at the Edge of the World” • “The Scorpion’s Eye” • “Skeleton Crew” • “The Pale Pipe Smoker” • “Wandering Mary” • “Incident on the Lady Barbara”
458 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2023
195 people are currently reading
622 people want to read
About the author
Robert McCammon
167 books5,744 followersPseudonyms: Robert R. McCammon; Robert Rick McCammon
Robert McCammon was a full-time horror writer for many years. Among his many popular novels were the classics Boy's Life and Swan Song. After taking a hiatus for his family, he returned to writing with an interest in historical fiction.
His newest book, Leviathan, is the tenth and final book in the Matthew Corbett series. It was published in trade hardcover (Lividian Publications), ebook (Open Road), and audiobook (Audible) formats on December 3, 2024.
McCammon resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
Robert McCammon was a full-time horror writer for many years. Among his many popular novels were the classics Boy's Life and Swan Song. After taking a hiatus for his family, he returned to writing with an interest in historical fiction.
His newest book, Leviathan, is the tenth and final book in the Matthew Corbett series. It was published in trade hardcover (Lividian Publications), ebook (Open Road), and audiobook (Audible) formats on December 3, 2024.
McCammon resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
October 20, 2025
Silly. Super silly. But also super.
March 20, 2024
Absolutely a delight from start to finish.
Seven historical mysteries, set around 1700 in several different areas of the US at the time. New York Town, Boston, etc, and even one story set aboard on ocean voyage.
They were all fantastic stories and each featured characters I already know and love. I enjoyed Hudson Greathouse's tale. He is so funny and Edoardo Ballerini's voicing of him makes the huge man vivid in my mind. I love that big lug.
Katherine Herrold, Matthew Corbett's boss at the problem solving agency has a wonderful story here, in which she attempts to help a freed slave from having her land taken by a local cattle baron. In this tale, I learned of the game jingo...and as the cards were being drawn, I was on pins and needle, holding my breath. Clearly drawn good and evil here, but the fun was in the cards.
Matthew Corbett's story was my favorite, I think. A classic mystery in a stone manor, with servants and all kinds of gothic elements. Ballerini's voicing of the doctor, (because of course there's a doctor), all smug and full of himself had me cracking up.
Turns out there are actually 8 stories in this collection, with a little intro from Mr. McCammon himself, and read by Ballerini. The last tale belongs to Berry Grigsby. Aboard a ship, trying to evade rather grabby passengers, Berry finds her own mystery to solve. Plus it helps keep her mind off Matthew, and his quest for Professor Fell's mirror.
And now that I'm done with this, my mind turns to Matthew as well. With the next book being the last, (I believe), I'm both highly anticipating and dreading its arrival. While I'm excited to see Matthew's journey end, (hopefully with being wedded to Berry), I'm also worried that he won't make it back to her. And of course, I'll be unspeakably sad to see the end of this series.
Let me add this for those unfamiliar with this series. If you're not reading it because you think McCammon is a horror writer, please think again. While some of the books have had horrific aspects, these are historical mysteries. They're full of fun facts about life in America at that time, the politics, the popular games and plays, and it's all woven into intriguing mysteries. The characters feel real, and they are a truly fun bunch.
Edoardo Ballerini is so entertaining while bringing these words to life, I'm considering relistening to the entire series on audio to ready myself for that aforementioned last book.
My highest recommendation!
*I bought 3 versions of this book.*
Seven historical mysteries, set around 1700 in several different areas of the US at the time. New York Town, Boston, etc, and even one story set aboard on ocean voyage.
They were all fantastic stories and each featured characters I already know and love. I enjoyed Hudson Greathouse's tale. He is so funny and Edoardo Ballerini's voicing of him makes the huge man vivid in my mind. I love that big lug.
Katherine Herrold, Matthew Corbett's boss at the problem solving agency has a wonderful story here, in which she attempts to help a freed slave from having her land taken by a local cattle baron. In this tale, I learned of the game jingo...and as the cards were being drawn, I was on pins and needle, holding my breath. Clearly drawn good and evil here, but the fun was in the cards.
Matthew Corbett's story was my favorite, I think. A classic mystery in a stone manor, with servants and all kinds of gothic elements. Ballerini's voicing of the doctor, (because of course there's a doctor), all smug and full of himself had me cracking up.
Turns out there are actually 8 stories in this collection, with a little intro from Mr. McCammon himself, and read by Ballerini. The last tale belongs to Berry Grigsby. Aboard a ship, trying to evade rather grabby passengers, Berry finds her own mystery to solve. Plus it helps keep her mind off Matthew, and his quest for Professor Fell's mirror.
And now that I'm done with this, my mind turns to Matthew as well. With the next book being the last, (I believe), I'm both highly anticipating and dreading its arrival. While I'm excited to see Matthew's journey end, (hopefully with being wedded to Berry), I'm also worried that he won't make it back to her. And of course, I'll be unspeakably sad to see the end of this series.
Let me add this for those unfamiliar with this series. If you're not reading it because you think McCammon is a horror writer, please think again. While some of the books have had horrific aspects, these are historical mysteries. They're full of fun facts about life in America at that time, the politics, the popular games and plays, and it's all woven into intriguing mysteries. The characters feel real, and they are a truly fun bunch.
Edoardo Ballerini is so entertaining while bringing these words to life, I'm considering relistening to the entire series on audio to ready myself for that aforementioned last book.
My highest recommendation!
*I bought 3 versions of this book.*
October 31, 2025
“Zounds!” said Richmond. “I thought this kind of thing only happened in the worst of novels!”
“Sounds very interesting to me,” was his wife’s reply.
Werewolves, vampires, ghosts, zombies, serial killers and murder mysteries make this collection of stories a very good choice for a Halloween-themed party. This is Robert McCammon’s gift to the fans of the Matthew Corbett adventures who are impatient for the arrival of the last instalment of the series, a stopgap with short stories covering past incidents from the Herrald Agency files. It is also a good introduction to new readers who are on the fence about starting this historical account of the first private detective agency in New York, for which young Matthew works as a problem-solver
The Four Lamplighters
A showcase of the author’s sense of humour, the opening story is a more light hearted adventure than the usual dark tone of the series. It describes a music concert in the summer of 1702 from a visiting British boy band with big hairdos colourful wigs and a big-nosed drummer.
What was amazing to Matthew – and to the rest of the gallery, he was sure – was that the Lamplighters stood for their performance and actually moved back and forth upon the stage. It seemed also that they liked to shake their wigs, which brought forth further animation from the ladies, while the menfolk sullenly smoked their pipes as if to befog the chamber. The Lamplighters were all young men, in their early twenties the same as Matthew, and all might be called handsome but for the drummer Dover whose leviathan of a nose could be a hook for a tricorn hat ... or two, or three.
The four Beatles Lamplighter are on the run from London and from a jealous merchant who has allegedly hired killers to take revenge for Ringo Dover’s seduction of his young wife. The band’s impresario, after the New York concert is cut short by the police for indecency, hires Matthew and Greathouse as bodyguards when they take ship to their next gig in Philadelphia.
