The River of Souls (The Matthew Corbett Series Book 5)

Cliche' ridden, confusing, too many references to character's and past events, which disrupts the flow of the story. The title and the book cover, initially drew my interest. I haven't read past the first chapter yet...at this point I am disappointed. I will try again later, maybe this winter.

I read an article that favorably mentioned Robert McCammon. I read his short story Nightcrawlers and liked it. At his best, McCammon's descriptions are vivid and, in some cases, lyrical. Since I liked Nightcrawlers, I decided to try his recent book The River of Souls.

The River of Souls is the fifth book that McCammon has written where the protagonist is Matthew Corbett. In this book Matthew Corbett returns to Charles Town (modern Charleston, South Carolina), which was the setting for Corbett's earlier Matthew Corbett movel Speaks the Nightbird. Four years have passed since 1699 when Speaks the Nightbird took place. Apparently Matthew Corbett has had many adventures (in two previous books).

The style that The River of Souls is written in seemed to me to be a sort of pseudo-Arthur Conan Doyle, with Matthew Corbett as a holmesian character. Corbett is a professional "problem solver", much in the way way Sherlock Holmes was. I found this style grating.

McCammon does a decent job of giving some feel for the far away time of 1703, the time of Benjamin Franklin's grandparents. North America still had huge swaths of land that were unsettled. This unknown, unsettled land serves as a backdrop for the trip up The Rivers of Souls.

McCammon seems to be strongest as a horror writer. There are scenes of man made horror in this novel and they are quite vivid. The rest of the novel is rather tepid, however.

Matthew Corbett is an oddly passive hero. He seems to almost drift along. He tries to do the right thing in the face of injustice, but in this novel he does not seem to be a skilled fighter. Once he embarks on his adventure up The River of Souls, he seems to just drift along, beset by events and the other characters in the story. This continues through the end of the novel.

This makes for an uncompelling novel, which I would not describe as a "page turner". If you are already invested in the Matthew Corbett series this may be an OK read, but it seems like the energy that may have existed in the earlier books is not here.

The biggest problem with this book is that the author did not know where it ended and the next one began. The whole story turned out to be mostly a setup to get the central character, Matthew Corbett, back into conflict with an old enemy – in the next book. Much of what has happened to Corbett since his debut in Speaks the Nightbird (the first in the series and the only one I’d previously read) is reiterated in The River of Souls. At first, I found this mildly interesting and appreciated the author’s attempt to catch the reader up on what might have been missed. I resented it, though, when I realized it was all foreshadowing for the next book.

Much of what I enjoyed about Speaks the Nightbird was its sense of place and time. The descriptions of travel and life in the 1600s provided an interesting, richly drawn backdrop for the story. The River of Souls misses out on this almost entirely. The central conflict and the river travel that are the focus of the book work as no more than gimmicks to keep the story moving, and aside from the issue of slavery, the characters could be living in nearly any time period, exploring nearly any uncharted river.

A better approach would have been to shorten the story that takes place in The River of Souls and make it the first half of whatever is going to happen in the next book. This is somewhat how Speaks the Nightbird worked: The first part of the story established the setting and focused on the prosecution of an alleged witch, and the second part focused on what happened to all of the characters once the accused witch’s sentence was passed.

If you are already a fan of this series, you may enjoy having The River of Souls bridge the gap between the last book and the next; I, however, felt shortchanged.

This is an interesting combination of SF and mystery. Matthew Corbett , the hero, is a "problem-solver", another phrase for detective who lives in 1700's Washington. He has been hired to escort an attractive young lady to a ball in Charlestown. Little does he know that this young lady, fair of face but not of actions, has a follower that will try to kill him. And so begins this tale of mystery, death, mysterious doings and swamp lore.
Matthew befriends Magnus Muldoon, the man who wants to kill him and marry Pandora Prisskitt, the lady Matthew has been hired to escort to the ball. Matthew is poorly treated by Pandora and in sympathy with Magnus, travels south of Charlestown to aid him and show him how to better his lot by selling the beautiful glass that he makes. While at Magnus's house the alarm bell of the local plantation rings and responding to the alarm both men find that the daughter of the Plantation owner has been murdered. Thus begins a search for 3 fugitive slaves accused of the murder and the deadly swamp formed by the Solstice River. As Matthew and Magnus unite to save the accused slaves they plunge into the deadly swamp and.....
The mystery of who did what, to whom, is a bit thin but it is a fast paced adventure laced with snakes, a mysterious creature, and other dangers of the swamp. This is an entertaining read which gets faster and faster as it tumbles to a conclusion.

