O’Donnell evokes sinister Victorian scenes with some panache

FICTION: The House on Vesper Sands, By Paraic O’Donnell, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, €17.50

When you think about it, it’s not surprising that when it comes to crime, so many contemporary writers step back in time to the latter half of the 19th century.

For one, the Victorians invented the detective story as we know it - both the dogged police detective determined to uncover the truth and the charismatic lone sleuth with eccentric ...