Hilarity ensues, not forgetting to get a few digs at early lawful interventions:
More than four lawyers and a town is ruined.
“What seems saucy today,” he said, “is mere pap tomorrow. This is the heart, the lungs, and the brain of music, sirs! Of performance! Of the arts themselves! The true artist must keep pushing forward, ever forward!
Night Ride
Matthew Corbett hears a knock on his door long after midnight. A tall stranger in a long black cape and tricorn hat offers good money for an urgent delivery of a sealed letter to a house outside Boston, at the very edge of settled lands.
Matthew must ride forth without delay with clear instruction to only deliver the letter at night and only in the hands of the sender’s brother.
Something smells fishy about the whole assignment, but young Matthew could never resist a challenge.
“Why in the world were you intending to travel down a cursed road to a dead man’s house?”
And what really made him go on was that his curiosity – that devil! – had awakened and taken flame.
The House at the Edge of the World
While Matthew is away on his night ride, partner Hudson Greathouse sets out on his own foray into the wilderness, to a small Dutch settlement where the locals complain about a swamp monster on a killing spree.
While Greathouse camps out in the swamp, trying to track down the beast, he is invited to dinner by a former Dutch lord, who has apparently built a house in the middle of the wild lands after the colony was sold to England. That spooky house might hold the source of the dread spreading out to both the Dutch settlers and to the Indian tribe living nearby.
The Scorpion’s Eye
We’ll take a turn now through the less savoury corners of puritan Boston where Minx Cutter, the latest recruit of the Herrald agency, is trying to hire some local thieves in a tavern of ill repute. She wants to break into the mansion of a powerful magnate and art collector and to recover a precious amulet for one of her clients.
The house is a veritable fortress, locked tight and reputed to have a hungry tiger prowling the grounds at night. Something even more horrible might be waiting inside.
Skeleton Crew
In a rural setting south of the big city, Katherinne Herrald, owner of the agency, is doing some pro-bono work for a freed slave who is threatened and swindled for protection money by a band of night riders dressed in white sheets, riding skeleton horses whose bones glow in the dark.
The woman and her neighbors are pushed to sell their farms for peanuts to a local investor with big plans about cattle farming on their land.
“You equate laziness with lack of your kind of money.”
“Well, it’s a fact of life, is it not?”
Katherinne confronts the local sheriff and challenges the rich landowner to a game of Jingo, the stakes being a decent buyout offer for the coloured settlers. The details of the popular tavern card game were very intriguing for me, but the real meat of the story is about the cost of progress and the ruthless methods used by the so-called job creators.
The Pale Pipe Smoker
We return to New York and to the company of Katherinne Herrald and Minx Cutter, who are asked to solve a tavern problem for one of their friends: there is a spooky client who drives off trade by his nightly visits.
The two women interview the visitor from England with the pale face, the pipe and the maimed hand. He turns out ot be an ex-constable from Whitechapel in London who lost his wife and some of his fingers to a serial killer nicknamed ‘The Snipper’ in the tabloids of the time ( Lord Puffery’s Pin )
This story is reminiscent of the quest to identity Jack the Ripper, offering a theory about somebody who believes he is above the law.
Wandering Mary
It’s time for Mathhew to get in the spotlight again, with a new job to investigate a ghost story in a huge mansion built near Boston, on the seaside. After the owner's wife accidentally dies in a storm on a dangerous cliff path, the man is haunted by her ghost who demands that he joins her in the afterlife. The man’s brothers and business partners hire Matthew to investigate the incidents and to eventually sign a certificate of insanity for the man who already tried twice to commit suicide at the behest of his departed wife.
“You don’t believe in ghosts, do you, sir?”
This is the longest and the best story in the collection, with a greater cast of characters and a much better plot than the episodic incidents described previously. It is a sort of locked door mystery since the ghost apparently continues her visits even after Matthew’s arrival. Our problem solver though suspects something more sinister and a human hand behind the events.
The problem-solver departed the room, feeling that he might rather be fighting a one-eyed bear again rather than becoming entangled in the world of spirits, insanity ... or cunning trickery, whatever might be the truth. At least with a bear, one knows where the teeth were.
With more time spent setting up the scene and the local colour, we are treated to more of the author’s solid research and irreverent flashes of humour, such as the rooms being provided with toiletries in the form of ... small, dried corncobs used for cleaning up. and the gentry turning up their noses at the local sea food :
“Those things are the cockroaches of the sea! You couldn’t pay a starving man in Boston to eat one! And here when they come up in the nets, the rustics think of them as a delicacy!”
Figures from Russian folklore also have cameo appearances in this surprisingly dark take on human nature ( I determined that the spirit world is not as cruel as the world of the living ):
“Baba Yaga rides on the wind and can turn herself into an owl, a raven, and a wild dog.”
Incident on the Lady Barbara
Since I called the collection a gift for the fans of the series, McCammon is generously including an eight story after the initial seven shades of evil. Chronologically, it takes place in February 1704, after the London misadventures of Matthew and friends in the pursuit of evil mastermind Professor Fell. Berry Grigsby is rescued and sent back alone to New York while Matthew follows Fell to Italy, in search of even greater perils.
The slow winter crossing of the Atlantic is made worse for Berry by the inappropriate attentions of another passenger, a gem merchant who sees himself as a ladykiller. Yet, when the man disappears in suspicious circumstances at night on a frozen deck, Berry Grigsby demonstrates that some of Matthew’s problem solving acumen has rubbed off on her.
>>><<<>>><<<
If this is your first taste for the Corbett historical horror series of novels, I hope you will be tempted to pick up Speaks the Nightbird, the first and still my favorite Matthew Corbett adventure. I concur with the remarks of an aspiring lady writer who sails with Berry on the ‘Lady Barbara’:
“I think in the future much praise should go to the mystery writer, for lighting the candles of imagination and intrigue in a world that can sometimes seem so dreadfully dark.”
“Sounds very interesting to me,” was his wife’s reply.
Werewolves, vampires, ghosts, zombies, serial killers and murder mysteries make this collection of stories a very good choice for a Halloween-themed party. This is Robert McCammon’s gift to the fans of the Matthew Corbett adventures who are impatient for the arrival of the last instalment of the series, a stopgap with short stories covering past incidents from the Herrald Agency files. It is also a good introduction to new readers who are on the fence about starting this historical account of the first private detective agency in New York, for which young Matthew works as a problem-solver
The Four Lamplighters
A showcase of the author’s sense of humour, the opening story is a more light hearted adventure than the usual dark tone of the series. It describes a music concert in the summer of 1702 from a visiting British boy band with big
What was amazing to Matthew – and to the rest of the gallery, he was sure – was that the Lamplighters stood for their performance and actually moved back and forth upon the stage. It seemed also that they liked to shake their wigs, which brought forth further animation from the ladies, while the menfolk sullenly smoked their pipes as if to befog the chamber. The Lamplighters were all young men, in their early twenties the same as Matthew, and all might be called handsome but for the drummer Dover whose leviathan of a nose could be a hook for a tricorn hat ... or two, or three.
