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Inspector Sam Blackstone #6
Blackstone and the Heart of Darkness
A sadistic killer is targeting teenage girls.
A horrific pattern is emerging, with each new corpse horrendously mutilated – in precisely the same way.
But the victims aren’t just any girls.
They are the children of England’s aristocracy.
Inspector Blackstone, of the Metropolitan Police, seems to be the only man in the country who stands a chance of catching ‘the Northern Slasher’.
Can Blackstone find the killer before he chooses his next victim?
When Blackstone receives a letter from an old army comrade, he is plunged into the middle of an even darker horror...
'Blackstone and the Heart of Darkness' is the next thrilling instalment in the Blackstone detective series.
Praise for Sally Spencer:
“Vivid characters, a dazzling plot, authentic period details, and plenty of surprising twists make this latest effort by Sally Spencer an outstanding choice for historical mystery fans” - Booklist
“This new series from the author of the Chief Inspector Woodend novels features a nicely captured Victorian ethos, solid prose, and winning subplot diversions. Anne Perry fans and devotees of Victorian-era mysteries will enjoy this new historical. For most collections” - Library Journal
Sally Spencer worked as a teacher both in England and Iran - where she witnessed the fall of the Shah. She now writes full time.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
A horrific pattern is emerging, with each new corpse horrendously mutilated – in precisely the same way.
But the victims aren’t just any girls.
They are the children of England’s aristocracy.
Inspector Blackstone, of the Metropolitan Police, seems to be the only man in the country who stands a chance of catching ‘the Northern Slasher’.
Can Blackstone find the killer before he chooses his next victim?
When Blackstone receives a letter from an old army comrade, he is plunged into the middle of an even darker horror...
'Blackstone and the Heart of Darkness' is the next thrilling instalment in the Blackstone detective series.
Praise for Sally Spencer:
“Vivid characters, a dazzling plot, authentic period details, and plenty of surprising twists make this latest effort by Sally Spencer an outstanding choice for historical mystery fans” - Booklist
“This new series from the author of the Chief Inspector Woodend novels features a nicely captured Victorian ethos, solid prose, and winning subplot diversions. Anne Perry fans and devotees of Victorian-era mysteries will enjoy this new historical. For most collections” - Library Journal
Sally Spencer worked as a teacher both in England and Iran - where she witnessed the fall of the Shah. She now writes full time.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
296 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
253 people are currently reading
567 people want to read
About the author
Sally Spencer
80 books152 followersA pseudonym used by Alan Rustage.
Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men).
Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah (see the Blog for what it was like to live through a revolution). He got used to having rifles - and, one occasion, a rocket launcher - pointed at him by both soldiers and revolutionaries, but he was never entirely comfortable with it.
He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca.
His first series of books were historical sagas set in Cheshire (where he grew up) and London. They were very popular with his English readers, but his American readers find the dialect something of a strain.
He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and ten (so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski.
His DI Sam Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the Inspector Paco Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War.
Alan is a competitive games player who likes bridge and pub quizzes. It is only by enforcing iron discipline that he doesn't play video games all the time.
He now lives on Spain's Costa Blanca.
Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men).
Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah (see the Blog for what it was like to live through a revolution). He got used to having rifles - and, one occasion, a rocket launcher - pointed at him by both soldiers and revolutionaries, but he was never entirely comfortable with it.
He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca.
His first series of books were historical sagas set in Cheshire (where he grew up) and London. They were very popular with his English readers, but his American readers find the dialect something of a strain.
He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and ten (so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski.
His DI Sam Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the Inspector Paco Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War.
Alan is a competitive games player who likes bridge and pub quizzes. It is only by enforcing iron discipline that he doesn't play video games all the time.
He now lives on Spain's Costa Blanca.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
October 29, 2015
Two lines merging into one.
The strange case of two different lines of investigation turning into one. Showcasing the actual conditions present during the early twentieth century. Great story and mystery.
The strange case of two different lines of investigation turning into one. Showcasing the actual conditions present during the early twentieth century. Great story and mystery.
July 30, 2018
Sally Spencer’s "Blackstone and the Heart of Darkness" is the 6th entry into this Victorian historical mystery series, and it is arguably the best in the series to date. CAUTION: This same book is also published under Alan Rustage. These two books are the SAME book published at times under different titles and authors; however, Sally Spencer is in reality Alan Rustage. Confusing - "yes" - but if you are one who likes Victorian historical mysteries, then I do strongly recommend this series to you. Just be careful not to buy the same book twice! I almost did.
