The Equivoque Principle

Cornelius Quaint Chronicles #1

by Darren Craske

An outrageous Victorian adventure in the spirit of The Vesuvius Club and Glass Books of the Dream Eaters

Prometheus the strongman winds up behind bars and it falls to ringmaster and master conjuror Cornelius Quaint, ably assisted by his Eskimo valet Butter, to investigate the killings and to clear his name.

But Quaint, an irresistable mix of Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini, soon finds that these seemingly random killings are actually linked to dark secrets from his own past. Secrets that he may not be prepared to face.

The Equivoque Principle is a fantastic adventure inspired by the penny dreadfuls and newspaper serials of the Victorian age and the first in a great new series.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical, Victorian, Fantasy, Crime

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

Illustrator & Author - THE QUAINT CHRONICLES, THE LANTERN MENACE, ABOVE HIS STATION, LEXI DRAKE, THE ARGONAUT'S ALMANAC and more.

Reviews

[Alec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I guess I had this coming. After an astonishing run of success, my "cover-judging" strategy has finally led me to failure. Sigh. And I had such high hopes for The Equivoque Principle by Darren Craske. I mean, look at that cover! It's got everything: a mysterious top-hatted gentleman wielding cards as if they were throwing stars, old-timey font, a ludicrous pair of androgynous acrobats and a delightfully obscure boast to top it all off. "As good as Boris Akunin or your money back!" promises the lower-right corner. I was understandably intrigued as I purchased this novel from a lovely non-airport bookstore called Murder by the Book.

But then, I had the misfortune of opening the cover. Inside was a story featuring Cornelius Quaint (Book 1 of the Cornelius Quaint Chronicles!), a 19th century English magician of sorts who runs a circus, but in his spare time solves mysteries featuring international conspiracies and occasionally beats bad guys to death. He does so with the help of his circus brethren, highlighted by an Eskimo man-servant, an exotic Frenchwoman with psychic powers and a giant who pretends to be mute. Yeah. As absurd as that sounds, my cover-inspired optimism persisted for a good portion of the book. Look, I wasn't expecting Hemingway, but doesn't it seem like a mindlessly entertaining tale could be crafted from this set-up in the hands of a capable writer? I mean, certainly Boris Akunin could pull it off.

Alas, in the hands of Darren Craske, Quaint's tale fell flat. The story as a whole was much like the name of the main character: it just seemed to be trying too hard. I think what I enjoyed most in this uninspired tale were the totally nonsensical epithets Craske used to describe his characters. My favorite: he repeatedly referred to Quaint as "the great conjuror," which makes me chuckle even writing it. Literally, his only "trick" was a card trick (called "The Equivoque Principle" -- like the title!) of the "pick a card...is this your card?" variety. It was like referring to someone on the local school board as The Supreme American Statesman or maybe me putting Literary Criticism as a skill on my resume…which I do not do, as far as you know.

By far the best feature of The Equivoque Principle came before the actual story even began. This is an excerpt from the Acknowledgements in the front of the book:

"And lastly, but by no means leastly, the person without whom this book would never have happened, I would like to thank myself for having the determined doggedness to keep writing no matter what hurdles life threw in my path. You have not seen the last of me."

Wow! Now perhaps the "great conjuror" thing makes a little more sense. Isn't that incredible? It takes a special type of man to thank himself and then immediately follow it up with a truly awful book. This guy has the best self esteem I've ever seen. I salute your doggedness as well, Darren Craske. It is truly an inspiration. Watch out, Akunin, Craske is coming in hot!

(PS...is there a chance this is all a big joke? Like Andy Kauffman style? If so, then it is truly tremendous. I might have to continue the Cornelius Quaint Chronicles just to be sure. Stay tuned.)

[Devon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me just list off a few things that I love ardently:

1) Mysteries
2) The Victorian Era
3) Harry Houdini
4) Sherlock Holmes
5) Indiana Jones
6) Circuses/performing acts from the 19th century and early 20th century

When I was promised all of these things, or something akin to them, I immediately purchased this book and the second one in the series. Most of the things I want to read are either set IN the Victorian Era or set in the present time...the present being the Victorian Era in which they were written. I had rather high hopes for this book from the start.