The four
Hilarity ensues, not forgetting to get a few digs at early lawful interventions:
More than four lawyers and a town is ruined.
“What seems saucy today,” he said, “is mere pap tomorrow. This is the heart, the lungs, and the brain of music, sirs! Of performance! Of the arts themselves! The true artist must keep pushing forward, ever forward!
Night Ride
Matthew Corbett hears a knock on his door long after midnight. A tall stranger in a long black cape and tricorn hat offers good money for an urgent delivery of a sealed letter to a house outside Boston, at the very edge of settled lands.
Matthew must ride forth without delay with clear instruction to only deliver the letter at night and only in the hands of the sender’s brother.
Something smells fishy about the whole assignment, but young Matthew could never resist a challenge.
“Why in the world were you intending to travel down a cursed road to a dead man’s house?”
And what really made him go on was that his curiosity – that devil! – had awakened and taken flame.
The House at the Edge of the World
While Matthew is away on his night ride, partner Hudson Greathouse sets out on his own foray into the wilderness, to a small Dutch settlement where the locals complain about a swamp monster on a killing spree.
While Greathouse camps out in the swamp, trying to track down the beast, he is invited to dinner by a former Dutch lord, who has apparently built a house in the middle of the wild lands after the colony was sold to England. That spooky house might hold the source of the dread spreading out to both the Dutch settlers and to the Indian tribe living nearby.
The Scorpion’s Eye
We’ll take a turn now through the less savoury corners of puritan Boston where Minx Cutter, the latest recruit of the Herrald agency, is trying to hire some local thieves in a tavern of ill repute. She wants to break into the mansion of a powerful magnate and art collector and to recover a precious amulet for one of her clients.
The house is a veritable fortress, locked tight and reputed to have a hungry tiger prowling the grounds at night. Something even more horrible might be waiting inside.
Skeleton Crew
In a rural setting south of the big city, Katherinne Herrald, owner of the agency, is doing some pro-bono work for a freed slave who is threatened and swindled for protection money by a band of night riders dressed in white sheets, riding skeleton horses whose bones glow in the dark.
The woman and her neighbors are pushed to sell their farms for peanuts to a local investor with big plans about cattle farming on their land.
“You equate laziness with lack of your kind of money.”
“Well, it’s a fact of life, is it not?”
Katherinne confronts the local sheriff and challenges the rich landowner to a game of Jingo, the stakes being a decent buyout offer for the coloured settlers. The details of the popular tavern card game were very intriguing for me, but the real meat of the story is about the cost of progress and the ruthless methods used by the so-called job creators.
The Pale Pipe Smoker
We return to New York and to the company of Katherinne Herrald and Minx Cutter, who are asked to solve a tavern problem for one of their friends: there is a spooky client who drives off trade by his nightly visits.
The two women interview the visitor from England with the pale face, the pipe and the maimed hand. He turns out ot be an ex-constable from Whitechapel in London who lost his wife and some of his fingers to a serial killer nicknamed ‘The Snipper’ in the tabloids of the time ( Lord Puffery’s Pin )
This story is reminiscent of the quest to identity Jack the Ripper, offering a theory about somebody who believes he is above the law.
Wandering Mary
It’s time for Mathhew to get in the spotlight again, with a new job to investigate a ghost story in a huge mansion built near Boston, on the seaside. After the owner's wife accidentally dies in a storm on a dangerous cliff path, the man is haunted by her ghost who demands that he joins her in the afterlife. The man’s brothers and business partners hire Matthew to investigate the incidents and to eventually sign a certificate of insanity for the man who already tried twice to commit suicide at the behest of his departed wife.
“You don’t believe in ghosts, do you, sir?”
This is the longest and the best story in the collection, with a greater cast of characters and a much better plot than the episodic incidents described previously. It is a sort of locked door mystery since the ghost apparently continues her visits even after Matthew’s arrival. Our problem solver though suspects something more sinister and a human hand behind the events.
The problem-solver departed the room, feeling that he might rather be fighting a one-eyed bear again rather than becoming entangled in the world of spirits, insanity ... or cunning trickery, whatever might be the truth. At least with a bear, one knows where the teeth were.
With more time spent setting up the scene and the local colour, we are treated to more of the author’s solid research and irreverent flashes of humour, such as the rooms being provided with toiletries in the form of ... small, dried corncobs used for cleaning up. and the gentry turning up their noses at the local sea food :
“Those things are the cockroaches of the sea! You couldn’t pay a starving man in Boston to eat one! And here when they come up in the nets, the rustics think of them as a delicacy!”
Figures from Russian folklore also have cameo appearances in this surprisingly dark take on human nature ( I determined that the spirit world is not as cruel as the world of the living ):
“Baba Yaga rides on the wind and can turn herself into an owl, a raven, and a wild dog.”
Incident on the Lady Barbara
Since I called the collection a gift for the fans of the series, McCammon is generously including an eight story after the initial seven shades of evil. Chronologically, it takes place in February 1704, after the London misadventures of Matthew and friends in the pursuit of evil mastermind Professor Fell. Berry Grigsby is rescued and sent back alone to New York while Matthew follows Fell to Italy, in search of even greater perils.
The slow winter crossing of the Atlantic is made worse for Berry by the inappropriate attentions of another passenger, a gem merchant who sees himself as a ladykiller. Yet, when the man disappears in suspicious circumstances at night on a frozen deck, Berry Grigsby demonstrates that some of Matthew’s problem solving acumen has rubbed off on her.
>>><<<>>><<<
If this is your first taste for the Corbett historical horror series of novels, I hope you will be tempted to pick up Speaks the Nightbird, the first and still my favorite Matthew Corbett adventure. I concur with the remarks of an aspiring lady writer who sails with Berry on the ‘Lady Barbara’:
“I think in the future much praise should go to the mystery writer, for lighting the candles of imagination and intrigue in a world that can sometimes seem so dreadfully dark.”
November 17, 2023
An excellent collection of stories and all of equally good quality. So good to be back in Matthew Corbett’s world!
December 18, 2024
Great collection in the Matthew Corbett series!
I’m glad I read this collection before I tackle the last and final book called Leviathan in the series. Wah!!
Even though this book is called Seven Shades of Evil, Robert McCammon decided to throw in an extra short story in because he’s a rebel and loves his readers!
Favorites:
Wandering Mary - 5 stars
**This was my favorite of all the stories and features our beloved Matthew Corbett.**
The House at the Edge of the World - 5 stars
**Yeah, this one was also great! Featuring the Great One aka Hudson Greathouse.**
Skeleton Crew - 4/4.5 stars
**Featuring Katherine Herrald.**
The Pale Pipe Smoker - 4 stars
**Featuring Katherine Herrald & Minx Cutter.**
Night Ride - 4 stars
**Featuring Matthew Corbett.**
Not a favorite but very good!
The Scorpion’s Eye - 3.5/4 stars
**Featuring Minx Cutter.**
The Four Lamplighters - 3 stars
**Featuring Matthew Corbett & Hudson Greathouse.**
Incident on the Lady Barbara - 3 stars
**Featuring Berry Grigsby.**
I’ve read in reviews that the Matthew Corbett series has been called “The Early American James Bond” and I can see the resemblance.