The River of souls, the fifth installment in Robert McCammon's Matthew Corbett series, delivers plenty of action and adventure, murder and mystery in 1703 America. It's not as satisfying as some of the other entries, but I enjoyed the ride and am eager to read the next adventure.

Robert McCammon is one of a handful of writers who command my attention no matter what they write. I discovered him in his horror days and happily read all his books. (He remains one of our finest American horror writers today.) Then he left horror to write A Boy's Life, and Gone South: it didn't matter that he was writing "outside" the horror genre. These books are some of my favorites. McCammon has a gift for dialogue and his characters, no matter their situation, always vibrate with life, are always real and believable.

When it comes to Matthew Corbett's historical adventures, McCammon is at the top of his game, with entertaining historical adventure-mysteries that perhaps pay slight homage to Sherlock Holmes and absolutely contain whiffs of the supernatural, two things that I especially like. The books are entertaining and fun, and contain that same eeriness McCammon infuses in all his other works. While The River of Souls isn't the best entry - it's rather short - it's good and necessary to the series. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

River of Souls takes place in the Carolina settlement of 1703 Charles Town. Matthew Corbett, a professional problem solver, has reluctantly traveled from New York City having been hired to escort a rich man’s daughter to a local ball. He’s sure the daughter has to be ugly or deformed or both - but it is just for an evening so he can manage that much for the handsome fee he’s being paid. Imagine his surprise when the daughter turns out to be beautiful. As the evening progresses, he convinces himself that he’s falling in love. Then a Magnus Muldoon enters the ballroom. He is a giant of a man, unkempt, angry, and he’s going to kill Matthew for having dared take the woman he loves to the ball. Suddenly, Matthew understands why no local man would escort the rich man’s daughter to the ball. Magnus challenges Matthew to a duel. Matthew accepts, but has no intention of actually dueling with pistols.

Thus begins the latest entry in the Matthew Corbett series. As the novel continues, there is a murder on a plantation a dozen miles outside Charles Town. A slave is accused of killing a sixteen-year-old girl. When the slave, and two of his family members, escape into a nearby swamp, Matthew joins in the search because he’s troubled by discrepancies in the evidence being presented.

I have not read any of Robert McCammon’s other books. While I wasn’t taken by this outing, mainly due to the location and subject matter once the book got to the meat of the story, I will start with the first in the series. McCammon is a talented author who can evoke a historical period to make the reader forget that she is living in the 21st century as she reads about the 18th century.

McCammon gives enough information about Matthew so the reader has a sense of what kind of man he is without McCammon having to retell the events of the other books in this series.

"The River of Souls" is the 5th installment of the Matthew Corbett series. I have read all of the previous novels except "The Providence Rider," which is the 4th installment. I felt that "River of Souls" was good enough, but it was the weakest of the bunch so far. If this had been my first foray into Corbett's world, I am not sure I would have finished the book or wanted to read the next novel. Only because I am such a fan of the series and Matthew did I finish the book and will likely read the next installment.

In "The River of Souls," Matthew goes to Charles Town, which takes him away from the characters we have grown to know and love, Berry Grigsby and Hudson Greathouse. I feel that those two characters are central to these books, and I very much missed their absence. I also felt that this book seemed quite fantastical and almost unreal in a sense. For example, in the first chapter, Matthew duels with a man who is described as some sort of mythical monster. I know these books have touched on the supernatural in the past ("Speaks the Nightbird"), but this book had a feel to it that I can't quite pin down. It seemed like part of it were told as a fairy tale.

I still recommend this series as one of my favorite, but I would encourage readers to start with volume one, "Speaks the NIghtbird."

Robert McCammon is the author of one of my favorite books ever (Boy's Life). My cousin's favorite book is Swan Song. And together, we both gobbled up "Speaks the Nightbird." I was never fully able to get into "Queen of Bedlam" (which also featured Matthew Corbett of "Nightbird") but McCammon still remains one of those authors that if I see a book of his and I can snag it (be it library, the store, book store, grocery store, whatever), I'll get it.

So it was with "The River of Souls" which I did not realize what the fifth Matthew Corbett book so I was rather pleased to settle in to read it.

There are some nuggets of enjoyment throughout "The River of Souls" as Matthew is asked to escort a local beauty to a local ball. While the job sounds pithy and easy, Matthew's adventure down south turns into a murder mystery in which a young girl is killed and a slave becomes the suspect which may as well be a death sentence.

