Graves Gate

Dennis Burges has penned a strong debut with Graves? Gate, his richly atmospheric mystery set in 1920s London. When young American journalist Charles Baker receives an invitation to meet privately with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, father of a close friend killed in the trenches of WWI, he agrees immediately. The revered author asks for Baker?s help on a confidential matter of some urgency?a note requesting that one of three strangers be shepherded to the prison cell of a woman slated to hang for murder within the week. For Doyle, the note could be life-altering on an entirely different level. Possibly written by the doctor who treated his artist father in an insane asylum years earlier, it refers to a lurid sketch by Doyle the elder which that doctor destroyed in young Arthur?s presence--before anyone else had seen it. Since both doctor and patient are long dead and the note is written on a contemporary newspaper, the famed author knows he may at last have proof of communication from beyond the grave. Recently vilified for his public support in The Strand magazine of supposed "fairy" photographs, however, Doyle doesn?t want to risk humiliation (nor publicity damage to his beloved Spiritualist movement) should the message turn out to be a hoax. Baker, a young war veteran made even more cynical by his work for the Associated Press, has no doubt that Spiritualism is a load of hooey, but agrees to pursue the matter out of respect for Doyle and the memory of his fallen comrade. Joined in his quest by the striking--and married--society woman with whom he is unrequitedly in love, Baker must race to discover whether those who want him dead are themselves still among the living. This is no novel for the Faint of Woo-woo, but Burges handles the supernatural with literary elegance and aplomb. Readers are thrown some finely wrought metaphysical curveballs, all of them as snappy as they are uncanny. While I had one or two tiny quibbles with anachronistic detail (such as whether or not an upper class British chick in the 1920s would whip up a meal of "pasta," if she had the slightest clue how to cook in the first place), this was a riveting, character-driven read from start to finish. I recommend Dennis Burges highly and look forward to what I hope are a slew of sequels.

Graves Gate was an interesting read, reminding me of Caleb Carr. Well researched with fully fleshed out characters and setting and a thoroughly engaging and--in my experience at least--unique premise. Kudos to Mr. Burges.

Graves Gates is an intriguing journey into pre World War II London, the practice of spiritualism and all things Arthur Conan Doyle. Although I'm not usually a mystery reader, Burges hooked me with his American protagonist, Charles Baker. Through the plot's many twists and turns, I couldn't wait to find out if Dr. Gussman was dead or alive. A real page turner.

Intelligent but not overblown, often witty, always suspenseful. . . I was thoroughly engrossed in this book from start to finish. The character development is exquisite, as is the historical angle - detailed, but without bogging down the reader in minutiae. The author assumes his readers are clever, but one needn't work too hard; the flow of the dialogue makes for an easy read, yet with all of the twists and turns, the carrot remains dangling until the novel's end. Anyone who appreciates a good mystery, historical fiction, suspense, or simply an intelligent and engaging story will enjoy Grave's Gate.I am anxiously awaiting the next book!

I don't normally read mysteries, but I enjoyed reading this one. I thought the author did a great job researching 1920's London; all the settings were authentic and consistent. The characters were by far the best part of the book, even the slightly incredible appearance of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The supernatural aspects of the book did not appeal to me at all, but the hypnosis/possession ideas were well developed and fit with the story. I think someone who likes books by authors such as Stephen King would also enjoy this one. I did not like the romantic subplot of this novel, between Charles Baker and Mrs. Wallace. It just seemed to get in the way and did not add much, especially since it was doomed from the start. It makes me wonder if the author felt he needed to throw in a female main character for some reason. The other thing that I didn't like about the book was the dialogue: I wasn't around in the 20's, but the characters' speech did not feel authentic to me. Some words sounded too modern and everything was just too informal. The solution to the mystery turned out to be very clever and unexpected, and I liked it. Apparently there is going to be a series based on this novel and I am curious to find out how Charles Baker gets out of the mess he's in at the end of Graves Gate.