It’s a mix of thriller, historical fiction and horror. This is such a great series, go check it out!
I’m glad I read this collection before I tackle the last and final book called Leviathan in the series. Wah!!
Even though this book is called Seven Shades of Evil, Robert McCammon decided to throw in an extra short story in because he’s a rebel and loves his readers!
Favorites:
Wandering Mary - 5 stars
**This was my favorite of all the stories and features our beloved Matthew Corbett.**
The House at the Edge of the World - 5 stars
**Yeah, this one was also great! Featuring the Great One aka Hudson Greathouse.**
Skeleton Crew - 4/4.5 stars
**Featuring Katherine Herrald.**
The Pale Pipe Smoker - 4 stars
**Featuring Katherine Herrald & Minx Cutter.**
Night Ride - 4 stars
**Featuring Matthew Corbett.**
Not a favorite but very good!
The Scorpion’s Eye - 3.5/4 stars
**Featuring Minx Cutter.**
The Four Lamplighters - 3 stars
**Featuring Matthew Corbett & Hudson Greathouse.**
Incident on the Lady Barbara - 3 stars
**Featuring Berry Grigsby.**
I’ve read in reviews that the Matthew Corbett series has been called “The Early American James Bond” and I can see the resemblance.
It’s a mix of thriller, historical fiction and horror. This is such a great series, go check it out!
February 15, 2024
This is a great series!
December 18, 2023
Fantastic Collection
I'm always a little reluctant to give any short story collection 5 stars because it's difficult to get the same kind of 5 star experience without the ability to develop the story and characters the way an author can in a novel. However, this collection earned it. If you're a Matthew Corbett fan this is a must read. McCammon does a wonderful job of using the stories to flesh out the characters in his world other than Matthew and really adds depth to the series. Also, the plotting of each story is fantastic. They seem to be a bit longer than most short stories so maybe that's why, but I never got that feeling in any of them that it was ending just as things were getting good. Also, he did a wonderful job of having some really good mysteries that will keep you guessing until the end as well as bringing in some supernatural elements for those of us who like a little horror now and then. And as always the writing and characters are top notch as you would expect from a McCammon book. This gets a big recommend from me.
I'm always a little reluctant to give any short story collection 5 stars because it's difficult to get the same kind of 5 star experience without the ability to develop the story and characters the way an author can in a novel. However, this collection earned it. If you're a Matthew Corbett fan this is a must read. McCammon does a wonderful job of using the stories to flesh out the characters in his world other than Matthew and really adds depth to the series. Also, the plotting of each story is fantastic. They seem to be a bit longer than most short stories so maybe that's why, but I never got that feeling in any of them that it was ending just as things were getting good. Also, he did a wonderful job of having some really good mysteries that will keep you guessing until the end as well as bringing in some supernatural elements for those of us who like a little horror now and then. And as always the writing and characters are top notch as you would expect from a McCammon book. This gets a big recommend from me.
September 17, 2024
These 8 short stories (yes 8, not 7) were an absolute treat to read while we wait for the next (and last?) book in the main Matthew Corbett series. Stories that involve the problem solvers of the Herrald Agency, Matthew Corbett, Hudson Greathouse but also Minx Cutter and Katherine Herrald.
These stories are set in the world of Matthew Corbett, Colonial America around 1702, and these are the smaller cases that the Herrald Agency had to deal with during Matthew and Hudson's time in New York and after that.
Some thoughts:
1. The Four Lamplighters
Very funny story
2. Night Ride
Good story, I love the way McCammon keeps the suspense going, hinting at things but never really revealing what it is.
3.The House at the Edge of the World
Well done, good suspense, starring Hudson Greathouse.
4. The Scorpion's Eye
Fun story, features Minx Cutter
5. Skeleton Crew
Features Katherine Herrald
6. The Pale Pipesmoker
Was ok
7. Wandering Mary
Simply brilliant, the longest story of the bunch, loved it.
8. Incident on the Lady Barbara
Bonus story was ok
Wandering Mary was easily my favorite story, and the main reason I am giving this book five stars. I can read stories set in this world forever, the setting is so nice, and McCammon is just an incredible writer, nobody paints a picture with words as well as he does in my opinion.
These stories are set in the world of Matthew Corbett, Colonial America around 1702, and these are the smaller cases that the Herrald Agency had to deal with during Matthew and Hudson's time in New York and after that.
Some thoughts:
1. The Four Lamplighters
Very funny story
2. Night Ride
Good story, I love the way McCammon keeps the suspense going, hinting at things but never really revealing what it is.
3.The House at the Edge of the World
Well done, good suspense, starring Hudson Greathouse.
4. The Scorpion's Eye
Fun story, features Minx Cutter
5. Skeleton Crew
Features Katherine Herrald
6. The Pale Pipesmoker
Was ok
7. Wandering Mary
Simply brilliant, the longest story of the bunch, loved it.
8. Incident on the Lady Barbara
Bonus story was ok
Wandering Mary was easily my favorite story, and the main reason I am giving this book five stars. I can read stories set in this world forever, the setting is so nice, and McCammon is just an incredible writer, nobody paints a picture with words as well as he does in my opinion.
January 4, 2025
I bought the hardcover so I got eight shades of evil.
All your favorite characters are here, plus Minx Cutter who I barely even care about. Highlights are the Hudson Greathouse story and the Katharine Harrald story, and of course the Wandering Mary novella starring Corbett.
The shortest stories here are still +/- 40 pages, so they have time to breathe. I don’t always love the short format, but I was very happy to get into the minds of the supporting cast of the Corbett series.
Most tales take place earlier in the timeline of this series. As you know, the last several books take place nearly back-to-back, so out of necessity these are set a few years back.
Yes, there’s horror here so maybe it’s not a good pick for grandma and her heart medicine.
All your favorite characters are here, plus Minx Cutter who I barely even care about. Highlights are the Hudson Greathouse story and the Katharine Harrald story, and of course the Wandering Mary novella starring Corbett.
The shortest stories here are still +/- 40 pages, so they have time to breathe. I don’t always love the short format, but I was very happy to get into the minds of the supporting cast of the Corbett series.
Most tales take place earlier in the timeline of this series. As you know, the last several books take place nearly back-to-back, so out of necessity these are set a few years back.
Yes, there’s horror here so maybe it’s not a good pick for grandma and her heart medicine.
November 20, 2023
While at first I was disappointed that this wasn't the continuation of Matthew Corbett's tale, it is instead 1 merely good story and 7 excellent stories involving Corbett, Greathouse, Berry, Katherine Herrold and Minx Cutter.
I eagerly await the next installment.
I eagerly await the next installment.
January 21, 2024
5 stars! I enjoyed this book of stories as much as the novels. Below is how I would rate each story, but regardless, it’s a solid 5 stars overall for me.