Speaking of which: I have a rather lax attention span, and if a book doesn't hook me quite fast I'm apt to put it down and let it fester for some time. This book hooked me worryingly quickly; I had only wanted to read part of it as I wished to write and instead found myself devouring the rest of it, rapt and curious as to how it ended.

The book is a rollicking caper, filled with a mystery in which the characters all seem to have ties to one another that begins to unravel with rapidity as the novel progresses. I love when a hero finds himself in peril and this book was thankfully chock-full of it, forcing Cornelius Quaint to the very limits in his quest to solve the murder of one of his employees and exonerate another whilst simultaneously stopping an insidious plot from unfolding and destroying thousands.

I think my only complaint to the book is one someone else had: the language is often not very Victorian at all. I could overlook it, however; it's not too jarring. If the author had really thrown in things, like "bro" and "chick" and whatnot I might not have been able to do so, but it was more the informal speech that he chose that must be the base of the user's complaints. Wait, a second complaint: MORE CIRCUS LIFE. I adore vintage circus life.

I saw that it had been rated poor-to-mediocre at best on here, and I was suddenly seized with doubt as to MY rating of it, as I am ever keen to stick with the pack mentality. I asked myself how I truly felt, though, and I enjoyed it immensely so I want to give it a generous rating to counter-balance the really rather overly-harsh reviews some have given it. It's worth a read (and I'm ready for the second one)!!

[Ralph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was loaned this book and the second in the series by a friend. I do not recall his opinion of it or if he even read it. After finishing the first volume (this one), i shall NOT be moving further into the series.

The story was not gripping, nor compelling. I did not feel for the character's plight nor did I want to cheer the bad guy. The plot was weakly rendered, so I did not care if the bad guys succeeded or failed.

The physical presentation of the text was a problem as well. Each chapter started with a playing card, the same value: Ace of Clubs, as an initial marker. The text did not wrap around it but lay atop it. Thus, the first seven lines of each chapter has the beginning half-inch of black text underlain with a grey-scale image that obscured to near illegibility the characters. Additionally, each chapter was variably short, feeling like a small sour candy when one expected a savory snack.

In a comment as I was reading along, I noted how the elixir-MacGuffin was described as having gold leaf initially and then silver leaf a scant three pages later. Up to that point I was feeling blazay about the book. That oversight sunk the book for me. I continued with it to reach and end as I rarely leave any book unfinished but it also set the series off my list. I am returning the two novels to my friend with the second unread.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for The Equivoque Principle: a picaresque, pulpy adventure novel set in Victorian London, centered on a traveling circus? Yes, please! But, sadly, to this one I should have said "No, thanks."

This book is almost comically badly written, festooned with dangling participles and packed with cliches, clumsy exposition, and poorly chosen words. It is also full of "Victorian" characters who say thing like "Yeah" and "Feet, don't fail me now." Granted, when you're going for a pulp feel you don't expect finely wrought prose -- but minimal competence would be nice.

The plotting is equally slipshod -- characters behave in unlikely ways (if a mob is out to kill two people, is it really likely to beat them up a bit and then lock them in a freezer compartment instead of just ... KILLING them?), and the story is a tissue of cliches.

Craske clearly had a good idea for a series here -- the circus elements, the conjuring, the period setting. With experience, he may eventually write an enjoyable novel. His editor on this one, however, should be horsewhipped for letting it see the light of day in such an amateurish condition.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Equivoque Principle was a purchase I made in an airport while waiting for a flight because I had forgotten to bring a book with me. Out of all the choices I could have made, this one popped out at me as being a unique story. The synopsis on the back of the book I think is what really caught my interest having been described as a mixture of Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini and being set in the Victorian age involving a circus. I was a little skeptical, because it was also the first book in a series, and because I am already involved with so many other series, I was a little reluctant to start in on a new series to add to my list of books to keep up on, however, I am very glad I did.

This author grabbed me from the very first chapter. The characters were very well developed and the story transitions were easy to follow and not confusing at all. And the thing I loved was the story ended letting you know there were going to be more adventures for Cornelius Quaint but did not leave you hanging because this story was intact and complete for this adventure.

