Sam McCarver

In the early 1900s, Professor John Darnell is known for his investigations of paranormal phenomena. The demand for his services has pushed his teaching to the background. Between cases and hoping for some downtime with his wife, he receives a call from Scotland Yard.

There have been ghostly sightings of a figure in a black cape, top hat and three piece suit of an earlier era, in the Whitechapel area. When the body of a streetwalker is found murdered and in a grisly condition one morning, the fears of the return of Jack the Ripper from thirty years ago are brought to life again.

Darnell feels it is a flesh and blood person and not a ghost. It is up to him to investigate and prove it. A second murder confirms Darnell’s suspicions. The person is following the pattern of the original Ripper.

Darnell finds assistance in setting a trap to catch the killer, from George Bernard Shaw, an unlikely but perfect source in creating the bait for the trap.

An enjoyable read, taking place in an earlier time.… (más)

Professor John Darnell has been approached by the White Star Lines to find out if there really is a jinx on the numbered 13 cabins on three of their ships. Cabin 13 has had a suicide on each ship. Their newest and grandest, Titanic, is set to sail its maiden voyage and they want Darnell to sail and stay in cabin 13 to find out what is going on.

Darnell is the world's first and only "paranormal detective", and White Star Lines feel he is the only one who can solve the mysteries before they find themselves lacking for passengers. Darnell feels that there has to be a reason for the deaths and it isn't suicide.

A life-long bachelor, Darnell meets Penny Winters and falls in love for the first time. She also falls for him. He doesn't let her in on why he is sailing and she has a secret of her own. Neither know what is in store for them during this trip.

Darnell is given the run of the ship with a cover story of writing a paper on the Titanic's first sail. He is allowed to interview a number of passengers and crew that have been on previous voyages where the deaths have occurred. Mario Sandrini - a steward, the Blakes - a couple who always had investments to sell, Professor Dionino - a shady personality, and a number of others. Some with secrets and some without. Is there a killer among them?

I consider this a cozy type of mystery even though it takes place on the Titanic and includes some of the famous passengers and the chilling sinking. It is the first in the series and I will probably keep an eye out for following ones.… (más)

Another entry (#5) in the Professor John Darnell series of historical mysteries. The mystery is there, yes, but I didn't think it was all that well crafted, but it did manage to entertain me for a couple of hours. This series overall is very lightweight (vs. edgy), so probably better suited to people who like cozy mysteries.

There is a huge party at a luxury hotel in Paris just after WWI and a guest is killed. Then his ghost appears nightly at midnight, and the rather bizarre circumstances prompt the Paris police to call in Prof. John Darnell, whose forte is getting to the realities behind and debunking hauntings (how convenient) and he does this rather well. That still leaves the mystery of the murder, which I didn't figure out, to the author's credit.

I'll finish the series because I have them, but these are really much too light in tone for my personal taste. However, I'm sure there will be a lot of readers who will like the series.… (más)

Much, much better than the series debut, The Case of Cabin 13 (I haven't read #2 yet as of today). In this one, Darnell is summoned by no one less than the prime minister of England himself, Lloyd-George, because during a seance to contact the PM's long-dead daughter, the youngest daughter, Megan, is kidnapped out of the blue. As if this weren't bad enough, at a second seance, one of the PM's assistants is found murdered at his seat. Darnell must try to find the missing girl and solve the murder.

This one has enough whodunit elements to keep it interesting. It's a bit beyond a cozy, not a police procedural, and you probably want to start the series at the start to know the characters. All in all, an okay read.… (más)