The Four Lamplighters - 4 stars
Night Ride - 5 stars
The House at the Edge of the World - 5 stars
The Scorpion’s Eye - 4.5 stars
Skeleton Crew - 3.5 stars
The Pale Pipe Smoker - 3.5 stars
Wandering Mary - 5 stars
Incident on the Lady Barbara - 5 stars
The Four Lamplighters - 4 stars
Night Ride - 5 stars
The House at the Edge of the World - 5 stars
The Scorpion’s Eye - 4.5 stars
Skeleton Crew - 3.5 stars
The Pale Pipe Smoker - 3.5 stars
Wandering Mary - 5 stars
Incident on the Lady Barbara - 5 stars
January 13, 2024
Loved that we get to explore some other characters other than Matthew, but I'm not a lover of short stories.
June 21, 2025
Took me awhile to finish this one.. I just don’t really enjoy anthologies. It wasn’t bad, I just wanted to keep coasting into the last book with one cohesive story I suppose. It did tie some things together which I appreciated! Signed copy.
February 21, 2024
These stories were wonderful. I am not a fan of short stories but these were the exception. It would be necessary to read the prior 8 Matthew Corbett books to fully appreciate these stories. But I loved each and every one.
June 19, 2024
What a pleasure it was to become immersed in the world of Matthew Corbett again. These were excellent tales with more depth than I expected from a collection of short stories. They are made up of chapters so they're more like novellas. My favorite was "Wandering Mary" but they were all good reading. We have tales told from Corbett's point of view but also tales from the POVs of Hudson Greathouse, Minx Cutter, Katherine Herrald and Berry Grigsby. The tales are a mixed timeline, some taking place earlier in the series before different events occurred and some later. And there are actually 8 tales-7 shades of evil plus a bonus. The 8th tale takes place on the ship Berry boarded in the last book of the series so far. I truly hope that means there will be at least another novel in this series if not many more.
December 19, 2023
Great collection of well plotted and entertaining short stories with brilliant writing. McCammon is my guy!! None are absolutely essential to the overall plot of the series but we do get some good moments with characters we don't regularly see in the main series as well as go a little bit outside the lines and have some fun with different types of stories.
February 2, 2025
Winding down to the end of Matthew Corbett’s journey, I felt that it was time to read this penultimate book in his series, a compilation of short stories written by McCammon, all highlighting different characters in Matthew’s world and taking place in between the novels in the series.
Each story is a mystery of a sort, with a challenge for our resident problem-solvers, ranging from the suspenseful (like in the great “The House at the Edge of the World” with Hudson Greathouse) to the lighthearted (“The Four Lamplighters” with Corbett and Greathouse), to the gothic (”Wandering Mary,” the longest story here), and even to ones that hint at things that are truly supernatural (like Corbett’s chilling adventure in ”Night Ride” and ”The Scorpion’s Eye” (featuring Minx Cutter)
None of the stories here hit the heights of the best books in the Corbett series, but the collection works as a good palette-cleanser after the disappointing The King of Shadows and in preparation for the final book in Matthew’s adventure.
Each story is a mystery of a sort, with a challenge for our resident problem-solvers, ranging from the suspenseful (like in the great “The House at the Edge of the World” with Hudson Greathouse) to the lighthearted (“The Four Lamplighters” with Corbett and Greathouse), to the gothic (”Wandering Mary,” the longest story here), and even to ones that hint at things that are truly supernatural (like Corbett’s chilling adventure in ”Night Ride” and ”The Scorpion’s Eye” (featuring Minx Cutter)
None of the stories here hit the heights of the best books in the Corbett series, but the collection works as a good palette-cleanser after the disappointing The King of Shadows and in preparation for the final book in Matthew’s adventure.
February 25, 2024
Like all of the Corbett novels, I loved this. My reading of the novels is spread out over time, so I struggle at times to place specific incidents into specific novels, so I wish it was easier to figure out when each story takes place in relation to the novels. Even with the month and year given for each story, I’ve struggled with this.
For the most part each story focuses on one or two characters, giving some much appreciated insight into some of the support characters. My favorites are “The Scorpion’s Eye,” “Skeleton Crew,” “The Pale Pipe Smoker,” and “The Incident on the Lady Barbara” because they focus on the women, who are frequently background characters that wouldn’t pass the Bechdel Test if the novels were movies.
“Wandering Mary” is a solo Matthew story. It takes him to a town just outside of Boston to act as an outside observer in the determination of the sanity for a patriarch who is seeing his dead wife. This one felt like a real mystery, and it is the longest of all of the stories, more of a novella than a short story, IMHO.
I also loved the supernatural elements of “Night Ride.” I wonder if I reread “Wolf’s Hour” and the other connected novels if I’d find a connection.
These details are taken from the website MatthewCorbettsWorld.com:
“The Four Lamplighters”: Matthew and Hudson sign on as bodyguards to a band of traveling musicians and wind up with mud on their faces.
“Night Ride”: Matthew finds himself in the middle of an age-old war.
“‘The House At The Edge Of The World”: Hudson learns that a cyclops is not only a creature of mythology.
“The Scorpion’s Eye”: Minx is on the hunt for a stolen jewel with a fantastic and deadly power.
“The Pale Pipesmoker”: Katherine and Minx come to the aid of a man who’s been challenged to a duel by a cunning killer.
“Skeleton Crew”: Katherine helps an ex-slave being tormented by a band of marauding skeletons on horseback.
“Wandering Mary:: A ghost trying to lure a wealthy man to his death takes Matthew to a haunted castle.
“Incident On The Lady Barbara”: A disappearance at sea puts Berry in the position of being a problem-solver.”
For the most part each story focuses on one or two characters, giving some much appreciated insight into some of the support characters. My favorites are “The Scorpion’s Eye,” “Skeleton Crew,” “The Pale Pipe Smoker,” and “The Incident on the Lady Barbara” because they focus on the women, who are frequently background characters that wouldn’t pass the Bechdel Test if the novels were movies.
“Wandering Mary” is a solo Matthew story. It takes him to a town just outside of Boston to act as an outside observer in the determination of the sanity for a patriarch who is seeing his dead wife. This one felt like a real mystery, and it is the longest of all of the stories, more of a novella than a short story, IMHO.
I also loved the supernatural elements of “Night Ride.” I wonder if I reread “Wolf’s Hour” and the other connected novels if I’d find a connection.
These details are taken from the website MatthewCorbettsWorld.com:
“The Four Lamplighters”: Matthew and Hudson sign on as bodyguards to a band of traveling musicians and wind up with mud on their faces.
“Night Ride”: Matthew finds himself in the middle of an age-old war.
“‘The House At The Edge Of The World”: Hudson learns that a cyclops is not only a creature of mythology.
“The Scorpion’s Eye”: Minx is on the hunt for a stolen jewel with a fantastic and deadly power.
“The Pale Pipesmoker”: Katherine and Minx come to the aid of a man who’s been challenged to a duel by a cunning killer.
“Skeleton Crew”: Katherine helps an ex-slave being tormented by a band of marauding skeletons on horseback.
“Wandering Mary:: A ghost trying to lure a wealthy man to his death takes Matthew to a haunted castle.