So I am looking forward to reading the next adventure for Cornelius Quaint.

[Drianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I think I must've gotten this for free off Amazon at some point, but I have no memory of it. But there it was on my Kindle, so I was like, Okay, sure, I'll try it.

Well, it was fine. It wasn't good; it was poorly written and a little silly (and a little over graphic in its violence). It was more that the author had an idea of what he wanted to do, but didn't -- quite -- manage.

Some dreadful anachronisms and poor proofreading.

[Neal Dench · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a fun tongue in cheek Victorian romp, though the use of dialogue really annoyed me at times, with little or no attention paid to making the dialogue in context for the time, and liberal use of modern phrases that were surely not around 150 years ago. This might sometime be acceptable in a book set, say, 500 years ago, but not when it's set in Victorian times, and the characters would have spoken an English we would recognise as very similar to our own.

[Nini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any story that combines a circus, and a murder mystery is one that I knew would be an interesting read. I was not disappointed. The story itself is a nice mix of mystery and history. The description of circus life and the performers was very well done and created a sense of family. I enjoyed the way the lead characters background and realtionships were examined through the investigation. I found this story a nice mix of comedy and murder mystery and would definitely read another in the series.

[Charles Odonovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Equivoque Principle by Darren Craske is a gripping and intricate mystery novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end. Set in the 1930s, the story follows the investigation of a series of bizarre murders that all seem to be linked to a magician's trick called the "equivoque."

The main character, DI James Quill, is a compelling and complex protagonist who is tasked with unraveling the mystery behind the murders. As he delves deeper into the case, he uncovers a web of secrets and lies that lead him to question everything he thought he knew about the people around him.

Craske's writing is masterful, with a keen eye for detail and a talent for crafting complex, multi-layered plots. He brings the world of 1930s London to life with vivid descriptions and richly drawn characters, from the seedy back alleys to the glittering halls of high society.

The Equivoque Principle is a well-crafted mystery that will appeal to fans of both classic whodunits and modern thrillers. It combines the best elements of both genres, with a tightly plotted mystery that keeps readers guessing until the very end, and a cast of characters that are both relatable and compelling.

Overall, The Equivoque Principle is an excellent novel that is sure to satisfy anyone looking for a great mystery. With its intriguing plot, well-drawn characters, and expertly crafted prose, it is a book that will stay with readers long after they have turned the final page. Highly recommended!

[Kristin]

DNF @ 13%. Not sure why I wasn’t liking it but it wasn’t for me.

[Jemima Pett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cornelius Quaint has arrived with his circus in Victorian London. The mysterious Mr Reynolds appears to be working for the evil Bishop, setting up a series of murders to rid an area of its inhabitants to suit the Bishop’s plans to search for an elixir of life. So when one of the circus’s best loved performers is found gruesomely murdered and the circus strongman is arrested as the main suspect, Cornelius is drawn into a tale of intrigue and deceit.

Darren Craske weaves a tale with layer upon layer of crime, villainy and murder. No-one is quite what they seem, except possibly the horse Cornelius steals to get to Hyde Park more quickly. The story moves rapidly from one side of London to the other and back again, with one character after another proving to have been duped by Mr Reynolds, and most of them ending up dead.

It is a challenging story which moves at a fast pace, yet I felt dissatisfied with it on a number of levels. After the first quarter of the book, the prose became unduly descriptive, with such intricate detail of the surroundings it detracted from the action. The scene and the suspense had been set, such detail was unnecessary. Shortly after there were two or three chapters where long interchanges of dialogue were run together in a single paragraph, so that it was difficult to see who was talking. And the two main characters seemed to delight in making long speeches at each other. Especially once they were finally stripped of their pretences and approaching the denouement. At this stage, the detail had faded into the background, quite in contrast to the earlier chapters. I felt the book needed a good edit to help sort it out. And a map to help them work out why they are having trouble getting from Kensington to Hyde Park when they started from Wapping.

So although I hoped to find a tale that intrigued as much as the description had promised, I am afraid I found Mr Quaint rather tedious in the end, and I won’t be following his further adventures.