The book itself is short in comparison to the epic "Nightbird" and even to "Queen" so the plot moves pretty fast with Matthew solving the mystery relatively quickly. There aren't many surprises in the book and to be honest, I wondered a few times if McCammon had even been the one to write the book or if just has his imprint or something.

I don't know. While it wasn't a bad book, it wasn't quite as good as I expected from McCammon. All that said, I'll still probably go track down "Mister Slaughter" and "Providence Rider" to read because even when McCammon isn't completely McCammon-level-great, McCammon-level-good is still better than most.

This is my first time reading a Matthew Corbett book, and it will not be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed this Sherlock Holmesian tale, and it did what I want adventure or mystery books to do: keep me turning pages.

The story, set in the early eighteenth-century, begins when Corbett is asked to escort a woman to a ball. Needing a break, he agrees to the request and finds himself challenged to a duel. Once he sidesteps that obstacle, he is confronted with a more substantial issue. There has been a murder, and the slave who is suspected has fled. So Corbett sets out along the River of Souls, a river believed haunted, in pursuit.

It's here that the novel really kept me turning the pages. The pages pretty much ooze atmosphere and menace as Corbett et al. face hostile natives, hostile wildlife, and worse during the trip. Reading this portion of the book made it crystal clear to me why McCammon is such an adept horror writer.

The River of Souls didn't change my life. It didn't do anything to make me look at the world differently. It just took me away from my life for a few hours and fully immersed me in a very different world. To me, a book that can do that is a winner.

This is book number 5 in the Matthew Corbett series. Matthew is a professional problems solver, but his attempt to solve a problem that should in fact be a pleasure-- escorting a handsome young woman to the Sword of Damocles Ball in 1703 Charles Town, results in an unexpected encounter with the man mountain Magnus Muldoon. Charles Town, now known as Charleston, South Carolina, was not then the mannerly gracious city it is now. In fact McCammon seems to have played down some of the less pleasant aspects of living in the early 18th century. After the solution to this first problem, Corbett is involved in a murder that takes him into the depths of the swamp on the River of Souls, a tributary to the Cooper River.

McCammon has not lost his touch. In the 80's he wrote a number of memorable horror novels. Now with his Matthew Corbetts books he combines the uncanny with the historical and the adventurous to create an entertaining historical setting. This book, unlike the the earlier ones, is less of a mystery novel and more of an adventure novel with a touch of the supernatural. He also acquires an unlikely ally.

POTENTIAL SPOILER DON'T READ ON IF YOU WORRY ABOUT SPOILERS

This book has a satisfying ending, but it also leaves Matthew in a very parlous situation on a journey to meet an enemy that he cannot remember.

The River of Souls is long and winding. This fifth volume in the Matthew Corbett series is the shortest of them all but contains the strangest flow of events. About three quarters into the novel the first story ends and a new story begins, which then ends on a precarious note. I would call this installment a "teaser" meant to whet the appetites of those, myself included, who have been salivating over Matthew's return. All of this may sound negative but it is not. This adventure is well worth the time and includes some mysterious characters, some familiar faces, and a few unexpected twists. There are a few gruesome scenes in this work (possibly worse than the dinner scene from Providence Rider but, then again, maybe not...) but if you have a strong stomach and make it through them you are rewarded with the promise of a riveting sequel.

Robert McCammon has always been one of my favorite authors. Still is. This book is a must read for any fan. Why only three stars then, you ask? Let me explain it without giving anything away.

McCammon used to write supernatural horror books along the lines of Stephen King or Dean Koontz, only he was better than either of those two. (Read Swan Song...no, really, read Swan Song.) He went for a time trying to find his real interest and now he writes historical fiction, much to my delight. This is an incredible series full of action and adventure and romance and characters with a depth that makes you care about them. Start with "Sings the Nightbird" and work your way forward, you won't be disappointed.

(Spoiler alert) It's the ending here that leaves you unsatisfied, as the story doesn't end. The reader is left waiting for the next book to see what happens to Matthew Corbett, and I don't know that it's fair to the reader to leave it this way. Even a partial ending would have been welcomed. Another four chapters, perhaps? This feels like it was deliberately written to set up the next book in line, leaving me to think some dramatic conclusion to the series is coming. That being said, I will definitely buy the next book, and the one after that, and so on for as long as Mister McCammon chooses to put his incredible writing skills to good use. Thank you, Robert McCammon, for gifting us with these stories.