“Incident On The Lady Barbara”: A disappearance at sea puts Berry in the position of being a problem-solver.”
January 16, 2024
Worthy Addition to the Matthew Corbett series
As we await the conclusion of the Matthew Corbett series, this collection of short stories fleshes out some of our other favorite characters. There is plenty of mystery to be found with a simple but beautiful styled prose we've come to expect from the series. I enjoyed the chance to see Corbett(and others) solve an array of problems with daring, suspense, action, and even humor. This is a must read for any fans of the series.
As we await the conclusion of the Matthew Corbett series, this collection of short stories fleshes out some of our other favorite characters. There is plenty of mystery to be found with a simple but beautiful styled prose we've come to expect from the series. I enjoyed the chance to see Corbett(and others) solve an array of problems with daring, suspense, action, and even humor. This is a must read for any fans of the series.
May 22, 2024
Now I'm caught up, just having finished the latest installment in Rob McCammon's 'Matthew Corbett' historical mysteries. I also just recently completed a complete hardcover set of the books when I finally came across a trade copy of River of Souls for a decent price. The first two books were hard to find in HC. Anyway, this collection of eight tales is just as good as all the previous colonial adventures of Matthew Corbett and is highly recommended. But if you are new to this I suggest you start with Speaks the Nightbird.
February 5, 2024
By far the best series I’ve ever read and this 9th installment was masterful weaving of several short stories. Best writer I’ve ever read.
August 15, 2024
So sad to be near the end of this series!
February 20, 2024
I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection, but by far my favorite was Wandering Mary. I think this was worth reading for that story alone.
March 7, 2024
In fact, in Robert Mccamon's new book from Matthew Corbett's series of seven, eight short stories are the perfect eight-card gift for beautiful ladies who appreciate bright adventure prose in the spirit of R.L. Stevenson, but do not like to get bogged down in long reading. Short stories and novellas with autonomous plots and changing characters, who are united solely by belonging to the Bureau of Solvers, I will tell you a little about each story of the "Seven Shades of Evil".
in detail, who is interested - below
Somehow, I'm not the biggest fan of the writer, I only love "The Call of the Night Bird", but I know that the army of his Russian fans is extensive and - do not miss the ninth book.
Семь друзей Мэтью Корбетта
Friends call me a problem solver.
Друзья зовут меня Решателем проблем.
Kaylee Federmann "Take Mine Too"
На самом деле, в новой книге Роберта Маккамона из серии Мэтью Корбетта на семь, а восемь новелл - идеальный восьмимартовский подарок для прекрасных дам, которые ценят яркую приключенческую прозу в духе Р.Л.Стивенсона, но не любят увязать в долгом чтении. Рассказы и повести с автономными сюжетами и меняющимися героями, которых объединяет единственно принадлежность к Бюро Решателей Расскажу немного о каждой истории "Семи оттенков зла".
"Четыре Фонарщика" - первая и самая милая новелла. Ее герои - четверка ливерпульских музыкантов, прибывающих в Америку для гастрольного тура. История Битлов, перенесенная на два с половиной века назад, выглядит откровенным анахронизмом, но поклонники серии Мэтью Корбетта знают, что его мир - альтернативная нашей Вселенная. За четверкой музыкантов и их продюсером следуют два подозрительных типа, встревоженный импресарио нанимает Мэтью и его напарника, человека-скалу Хадсона Грейтхауза для охраны. Но никто не мог бы предсказать, как события станут развиваться дальше.
"Дом на краю мира". Грейтхауза нанимают жители маленького городка, обеспокоенные появлением в окрестностях циклопического монстра, которого видела девочка, чудом оставшаяся живой после встречи. Огромный Хадсон из тех, кто не боится ни бога, ни черта, он проводит ночь вблизи от места. где видели чудовище, общается с индейцами соседнего племени и прибившимся к ним миссионером, но никто не дает вразумительного ответа на вопросы о монстре, хотя что таковой имеется - сомнений нет. А на следующий день владелец земель, на которых поставил палатку Решатель, прежде пытавшийся убедить его, что все это суеверные бредни, приглашает Грейтхауза на ужин. И вот тут-то начинается самое интересное.
"Ночная поездка". К Мэтью обращается клиент с просьбой доставить письмо его брату. Путешествие займет трое суток, но платит этот человек щедро, так почему бы нет. Условие - конверт нужно передать непременно ночью, а нужно сказать, приближается полнолуние. На самом деле, если это кого и настораживает, то лишь нас, читателей, привыкших к тому, что вокруг Корбетта постоянно клубится какая-нибудь потусторонь. Сам Мэтью спокоен и не ждет подвоха. До того, как трактирщик рассказывает ему о страшных волках, которые убили его сына, разбросав клочки по закоулочкам и о том, что в доме, куда направил его таинственный посетитель, вовсе никто не живет, и дорога туда проклята. Тут наш герой насторожился, но отступать он не привык. А дальше: спасение утопающих - дело рук самих утопающих.
"Глаз Скорпиона". Это дело ведет Минк Каттер, сотрудница Агентства, и заключается оно в необходимости отыскать невероятной ценности брошь с лунным камнем в окружении бриллиантов, изумрудов и сапфиров. Как у всякого артефакта такой ценности у брошки есть собственное имя "Глаз Скорпиона", однако номинальная стоимость не главное в ней, есть некие дополнительные свойства, которые делают ее бесценной в умелых руках. Хотя о подводных камнях забывать тоже не стоит.
"Костяная банда". Это дело ведет Кэтрин Герральд, вдова основателя Агентства Роджера Герральда. К Решателям обращается бывшая рабыня Мириам Лэмб с просьбой помочь справиться с рэкетирами. Ныне вдова, она еще при жизни мужа разбила небольшой яблоневый сад и теперь торгует яблоками, джемом, сидром. Но с некоторых пор бандиты в черном с нарисованными поверх трико костями так, чтобы это делало их подобием оживших скелетов, повадились являться по ночам и требовать денег - якобы арендной платы за самозахваченную землю. Разумеется, все окажется сложнее, чем представлялось. Но шляпки миссус доставляют много удовольствия.
"Бледный курильщик". Совместное дело Минкс и Кэтрин, хотя главная тут все же прибандиченная оторва Минкс. К Решателем обращается хозяйка таверны, куда с некоторых пор начал ходить гость, внушающий всем смутный ужас, с просьбой отвадить его. Что ж, операция окажется куда более рискованной и захватывающей, чем представлялась в начале, а Джек-Потрошитель, который в этой параллельной реальности зовется Билли-Резаком, получит по заслугам.