[Alison C · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't usually review books that I haven't finished reading, but as a public service I'm posting my thoughts about The Equivoque Principle, by Darren Craske, here at Goodreads. The premise is interesting - in 1853 London, a traveling circus comes to town just as a series of murders are taking place; naturally the circus's strong man is accused, and it's up to the conjurer and circus owner Cornelius Quaint and his Eskimo sidekick Butter to solve the crimes and secure the strong man's freedom. This is the first in what is described as a series of either 3 or 4 books (depending on whose reviews you read), and it sounds like it could be a fun entry in the historical mystery arena. But: third paragraph on page 1 includes the term "smog" (not coined until 1905), on the next page someone is "tasked" to do something (modern usage), later on the term "anorak" is used several times to describe the Eskimo's clothing (term not used in English until 1924), we get phrases like "the mother of all indigestions" (modern usage) and repetitive phrases ("massive iron door" followed 2 sentences later in the same paragraph with "massive metal door"), and, finally, the Eskimo being called an "Inuit" (not in use until the mid-20th Century). All this before page 30, which is when I stopped reading....The author in his "Acknowledgements" page at the beginning of the book includes this bit of bravado: "And lastly, but by no means leastly, the person without whom this book would never have happened, I would like to thank myself for having the determined doggedness to keep writing no matter what hurdles life threw in my path." I was initially amused, but also thought "this guy better have the chops to live up to that display of hubris." As the afore-listed sloppy writing, lack of any research into the period and extremely intrusive anachronisms show, it's clear this author does not have the chops. A pity, as it was an intriguing premise, but please don't waste your money or time on this piece of junk.

[Gerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was sent a free copy of this book by Scott Pack of the Friday Project, via his excellent me and my big mouth blog. The two conditions were that I make it the next book I read and that I review it online.

The first thing to note is that it promises to be as satisfying as Boris Akunin (I don't know who that is) or your money back. This is publishers having faith in a book, something which is great to see. Of all the trends of modern publishing (increased reliance on celebrity, additional content etc) this something that is likely to get me to actually pick a book up.

It is just a shame that this being the case I still can't whole heartedly recommend it. It is far too short, and not in a so good I wish it was double the length kind of way. The number of characters, the number of back stories, the number of twists are all glossed over. I appreciate that part of the attraction of books of this type is the twisty nature of the plot but it never felt like it got beyond parody, never became truly immersive the way it shoud be. Part of the problem is the author's tendency to write like he is working on a screenplay rather than a book. He rarely uses psychological insight when a bald statement by a character will do. He has a series of sub Die Hard witticisms from the mouth of the main character that grated on me the whole way through.

It's not without merit. He writes well a lot of the time, the minor circus characters are all well done and the villain(s) are all fun. But for a book to go all over the place it has to earn it. it has to build up the affection in the characters and pace the plot.

[bex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first attempt at a book review, so please forgive me if it sucks. I won this book in a drawing from Caroline Smailes.

The Equivoque Principle is a murder mystery set in Victorian England. When a bishop hires criminals to clear a section of England, Cornelius Quaint and the members of Dr. Marvello's Traveling Circus are dragged into the middle of the killing spree. Prometheus, the strong man, is framed for the murders by being drugged and left with the body of his love.

Struggling to prove the mute innocent, the troupe is forced to face nightmares from Prometheus’s and Quaint's pasts. The quest is a trying one that unites the group, but forces some members to face their fears of their own inadequacies.

Personally, I enjoyed the book. I found myself quickly drawn into the vibrant settings and connecting to the humanity of the unusual circus characters. Although most people's personal struggles are not as dramatic as those in the book, I think it is easy to relate to the issues of loyalty, trust, and fear of failure.

Even if I weren't trying to hide from pain, I think I would've had great difficulty putting the book down in the middle. The book is well paced and keeps you hooked on every page.

Although it is written in third person omniscient, the writer has held back enough important information to leave the reader guessing. It also gives enough view into the perspective of individual characters to allow the reader to feel a bit of a bond with those characters.

I recommend the book to anyone who can find it. It is a good and exciting read, and I'm looking forward to more with these characters.