Love the Matthew Corbett series. Love love love. I used to read Robert McCammon years ago (decades ago!) for his horror, but I stopped reading horror when my own life got difficult enough. But I always admired McCammon as a writer. So I was absolutely thrilled to find out he was writing historical fiction, and I've been jumping on these books as soon as they are published. River of Souls is no exception. Fantastic setting, where the swamp itself seems almost to be a character in the story. There's enough reference to previous novels that you *might* want to know what happened already, but it really doesn't have any bearing on this story. Because it's also a very short novel, for that reason I do wonder a bit about its purpose in the series. But I enjoyed it immensely regardless.

Authors are often told to "show not tell" and one way you can do this is by describing the sensory experiences of your characters. However that can overwhelm readers when it is done too much, in too much detail repeatedly, and when the descriptions do not advance the plot or character development. This book suffers from all of these negatives over and over. Sure you get a good sense of the world and the River of Souls (once we're on it) but it felt overwhelming and pulled away from characters, leaving me uninterested half of the time.

The book is not about what you think from the back blurb, at least not until about a third of the way into the story. The main character is really Matthew Corbett but we also get into the minds of several other characters. Corbett's experiences on his latest job will radically change his life yet try as I might I found it difficult to feel connected to him probably because do not stay just with his viewpoint and are drawn off by these descriptive passages.

There are some lovely drawings in the book, I saw an AUP (advance uncorrected proof) so I can't say how many will be in the final version but their tone added to the good creepy feeling of the book in most of the last 2/3rd of the story. Warning: this is a violent world that Corbett is navigating so if you don't like that sort of thing, this book isn't for you.

McCammon tries to do several things at once in this book -- historical fiction, horror, character study, social commentary. Had Corbett's self-appointed task of finding runaway slaves been the focus of the entire the book this may have worked well. As it was, my attention was pulled into too many directions by too many different characters, creepy encounters, and tending toward purple prose.

Corbett journeys back to North Carolina to solve a murder on a plantation. Brilliant writing, compelling prose and the historical setting so vividly portrayed made this a winner for me.

BOOK #1 SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD - Judgment of the Witch The Carolinas, 1699: The citizens of Fount Royal believe a witch has cursed their town with inexplicable tragedies -- and they demand that beautiful widow Rachel Howarth be tried and executed for witchcraft. Presiding over the trial is traveling magistrate Issac Woodward, aided by his astute young clerk, Matthew Corbett. Believing in Rachel's innocence, Matthew will soon confront the true evil at work in Fount Royal.... Evil Unveiled - After hearing damning testimony, magistrate Woodward sentences the accused witch to death by burning. Desperate to exonerate the woman he has come to love, Matthew begins his own investigation among the townspeople. Piecing together the truth, he has no choice but to vanquish a force more malevolent than witchcraft in order to save his beloved Rachel -- and free Fount Royal from the menace claiming innocent lives.

BOOK #2 THE QUEEN OF BEDLAM - takes Matthew Corbett, to New York circa 1700, where a killer wields a bloody and terrifying power over a bustling city carving out its identity -- and over Matthew's own uncertain destiny. The unsolved murder of a respected doctor has sent ripples of fear throughout a city teeming with life and noise and commerce. Who snuffed out the good man's life with the slash of a blade on a midnight street? The local printmaster has labeled the fiend "the Masker," adding fuel to a volatile mystery...and when the Masker claims a new victim, hardworking young law clerk Matthew Corbett is lured into a maze of forensic clues and heart-pounding investigation that will both test his natural penchant for detection and inflame his hunger for justice. In the strangest twist of all, the key to unmasking the Masker may await in an asylum where the Queen of Bedlam reigns -- and only a man of Matthew's reason and empathy can unlock her secrets. From the seaport to Wall Street, from society mansions to gutters glimmering with blood spilled by a deviant, Matthew's quest will tauntingly reveal the answers he seeks -- and the chilling truths he cannot escape.

BOOK #3 MISTER SLAUGHTER - 1702 New York City takes Matthew and the reader on an unforgettable journey of horror, violence, and personal discovery. The journey begins when Matthew, now an apprentice "problem solver" for the London-based Herrald Agency, accepts an unusual and hazardous commission. Together with his colleague, Hudson Greathouse, he agrees to escort the notorious mass murderer Tyranthus Slaughter from an asylum outside Philadelphia to the docks of New York. Along the way, Slaughter makes his captors a surprising - and extremely tempting - offer. Mister Slaughter is at once a classic portrait of an archetypal serial killer and an exquisitely detailed account of a fledgling nation still in the process of inventing itself.