"Блуждающая Мэри". Страшно запутанная и откровенно затянутая повесть, в которую Маккаммон умудрился натолкать вообще всех фабульных приемов готического романа. Уединенный мрачный особняк, смерть жены владельца, упавшей со скалы (непременно надо, чтобы со скал), с такой же гибелью его матери, после чего отец покончил с собой - в анамнезе. Явление призрака, который призывает горячо любимого супруга присоединиться. Заброшенная лачуга под охраной жуткого пса и с новеньким замком на двери. Огромная тетка, похожая на Бабу-Ягу, которая здесь появляется не случайно, а потому, что русская невеста хозяйского брата Зоя рассказывает Мэтью эту стррашную легенду, которую слышала от своего деда, а тот - от своего деда и так далее, до времен Адама. Ах да, это я еще не сказала о подверженной приступам лунатизма жене другого хозяйского брата и о пропавшей девушке с амбициями художницы, которая сбежала в Бостон. В общем, тот еще кринж (простите поклонники Маккаммона).
"Случай на судне "Леди Барбара"" Прелестная Бретт Григсби, невеста Мэтью, во время морского путешествия в Нью-Йорк подвергается назойливому вниманию, граничащему с прямым домогательством, со стороны одного из пассажиров - торговца ювелирными изделиями.Сей ловелас, судя по всему, имеет в арсенале множество приемов обольщения, не останавливаясь в случае сопротивления объекта и перед насилием. Таким жеребцам неплохо бы иметь в виду, что однажды можно серьезно нарваться. Нет-нет, не Бретт станет орудием возмездия. но определенную роль катализатора ее присутствие на судне сыграет.
Вот как-то так, я не самая большая поклонница писателя, люблю у него только "Зов ночной птицы", но знаю, что армия его русскоязычных фанатов обширна и - не пропустите девятой книги.
in detail, who is interested - below
Somehow, I'm not the biggest fan of the writer, I only love "The Call of the Night Bird", but I know that the army of his Russian fans is extensive and - do not miss the ninth book.
Семь друзей Мэтью Корбетта
Friends call me a problem solver.
Друзья зовут меня Решателем проблем.
Kaylee Federmann "Take Mine Too"
На самом деле, в новой книге Роберта Маккамона из серии Мэтью Корбетта на семь, а восемь новелл - идеальный восьмимартовский подарок для прекрасных дам, которые ценят яркую приключенческую прозу в духе Р.Л.Стивенсона, но не любят увязать в долгом чтении. Рассказы и повести с автономными сюжетами и меняющимися героями, которых объединяет единственно принадлежность к Бюро Решателей Расскажу немного о каждой истории "Семи оттенков зла".
"Четыре Фонарщика" - первая и самая милая новелла. Ее герои - четверка ливерпульских музыкантов, прибывающих в Америку для гастрольного тура. История Битлов, перенесенная на два с половиной века назад, выглядит откровенным анахронизмом, но поклонники серии Мэтью Корбетта знают, что его мир - альтернативная нашей Вселенная. За четверкой музыкантов и их продюсером следуют два подозрительных типа, встревоженный импресарио нанимает Мэтью и его напарника, человека-скалу Хадсона Грейтхауза для охраны. Но никто не мог бы предсказать, как события станут развиваться дальше.
"Дом на краю мира". Грейтхауза нанимают жители маленького городка, обеспокоенные появлением в окрестностях циклопического монстра, которого видела девочка, чудом оставшаяся живой после встречи. Огромный Хадсон из тех, кто не боится ни бога, ни черта, он проводит ночь вблизи от места. где видели чудовище, общается с индейцами соседнего племени и прибившимся к ним миссионером, но никто не дает вразумительного ответа на вопросы о монстре, хотя что таковой имеется - сомнений нет. А на следующий день владелец земель, на которых поставил палатку Решатель, прежде пытавшийся убедить его, что все это суеверные бредни, приглашает Грейтхауза на ужин. И вот тут-то начинается самое интересное.
"Ночная поездка". К Мэтью обращается клиент с просьбой доставить письмо его брату. Путешествие займет трое суток, но платит этот человек щедро, так почему бы нет. Условие - конверт нужно передать непременно ночью, а нужно сказать, приближается полнолуние. На самом деле, если это кого и настораживает, то лишь нас, читателей, привыкших к тому, что вокруг Корбетта постоянно клубится какая-нибудь потусторонь. Сам Мэтью спокоен и не ждет подвоха. До того, как трактирщик рассказывает ему о страшных волках, которые убили его сына, разбросав клочки по закоулочкам и о том, что в доме, куда направил его таинственный посетитель, вовсе никто не живет, и дорога туда проклята. Тут наш герой насторожился, но отступать он не привык. А дальше: спасение утопающих - дело рук самих утопающих.
"Глаз Скорпиона". Это дело ведет Минк Каттер, сотрудница Агентства, и заключается оно в необходимости отыскать невероятной ценности брошь с лунным камнем в окружении бриллиантов, изумрудов и сапфиров. Как у всякого артефакта такой ценности у брошки есть собственное имя "Глаз Скорпиона", однако номинальная стоимость не главное в ней, есть некие дополнительные свойства, которые делают ее бесценной в умелых руках. Хотя о подводных камнях забывать тоже не стоит.
"Костяная банда". Это дело ведет Кэтрин Герральд, вдова основателя Агентства Роджера Герральда. К Решателям обращается бывшая рабыня Мириам Лэмб с просьбой помочь справиться с рэкетирами. Ныне вдова, она еще при жизни мужа разбила небольшой яблоневый сад и теперь торгует яблоками, джемом, сидром. Но с некоторых пор бандиты в черном с нарисованными поверх трико костями так, чтобы это делало их подобием оживших скелетов, повадились являться по ночам и требовать денег - якобы арендной платы за самозахваченную землю. Разумеется, все окажется сложнее, чем представлялось. Но шляпки миссус доставляют много удовольствия.
"Бледный курильщик". Совместное дело Минкс и Кэтрин, хотя главная тут все же прибандиченная оторва Минкс. К Решателем обращается хозяйка таверны, куда с некоторых пор начал ходить гость, внушающий всем смутный ужас, с просьбой отвадить его. Что ж, операция окажется куда более рискованной и захватывающей, чем представлялась в начале, а Джек-Потрошитель, который в этой параллельной реальности зовется Билли-Резаком, получит по заслугам.
"Блуждающая Мэри". Страшно запутанная и откровенно затянутая повесть, в которую Маккаммон умудрился натолкать вообще всех фабульных приемов готического романа. Уединенный мрачный особняк, смерть жены владельца, упавшей со скалы (непременно надо, чтобы со скал), с такой же гибелью его матери, после чего отец покончил с собой - в анамнезе. Явление призрака, который призывает горячо любимого супруга присоединиться. Заброшенная лачуга под охраной жуткого пса и с новеньким замком на двери. Огромная тетка, похожая на Бабу-Ягу, которая здесь появляется не случайно, а потому, что русская невеста хозяйского брата Зоя рассказывает Мэтью эту стррашную легенду, которую слышала от своего деда, а тот - от своего деда и так далее, до времен Адама. Ах да, это я еще не сказала о подверженной приступам лунатизма жене другого хозяйского брата и о пропавшей девушке с амбициями художницы, которая сбежала в Бостон. В общем, тот еще кринж (простите поклонники Маккаммона).
