Oisín McGann is an Irish author and illustrator. His newest offering, The Wisdom of Dead Men, is in his series of books in the Wildenstern Saga; a steampunk Victorian adventure set in Ireland.
Women are turning up dead. Women of the working class, with no obvious connection to each other. They are found alone, frequently in locked rooms, apparently the victims of spontaneous human combustion. Law enforcement isn’t sure what to make of the cases. Neither is the clergy. Naturally, turning to the powerful Wildenstern family for help is the only solution.
Berto Wildenstern, the newest head of the family, doesn’t really have time for a murder investigation. He’s too busy trying to keep the rest of his scheming family from killing him for how power and position. His brother Nate, although taxed with protecting Berto, finds the time to investigate the deaths. With the help of Berto’s wife, he encounters a history the Wildenstern’s claim to know nothing about, a history that just might be linked to the deaths.
The Wisdom of Dead Men is an adventure tale wrapped up in a murder mystery, with a side of family intrigue thrown in for good measure. The Victorian setting is vividly realized, as are the mysterious engimals, the living machines that no one knows the origins of. The Wildenstern family are bloodthirsty and conniving, but they aren’t all bad.
(Galley provided by Open Road Integrated Media via NetGalley.)