BOOK #4 THE PROVIDENCE RIDER - the winter of 1703, with Matthew still haunted by his lethal encounter with notorious mass murderer Tyranthus Slaughter. When an unexplained series of explosions rocks his Manhattan neighborhood, Matthew finds himself forced to confront a new and unexpected problem. Someone is trying--and trying very hard--to get his attention. That someone is a shadowy figure from out of Matthew's past: the elusive Dr. Fell. The doctor, it turns out, has a problem of his own, one that requires the exclusive services of Matthew Corbett. The ensuing narrative moves swiftly and gracefully from the emerging metropolis of New York City to Pendulum Island in the remote Bermudas. In the course of his journey, Matthew encounters a truly Dickensian assortment of memorable, often grotesque, antagonists. These include Sirki, the giant, deceptively soft-spoken East Indian killer, Dr. Jonathan Gentry, an expert in exotic potions with a substance abuse problem of his own, the beautiful but murderous Aria Chillany, and, of course, the master manipulator and 'Emperor of Crime' on two continents, Dr. Fell himself. The result is both an exquisitely constructed novel of suspense and a meticulous recreation of a bygone era. Filled with danger, narrative surprises, and an almost tangible sense of place, The Providence Rider is historical fiction at its finest and most developed. It is the novel that McCammon's many devoted readers have been waiting for. They will not be disappointed.

Though Robert McCammon newest novel, The River of Soul, isn't as thick as his other "Matthew Corbett" novels, it is definitely as beautiful to look at and as entertaining to read as Mister Slaughter and The Providence Rider were.

To escape his strong feelings for Berry Grigsby for a short period of time (remember, in The Providence Rider, our lead character told Berry to find someone else so Professor Fell would lose interest in her), Corbett decides to accept what seems to be easy money for the Herrald Agency. He has to make his way to Charles Town in the Carolinas and escort a rich girl to the town's yearly ball.

Once there and after a series of incidents, Corbett soon finds himself traveling up the Solstice River with others, who are in search of three runaway slaves. One of the slaves may be guilty of murdering the daughter of a plantation owner, or the real killer may be in the group of vigilantes. Corbett has reason to believe someone other than the slave murdered the young girl and is determined to see the supposed killer brought back to stand trial.

This is certainly a journey that's fraught with danger from several different avenues: a menacing lynch mob who wants to take justice into their own hands and collect the huge reward that's being offered, to a dark, uninviting river full of hungry alligators, a strange tribe of Indians who enjoy cutting off the heads of their victims and using them for sport, and a mysterious creature that's following after them, waiting for the right moment to attack its prey.

Matthew Corbett will have his hands full as he learns about humanity in all of its terrible forms. He will also make a few new and unexpected friends, and together they will attempt to do the impossible.

I loved Corbett's return to Charles Town, which was mentioned in the first novel, Speaks the Nightbird. I felt this particular novel that deals with Corbett's search for justice into the dark soul of the night was just as good as the previous books in the series.

Though Corbett's other friends from New York City are only mentioned in the story for a few pages, it seemed somewhat important to me that the lead character be more-or-less on his own during this rather unusual and exciting adventure. I feel the writing was just as tight as in the previous novels and that the many characters were completely fleshed out to my own personal satisfaction. This was a novel I read quickly, looking for any reason to pick it up and to move ahead a few more pages at each outing.

If you're never read this series by Robert McCammon, I would suggest that you begin with the first novel, Speaks the Nightbird. From there, read the rest of them in order: The Queen of Bedlam, Mister Slaughter, The Providence Rider, and The River of Souls. The author has five more "Matthew Corbett" novels planned for the future so get ready for a lot of reading.

It almost hurts me to write this review. Robert McCammon was one of my favorite author's growing up. In middle and high school I devoured his novels; "Stinger", "Baal", "Wolf's Hour", "Bethany's Sin"....I've read and re-read most of his books over the years with "Boy's Life" still standing as one of the best novels I've ever read. I thought he had retired after "Gone South" in 1992?

I grabbed "River of Souls" as soon as I saw his name attached, and I couldn't wait to jump into a new McCammon novel!! Well it didn't take long to realize that "River of Souls" was part of series, one I was not familiar with, and that most of the characterization must have been laid out in earlier stories, as I had no clue Matthew Corbett was the protagonist of the novel for the first several chapters. References were made to his earlier adventures, and as I continued reading I found myself losing interest in both the character and the story.