[Tattooed_mummy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well well. {spoilers probably}

I liked the premise and then the beginning of this story, I was mildly concerned by the idea of a painted circus train that travelled mainland Europe AND Victorian England, but OK (clenches teeth) I can cope with that...but then, the gruesome, seemingly indescriminate and ultimately pointless, murders, and the spoiler: ice room instead of death, what's all that about?

The odd relationships, the sudden spoiler: ability of a mute to talk! (reminded me of that bit in Roger Rabbit "you could take your hands out all the time?" "Nope, only when it was funy!" ) just lazy and ridiculous

spoiler: A homeopathic poison that gets stronger the more water you add? well that explains carrying it in tiny vials...oh no wait it doesn't! you could have diluted it a gazillion times already..ah but then our hero can't take it from you and win the day - ugh lazy writing.

I read until the end because I wanted answers (mostly about that sodding train) but none came. I have no real clue what happened from beginning to end. I cared nothing about any of the characters and so anyone's peril left me cold. I have no idea what the 'Equivoque Principle' is, I might Google it. (edited to add - Equivocation )

TL:DR - I didn't enjoy this book, or understand it, or care about the characters.

The publisher offers a money back guarantee but as I bought it in a charity shop I am ineligible.

[sisterimapoet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an enjoyable read. The fact that I judged it on it's own terms helped. I'm only vaguely familiar with the concept of penny dreadfuls and Victorian newspaper serials but with a nod to the style of these the story had a neat little pace. I liked the way each chapter left you with a cliff-hanger, it kept me reading.

I liked the way the plot wound through the book, without getting too complex at any point. Once you got used to the larger than life, and less than realistic personalities of the key characters it was easy to warm to them.

Don't read this book if you are hoping for beautiful eloquent description and subtle characterization. But if you want a fun, easy page-turner then it fits the bill. At times it reminded me of the Harry Potter books, and also of 'The End of Mr Y'.

I'm already looking forward to the sequel and seeing what Cornelius gets up to in Egypt!

[Anthony E Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Began well, I could easily visualise this as a TV series. The story moves along and the characters are fairly interesting.
The problems begin around the halfway mark. The editing becomes sloppy. From this point on the book is littered with mistakes. There are so many it almost becomes a game guessing where the next one will be - and some of these mistakes are unforgivable.
At least I obtained this book as a free download from Amazon. The problem is, I want to know more about Quaint but as I have to pay for the continuing adventures I sincerely hope the editing has improved.

[Chaundra · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I've ever had the misfortune to read. The plot is contrived and yet utterly predictable, the characters are tropes and barely one dimensional, the writing is repetitive and just barely holds together. Also it is painfully obvious the author has never set foot in London. The only thing that kept me going with it, was some interesting ideas for the characters, which ultimately fail to get realised. Best avoided. Read Glass Books of the Dream Eaters instead.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book neither sucked nor was amazing...it was average. It was good, I am sucker for a mystery novel any day. Some of the metaphors and the writing was a little forced but it didn't detract me from enjoying the mystery plot. In the end, it did get me wanted to read the second one and maybe even continue on with the story excited for where the 2nd one sends Quaint and if it will answer any questions left from the first.

[Correen Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not the type of book I'd normally choose but my Mum bought me the second book in the series so I decided that I needed to read this before starting it. It took me a while to get into the story as it was set in victorian England, this isn't my favourite time period but eventually I warmed to the characters.
The writing felt a little cliched at points but it was a fun romp and a nice distraction when I needed to unwind.

[This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite a number of flaws, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. A semi-mystery set in Victorian England with some fantasy elements mixed in as well, it combines grand conspiracies, Jack-the-Ripper-like murders, and a circus into a surprisingly light read.

[Elaine White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with Cornelius Quaint, his circus and Prometheus in this story. I felt for Prometheus and Cornelius throughout the whole story and found that the more I read, the more I got sucked into the story.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cornelius Quaint, owner of a traveling circus, solves the murder of one of his troupe. The writing wasn't spectacular but I liked it enough that I would read another by the author.

[Chrissy Fisher]

not impressed

[Hellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The things my book club puts me through sometimes.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder mystery set in London in the 1850s, with an interesting cast of characters

[Paulo Andre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing to write home about...

[Jerry Killen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it immensely. Great plot. Well told.

[Jannockj]

DNF