In this Blackstone adventure, Sam receives a worried letter from Tom Yardley, an old army comrade who once saved his life. Inspector Sam Blackstone leaves to the salt mining village of Marston, but by the time he arrives there, Yardley has died in a freak mine explosion.
Spencer’s "Blackstone and the Heart of Darkness" - the 6th entry – is a book where it is better to have read all the earlier ones first. The plot is carefully crafted into three cases or sub plots. Blackstone’s onetime lover, forensic scientist Dr. Ellie Carr, is investigating the brutal killings of teenage girls from Victorian London's wealthiest families. Meanwhile, Blackstone's sidekick, Sgt. Archie Patterson, is trying to expose a brothel madam who specializes in providing her clients with child prostitutes. Meanwhile, Sam himself is trying to uncover a smuggling ring and solve the murder of his friend in the village of Marston. I loved the story; my only objection would be the ending. I thought there would be more of a resolution to the multiple plots at the end of the book (a coming together of these three characters). I have enjoyed this series on my Kindle, and I will continue reading them as I have grown to care for these characters. Regardless, this is a fine period mystery with a clever plot, so if you enjoy the Victorian, mystery genre, you should give Spencer's Inspector Blackstone series a try – but start with the first: "A Rendezvous with Death."
In this Blackstone adventure, Sam receives a worried letter from Tom Yardley, an old army comrade who once saved his life. Inspector Sam Blackstone leaves to the salt mining village of Marston, but by the time he arrives there, Yardley has died in a freak mine explosion.
Spencer’s "Blackstone and the Heart of Darkness" - the 6th entry – is a book where it is better to have read all the earlier ones first. The plot is carefully crafted into three cases or sub plots. Blackstone’s onetime lover, forensic scientist Dr. Ellie Carr, is investigating the brutal killings of teenage girls from Victorian London's wealthiest families. Meanwhile, Blackstone's sidekick, Sgt. Archie Patterson, is trying to expose a brothel madam who specializes in providing her clients with child prostitutes. Meanwhile, Sam himself is trying to uncover a smuggling ring and solve the murder of his friend in the village of Marston. I loved the story; my only objection would be the ending. I thought there would be more of a resolution to the multiple plots at the end of the book (a coming together of these three characters). I have enjoyed this series on my Kindle, and I will continue reading them as I have grown to care for these characters. Regardless, this is a fine period mystery with a clever plot, so if you enjoy the Victorian, mystery genre, you should give Spencer's Inspector Blackstone series a try – but start with the first: "A Rendezvous with Death."
November 8, 2022
This was a rather interesting read. Taking place in the early 1900's a London Detective goes to investigate a smuggling ring in the small country village of Cheshire.
There is also a second local police investigation going on in this small town at the same time. That of the brutal killings and mutilations of several young women.
Can these two seemingly different crimes be connected? Possibly.
I found this to be hard to read at times, but overall it did flow. There is some cringeworthy racism.
My biggest issue with this book, and the reason it lost a star, was there were still some loose ends and unanswered question at the end. It is hard to say what they are here without giving out a spoiler.
If you enjoy Victorian era British mysteries along the lines of Sherlock Homes you may enjoy this one.
There is also a second local police investigation going on in this small town at the same time. That of the brutal killings and mutilations of several young women.
Can these two seemingly different crimes be connected? Possibly.
I found this to be hard to read at times, but overall it did flow. There is some cringeworthy racism.
My biggest issue with this book, and the reason it lost a star, was there were still some loose ends and unanswered question at the end. It is hard to say what they are here without giving out a spoiler.
If you enjoy Victorian era British mysteries along the lines of Sherlock Homes you may enjoy this one.
October 7, 2019
Kept me on my toes
Finally a well researched and believable historical mystery. Right until the final chapters you are kept guessing until you finally clear the fog. Wonderful characters, well described and behaving as you would expect. Will now search out more stories by this author. Highly recommended.
Finally a well researched and believable historical mystery. Right until the final chapters you are kept guessing until you finally clear the fog. Wonderful characters, well described and behaving as you would expect. Will now search out more stories by this author. Highly recommended.
April 22, 2019
Not sure what to say. I enjoyed it and finished reading it. Although set in the past the characters did have a modern vibe to them That said, I enjoyed all the detail of the canals and the salt mines.I think I may read another from the series and see how I get on with that.