The novel opens in the year 1703 and we find Matthew Corbett at a fancy ball, on the arm of the most beautiful girl in the Carolina settlement of Charles Town. Corbett is drawn into the murder investigation of 16-year old girl, and the suspected murderer is a runaway slave. The professional "problem solver" works with an unlikely partner to track down the slave and find the truth behind the girl's murder.

I really wanted to like this novel, and because I was such a fan of this author's earlier works, I will go back to the first Corbett story ("Speaks the Nightbird") and give these tales a try. I may not have cared for this novel simply because it's the fifth in the series, and I don't recommend you start this series with this entry, there is simply too much about the main character I just don't get from this story.

Being a devoted reader of McCammon since the mid-80s, I anxiously await the release of each new McCammon title. Like with his other works, The River of Souls shows that McCammon is a master storyteller -- excellent prose, tight storyline, and always full of surprises. This is book five of the Matthew Corbett series, so definitely read them in order, starting with Speaks the Nightbird.

After catching up on the Corbett series, read some of his classics if you haven't already -- Boy's Life, Swan Song, and Stinger.

For fans of author Robert McCammon, and especially fans of the character Matthew Corbett, this book did not live up to the high standards set by its predecessors. I became a fan of both McCammon and Corbett with the outstanding work "Speaks The Nightbird" and the books that followed. The storyline here was just not as interesting to me. I felt like the characters here were not fully developed, and the storyline rapidly became to formulaic. It won't turn me off the series, by any means, and I anxiously await the next installment.

"The River of Souls" by Robert McCammon was an enjoyable enough read but, I wasn't aware it was part of a series. With some series books, each volume works as a stand alone book.This is a series that you need to be actively reading all the books. This book doesn't tie everything up neat and tidy at the end but keeps you hanging until the next book.

Not a horrid book as a stand alone but, I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the previous books in the series.

This is a good, solid entry into McCammon's series. (Please be aware - it is the FOURTH book in his series. Don't buy it unless you've read the other three or are at least purchasing them all together.) It starts off with a bang and keeps going from there. Very eventful, often melodramatic, and unrelenting, this is a fun, action-packed story that McCammon's fans will surely enjoy. I really liked it, and heartily recommend the entire series to anyone who enjoys the genre.

This is a good historical mystery. I understand it is part of a series but I feel there was enough information provided that the reader won't feel lost if this is the first book by this author you pick up. The pacing is just right--there is never a point where you get bored. There are well-drawn characters and the writing if not superb is workmanlike. There are some unanswered questions at the end that I guess will be answered in the next book in the series.

This novel had me interested from the start, but once I got 1/3 of the way through it was gripping.

As a newcomer to the series, I had no trouble jumping in and following along. I came to care about the characters quickly and could appreciate the drama of the ending even without the benefit of reading previous installments. The River of Souls certainly peaked my interest in the rest of the series. I would very much enjoy additional Matthew Corbett adventures if I have the time.

As a historical fantasy, this works wonderfully. There is a lot of action and some very surprising twists and turns in the plot. However, the book starts very slowly and it is difficult to keep up with who is who since a lot of the story lines jump around in order to work in background information. It would have been better to have all the background information up front. Also, the ending seems like he is trying to set up for a sequel and it is quite abrupt and disappointing.

A fun escapist read, with spooky situations, a murder mystery, and interesting historical elements. I feel pretty strongly that starting at the beginning of the series is very important in order to enjoy this read.

Not deep literature, but a page-turner that will take you away from work, technology, and modern life in general for a few hours. For most of us, that is a good thing. :)

I love a good mystery novel, but I generally prefer the more psychological novels of Ruth Rendell (and her ilk). This is a good historical mystery, in a setting and time period you don't often see on the shelves - early 18th century, colonial South Carolina. Very interesting, and the whole series is worth reading.

The overly complicated descriptions along with all the references to past events that are not included in the story that the reader has no reference to made the beginning of this book this difficult to read and hard to understand, it does get better, but not enough to make it worth wading through the mess in the first chapters of the book.

Not recommended

Not up to the standard of previous books. This one went a little too far out there for me on believably. It does however have one of the most interesting character introductions (comb duel) that I have ever read. Still, hope the next installment in the series comes out soon.

Robert McGammon is one of my favorite authors. His Matthew Corbett series novels are exciting and fast paced! The River of Souls was definitely a page turner! What now has Matthew got himself into? We'll find out in the next book, Freedom of the Mask.