Based on the last five years of Charles Dickens's life, this thriller, narrated by friend/rival novelist Wilkie Collins, blends biography and fiction as it explores the complicated relationship between the two writers. New York Times best-selling novelist Simmons (The Terror) leads listeners into the shadowy world of Victorian London, while Audie Award nominee Simon Prebble (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) convincingly brings Dickens and Collins to life. But though full of atmosphere and suspense, the book is overlong and includes too many subplots that distract from the main story line. With its many references to Dickens and his works, this title should especially appeal to bibliophiles and enthusiasts of Victorian literature. [Audio clip available through www.hachettebookgroup.com; the Little, Brown hc received a starred review, LJ 1/09.-Ed.]-Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Adult/High School-Toward the end of his life, Dickens and his mistress, Nelly Ternan, were in a terrible train crash. While they lived, many did not. Simmons spins a fantastical mystery from the episode, imagining what horror Dickens might have witnessed that night that haunted his last years and played into his final, unfinished work, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.