"Случай на судне "Леди Барбара"" Прелестная Бретт Григсби, невеста Мэтью, во время морского путешествия в Нью-Йорк подвергается назойливому вниманию, граничащему с прямым домогательством, со стороны одного из пассажиров - торговца ювелирными изделиями.Сей ловелас, судя по всему, имеет в арсенале множество приемов обольщения, не останавливаясь в случае сопротивления объекта и перед насилием. Таким жеребцам неплохо бы иметь в виду, что однажды можно серьезно нарваться. Нет-нет, не Бретт станет орудием возмездия. но определенную роль катализатора ее присутствие на судне сыграет.
Вот как-то так, я не самая большая поклонница писателя, люблю у него только "Зов ночной птицы", но знаю, что армия его русскоязычных фанатов обширна и - не пропустите девятой книги.
March 1, 2024
I’ve made no secret that I’m a McCammon simp. Hell, he could write nothing by the word “poop” on every page of a 900 page book and I’d still buy it and probably still give it a 5 star rating…
But in all seriousness, McCammon is easily the best author America has produced other last 50 years or so and, but the looks of Seven Shades of Evil, there are no visable signs that’s going to change anytime in the near future.
Collecting 7 short stories and one novelette, Seven Shades of Evil plunges readers back into the colonial American world of Matthew Corbett, filling in the gaps of time between the main stories with vignettes of the various main characters and their own situations. Each short has its own distinctive feel, from mild comedy (“Four Lamplighters”), to creature feature (“Night Ride”) to heists of valuable jewelry (“The Scorpion’s Eye”). Each story is unique but wholly McCammon and fits perfectly within the confines of the Corbett series.
I’m hard pressed to find a favorite as all 8 short stories had something amazing about them but “Wandering Mary” probably takes the cake as the true standout as it harkens back to the feel of Speaks the Nightbird with its feel and plot.
While none of these stories really hit with the same power of emotion as the phenomenal and absolutely perfect collection of Blue World this is still an easy 5 star publication of related short stories and only further cements McCammon’s legacy as my favorite author of all time.
But in all seriousness, McCammon is easily the best author America has produced other last 50 years or so and, but the looks of Seven Shades of Evil, there are no visable signs that’s going to change anytime in the near future.
Collecting 7 short stories and one novelette, Seven Shades of Evil plunges readers back into the colonial American world of Matthew Corbett, filling in the gaps of time between the main stories with vignettes of the various main characters and their own situations. Each short has its own distinctive feel, from mild comedy (“Four Lamplighters”), to creature feature (“Night Ride”) to heists of valuable jewelry (“The Scorpion’s Eye”). Each story is unique but wholly McCammon and fits perfectly within the confines of the Corbett series.
I’m hard pressed to find a favorite as all 8 short stories had something amazing about them but “Wandering Mary” probably takes the cake as the true standout as it harkens back to the feel of Speaks the Nightbird with its feel and plot.
While none of these stories really hit with the same power of emotion as the phenomenal and absolutely perfect collection of Blue World this is still an easy 5 star publication of related short stories and only further cements McCammon’s legacy as my favorite author of all time.
February 7, 2025
Feb 2025- just finished listening to this again, and am finally ready to start Leviathan. But I am not even close to being ready for this series to be over.
March 19, 2025
So excited was I to think Leviathan and the mystery of that damned mirror was going to be finally dealt with that I did not read fine print. Instead got a potpourri of leftovers from what was likely McCammons discard pile (and had already listened to the pipe smoker so that was a do over entirely) Started weak with the ridiculous allusions to the Beatles, down to Liverpudlian accent and large nose, Peter and Gordon etc. Nice Katherine Herrold got in on it and for a good cause but that result we saw coming a mile away, so to with house on a hill for Greathouse. Convoluted crazy family mystery was a stretch and sad the young girl was so mistreated, not a trend to be admired in his writing IMO. Berrie not only lost her voice but her hobby of drawing and all the things that make her Berrie on her boat ride home. (plus totally ridiculous that she would throw valuable gems overboard, how pointless and stupid even though she was saving others for some church charity) That tale was just plain dumb and belonged on the scrap heap. Go Minx Cutter though her tale weak as well with gems making people crazy....just glad to survive it all to finally and hopefully get to the end of the road with Matthew and his gang as Leviathan is unveiled or unearthed by the problem solver.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2025
You know, I didn't know what to expect from a collection of short stories taking place in between the cracks of the previous novels' adventures, or how much I'd enjoy how several didn't exclusively follow Matthew. Oh, me of little faith. This whole book was EXCELLENT! Robert McCammon has a writing style that I can't get enough of. All of the stories were irresistibly addicting mysteries, with a couple that even dip into the world of the supernatural more than other books in the series have (beyond the fact that the Herrald Agency office is haunted in a way that everybody's pretty casual about, no big deal). I had an absolute blast getting to spend more time with other characters like Katherine, Minx, Berry, and Hudson. There were a couple other side characters I had hoped would revisit in this collection, but that's not McCammon's fault that I want more potentially lethal shenanigans with Magnus Muldoon and/or Julian Devane. So... I guess this means there's just one more book left in this series. Oh, God. I don't want it to be over! Sigh.
February 18, 2024
A collection of 7 shades of Evil short stories + 1 = 8 excellent tales taking place from (mainly) 1702 - 1704 involving the key characters of the Matthew Corbett series. Robert McCammon brings the this time period of the emerging colony's to life in an amazing way! What I enjoyed was allowing each of the main side characters that have been introduced since the beginning with Sings the Nightbird to take the lead in a story focused on them.
Initially, I was disappointed to find out that this new offering was not the next (final) in the Matthew Corbett series, but a collection of short stories, Damn! I quickly got over it. All the stories are excellent.
Stories:
1. The Four Lamplighters
2. Night Ride
3. The House at the Edge of the World
4. The Scorpion's Eye
5. Skeleton Crew
6. The Pale Pipe Smoker
7. Wandering Mary
8. The Incident on the Lady Barbara
Initially, I was disappointed to find out that this new offering was not the next (final) in the Matthew Corbett series, but a collection of short stories, Damn! I quickly got over it. All the stories are excellent.
Stories:
1. The Four Lamplighters
2. Night Ride
3. The House at the Edge of the World
4. The Scorpion's Eye
5. Skeleton Crew
6. The Pale Pipe Smoker
7. Wandering Mary
8. The Incident on the Lady Barbara
March 11, 2024
Amazing as always! But something special about this book. Short stories are not my favorite form but this was fantastic. This collection of short stories explores a variety of scenarios with various characters that we have gotten to know through the Matthew Corbett series. What stood out to me was the seventh story. It's a novella I called Wandering Mary and it is the only Matthew centric story in the book. But, it is arguably the best, Matthew Corbett story I have ever read. The mystery was incredible and how he solved it was beautiful. Because it is shorter than the full length novels, it is a great way to introduce your friends to who Matthew is and how he solves crimes.
Robert McCammon is an incredible writer. He clearly sets himself apart from all the others and in this story he really shows off his chops.
Robert McCammon is an incredible writer. He clearly sets himself apart from all the others and in this story he really shows off his chops.
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