Joe Murphy (2) (1979–)

I Am In Blood – Old Murders Never Die

Joe Murphy has written an interesting gothic cum crime thriller set in Dublin 1892 and 2015 where we see that investigating for his own purposes, Nathan Jacob, might find out more than he need too. This is a well written book that easily passes back and forth in to old Dublin and new without it looking odd. There is a huge gothic inspiration throughout the book and the murders are rather grisly so you do need to be prepared for what you will read. If grisly gothic crime is not for you then do not open the book, but if you want a journey in to the unknown it is a great read.

The book opens in Dublin 1892 when Sergeant George Frohmell (nice pun) based at Dublin Castle and a member if the Dublin Metropolitan Police, is called out to a murder of a prostitute in the Monto area of Dublin. The scene of crime is like one he has never seen before as Mary Shortt not only been murdered but her body had been defiled at the same time, causing a great deal of shock amongst the police. Over time more murders happen and the more he investigates the less likely he seems likely to catch the murderer. On his own he investigates as his colleagues have other problems to deal with rebellious republicans.

Nathan Jacob’s life seems to be in freefall, still at school when his adoptive father dies and he is grief stricken, his adoptive mother and brother are more distant to him than ever. Nathan has a love of reading about true crime when he is introduced to the Monto Murders that Dublin has forgotten about. He sets out on a journey to find the places where the murders took place and find out more about the George Frohmell and his investigation.

Throughout the book we discover about blood lust just as much about blood lines especially when we see Nathan struggling with his own inner demons and whether he can control them. We that all the major characters in the book are struggling with inner demons and the one that can conquer them may be successful in the end.

With quite a few twists and turns we see how the different time stories are carefully woven together and the close Nathan and George seem to get to their answers the further from the truth they seem to be. We see the gothic Victorian Dublin in a juxtaposition with the modern Dublin, the old verses the new, but lust does not change over time in either time period.

I Am In The Blood is an excellent example of Irish Crime Fiction and why it is successful at the moment as there is something to keep you engrossed throughout the book.… (plus d'informations)

Dublin, December 2015: When Nathan's father dies he is devastated and propelled into utter despair. He feels totally disconnected and alienated from his adoptive family, and they are too wrapped up in their own grief to notice how badly Nathan has been affected. His grief is utterly debilitating. Already labelled as strange by his family and almost everyone at school he feels unable to talk to anyone and draws ever more into himself. His only outlet is reading and he submerges himself into true crime stories and soon becomes obsessed with murders that took place over a century ago in 'The Mondo' Dublin. Nathan is compelled to investigate and with his only friend, Esther Gilsenan as accomplice, he uncovers some unnerving and terrifying revelations about his own family history.
Nathan's account is terribly emotive and unsettling. I really felt for him in his misery and growing disconnection with the real world and his frustration at wanting to know who he really is now that everything dear to him has gone.

Dublin, 1890's: Sergeant George Frohmell (Fromhell !) is a man struggling to come to terms with past relationships and has a long term drink problem. His problems are about to increase tenfold with the discovery of a brutally murdered prostitute. With political unrest taking up valuable police time and resources, Frohmell finds it increasingly difficult and frustrating tracking down the murderer with little to no help from a police force that considers the murder of prostitutes a low priority.
Frohmell is fearful for these women, especially Rose a prostitute he cares about and despirately wants to apprehend the perpetrator. With the aid of his partner, Dr Oliver O'Sullivan, they endeavour to catch the killer before he finds his next victim.

The third perspective is that of the murderer as a child and is set in Sussex, England between the years 1843-1856. Each chapter begins and ends with what can only be described as the ramblings of a madman which have been penned in poetic prose. These are chilling, and confusing passages which only make a modicum of sense after reading the sections in between that go some way in explaining the mind and psyche of the developing psychopath.

The climactic collision of the two timescales was a little disappointing on Nathan's part of the story. Its a short sharp finale with no conclusion, but it does have the seeds of a sequel where we may find out what happened.

The writing style of the book is overwhelmingly dark, with gothic atmospheric scenes of poverty driving women to put themselves in harms way and degrade themselves in order to provide for their family. Murphy was an artist painting the scenes so I could see, smell and taste and experience the misery, and harshness of life in Dublin during the 1890's.
Favourite quotes/sentences from the book were: 'Black coat, black scarf, black hair, black eyes. Her face floated like a petal in dark waters' & 'There was a broken edge to it that he didn't like. It was a twiggy sound, winter sound. Sharp and gnarled'.

"I Am in Blood is a many-layered tale of darkness and bloodshed. It asks the question: Who are we? And most importantly: Do we have a choice"
The title’s reference to Macbeth and the line 'I am in blood' suggests to me that once started on a path, one is unable to undo any steps taken, or go back to the way things were. They have to see it through to it final fruition. Or, for the purposes of this novel, maybe it implies that a persons genetic makeup may predispose them to inheriting traits of their historical relatives including mental health defects and that untreated may develop into full blown psychopathic tendencies.

I would certainly recommend 'I Am In Blood' for YA's and more mature teens, they would certainly 'get' Nathan's 'teen angst'. I'd also recommend it to anyone else for that matter who enjoy an atmospheric, and gruesome gothic thriller. Book groups would have some interesting discussions about the content too.

Disclaimer:
I received an advanced readers copy from, RealReaders for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)

I am in Blood - Joe Murphy

This writer was unfamiliar to me when I began reading this book from Real Readers and as I read I thought it was a debut novel. It read in that way a debut novelist often has of almost trying to over prove themselves with elaborate descriptions. So I was very surprised to find that Joe Murphy has a couple of other books under his belt. Sorry to say I won't be seeking them out.
I found this book unpleasant overall. Both factually and fictionally Jack the Ripper has been done to death (no pun intended) and we are no nearer to finding his identity - the cold case that will never grow warm. I am not sure whether we are supposed to think that the killer here really is the Ripper because the subsequent finding and killing of him lacks credence given the historical perspectives. That is a spoiler,I guess and I don't normally do them but then to my mind can you spoil something that is already spoilt?
Overall I couldn't see the point of this story. The graphic descriptions of the mutilations added nothing to the narrative. None of the characters are particularly likeable, Maybe George is the exception. Ultimately I deduce that the premise of the book is to suggest that an individual’s predisposition to becoming a serial killer is genetic. Not a pleasant thought. It is not an uplifting or entertaining book, it doesn't seek to draw out any significant truths or philosophies. Is it written to shock? To thrill? It did neither for me. But, much as I like crime, thriller, historical fiction this wasn't a pleasant experience. But that is just my opinion. I find it disturbing that someone’s mind can come up with this kind of material.
I am rarely this harsh about a book and I will try to end with something positive. Ultimately I believe it to be quite a well written book. The title’s reference to Macbeth offers a clue maybe that there is some remorse somewhere within the book and from the writer maybe? And also, for me, reading a book I don’t like makes me aware of just how many I do like!!… (plus d'informations)