May 28, 2018
3-1/2 stars. Good story, but lots of unresolved issues at the end: What happened to those kidnapped? Was there any reconciliation between Blackstone and the local detective?
August 10, 2018
Intriguing mystery!
A plot that has many twists and turns and interesting characters. This is a story that you can't put down.
A plot that has many twists and turns and interesting characters. This is a story that you can't put down.
April 21, 2020
Very interesting read, the plot is unusual and well planned, the desperate stories are merged perfectly.
October 20, 2020
Frequent jumping between characters/storylines in the first half slowed it down for me, but it got better toward the end.
November 4, 2020
A surprising book about child trafficking. Good characters. Being the sixth of a series, I didn't know the private jokes of the main characters.
November 21, 2020
British police mystery — and a twisted one for a good experience for the reader. Author’s knowledge of the era and place makes for an exciting reading experience.
June 12, 2021
Unpleasant story. I liked the first trilogy much more.
April 6, 2018
Blackstone and the Heart of Darkness by Sally Spencer.... Reminding the Conan Doyle mysteries... Impeccable characters, dwelling well on the story line.
August 7, 2019
This involves two investigations that would appear to have no connection whatsoever since one involves a serial killer who mutilates the faces of his victims and renders the young girls' faces unrecognizable and also chops~off their hands and feet except for their dresses, gloves and shoes... these, he leaves intact and uncut, the victims redressed and their accoutrements near their bodies on the various locations where he dumps them. The other case is a personal one for Inspector Blackstone as a blast from the past and as a favor to the man who once saved his life in Afghanistan. What I find annoying in the Blackstone Series is the number and frequency of times the good Inspector has been used, misused and abused by his fellow man. When he is not being duped into participating in an elaborate hoax by the Crown or those close to Her Majesty re~Fabergé egg affair and by a shadowy figure of a Puppet Master (first appeared in Book 2) with his own agenda involving Blackstone, then by a carpetbagger re~firebug... and for at least two more of the five that I have read and now this. I am getting tired of this kind of treatment to the poor Inspector. This book is yet another Brilliant example of how he is deceived by a so~called friend. The operative word here, of course, is BRILLIANT.
September 9, 2016
When I acquired my Kindle copy of this book in October 2015, there were two things that for some reason I did not know. Firstly that it is the sixth in a series, and I had not read any of the previous five, and that the author is not a lady called Sally Spencer!
Having said that I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book which in some ways reminded me of the writings of Edward Marston, set in a slightly earlier era, but with similar language.
Sam Blackstone is one of Scotland Yard’s mist successful detectives, but is here embroiled in the Cheshire countryside in both its beauty and its ugliness. The harshness of work in its salt mines is vividly portrayed as is the cruelty with which some people behave towards others, with no regard for their safety or personal feelings. Canals also feature quite heavily in a cleverly constructed plot regarding murder and kidnap, enhanced by Blackstone’s connection with a former subordinate of his in Afghanistan, Tom Yardley, now working in those salt mines. The characters are, for the main part, highly believable, and their interaction is both accurate of its time and interesting, if somewhat different from what we would expect today. I am mindful of certain recent cases in this country that are not totally dissimilar to that involved here.
All in all a very good read, although I am not sure that I have time to visit Sam’s previous adventures – only time and other reading material will tell!
October 19, 2015
Interesting lead characters, but they needed more fleshing out. Patterson was the most well-done. It seemed that
the crime Patterson was following was connected to the other one about the mutilated girls. The author pointed us in that direction with Huggins and Bickersdale possibly being the lout and the nicely dressed gentleman who stopped the lout from attacking one of the madam's girls. But it wasn't clearly delineated. And who were all the young girls who were killed instead of the upper class girls? No mention was really made of them, as if they really weren't all that important. Maybe that was the point. Nothing was said about whether there'd be any effort to track down the missing high society girls who were sold into the white slave trade, either. A few too many loose ends to be totally satisfying. Not sure I'll read more in the series after all. Oh, and there were at least a dozen proofreading misses, especially calling Tom Yardley TORN Yardley several times.
the crime Patterson was following was connected to the other one about the mutilated girls. The author pointed us in that direction with Huggins and Bickersdale possibly being the lout and the nicely dressed gentleman who stopped the lout from attacking one of the madam's girls. But it wasn't clearly delineated. And who were all the young girls who were killed instead of the upper class girls? No mention was really made of them, as if they really weren't all that important. Maybe that was the point. Nothing was said about whether there'd be any effort to track down the missing high society girls who were sold into the white slave trade, either. A few too many loose ends to be totally satisfying. Not sure I'll read more in the series after all. Oh, and there were at least a dozen proofreading misses, especially calling Tom Yardley TORN Yardley several times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 19, 2015A great thing about BookBub free books is you can find a new character you really enjoy. Such is the case with Sam Blackstone, a Scotland Yard detective in a series set around the turn of the twentieth century. Although a series, I definitely enjoyed this mystery as a stand-alone novel and definitely will seek out more books about Blackstone. I liked the way several stories tied together in the end from Salt mines in Marston to brothels in London. It is always interesting to see how crimes were solved without all the modern, scientific advances made during the last century. One character is a woman forensic pathologist who has to contend with suspicion about her field as well as prejudice about her gender. It will be fun reading more about these interesting characters.
October 22, 2015
I wish I had started with the first entry in the series but even starting here was an enjoyable experience. The characters are interesting but I wish more time had been spent with Dr Carr. There are enough proofing mistakes that you will notice them but not so many that it detracts from the story or joy of reading this tale. Another reviewer made the same content particularly mentioning the often used "Torn" in place of Tom. It happened so often that I assumed it was a turn off the century British nickname.
The story is definitely worth a read. The use of several arcs is very well done and I feel that in the end they are tied together rather nicely. I especially enjoyed Patterson's story line.
The story is definitely worth a read. The use of several arcs is very well done and I feel that in the end they are tied together rather nicely. I especially enjoyed Patterson's story line.
October 27, 2015
Very good mystery -- Victorian era. Three disparate investigations divide three investigators who normally work together. . . .there are murdered girls from good families, an investigation into child prostitution, and a suspected smuggling ring. This is the 6th in the series and I actually hadn't read the earlier ones but I plan to now. Still there was no discontinuity or confusion even starting the series in the middle.
October 22, 2015
Very good English Murder Mystery with two different plots that tie in together nicely at the end. So many times the characters can't hold your interest but in this case it was managed nicely. I found this a perfect read and setting for an England set in a period time frame. I recommend reading the book.
November 15, 2015
Twists and Turns
A thoroughly good read. It starts slowly and suddenly you are entrapped. The woman coroner is a nice touch for that era. Very reminiscent of Inspector Pitt mysteries. I am looking forward to the next book and seeing if Blackstone and Ellie continue to make a great team.
A thoroughly good read. It starts slowly and suddenly you are entrapped. The woman coroner is a nice touch for that era. Very reminiscent of Inspector Pitt mysteries. I am looking forward to the next book and seeing if Blackstone and Ellie continue to make a great team.
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December 23, 2015Blackstone, a detective in late 19th century England, and his colleagues and female doctor have to figure out a series of murders of girls, a smuggling ring, and the death of a friend. The descriptions show 19th century England quite nicely, and the characters are quite appealing. I am glad I stumbled over this series.
November 21, 2015
Inspector Blackstone is sent north away from London to caught the sadistic killer of young girls who's mutilated bodies are found in several different counties.
Shall look for others in the series starting with the first tale.
Shall look for others in the series starting with the first tale.
February 8, 2016
A bit of a surprise
Nicely written, and very suspenseful. Had me so twisted around I didn't know which end was up, but as it moved forward, everything made perfect sense. I totally enoyed it, from start to finish.
Nicely written, and very suspenseful. Had me so twisted around I didn't know which end was up, but as it moved forward, everything made perfect sense. I totally enoyed it, from start to finish.
October 19, 2015
Oustanding!
Though I am a Yank,i find that a good English author is hard to beat. Truly enjoyed this book a lot.
Though I am a Yank,i find that a good English author is hard to beat. Truly enjoyed this book a lot.
November 22, 2015
There are lots of scanner and editing errors in this edition, but the story is superb! In the style of Conan-Doyle, this is a first rate main character and story.
October 31, 2015
Good mystery, interesting subjects and subject matter, twists and turns. Just the way I like it.
October 29, 2015
Not bad as a story. Why can't these authors write a story without typos
December 10, 2015
Enjoyable, although I did figure the mystery out fairly quickly. I enjoyed the characters, so I'll keep an eye out for other books in the series at the library.
October 30, 2015
Was not impressed at all. Write up was more interesting than the book. Just missing the makings of a passable book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews