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THE LAST PLEASURE GARDEN is the third in the series to feature Scotland Yard Inspector Decimus Webb. Cremorne Gardens in Chelsea is one of 19th century London's pleasure gardens. Along with his sidekick Sergeant Bartleby, Webb finds himself investigating a sinister figure who plagues the gardens. His victims are young women visiting the gardens. His crime is cutting off a lock of hair from the women with the scissors that he carries on him. The gardens generate excitement and controversy in equal measure, offending Victorian sensibilities to the point of violence. However, when a number of murders take place, Webb is not convinced that the 'Cutter' (as he is called) is the one who is committing the gruesome crimes. His investigations lead him in a very different direction and to Rose Perfitt, a hopeful debutante and the daughter of a respectable stockbroker. Will she be the Cutter's next victim? Who is the Cutter? Could it be George Nelson a paroled prisoner or the Reverend Featherstone, an ardent campaigner and fiery preacher who is against the citadel of evil which is Cremorne Gardens and who is determined to see the gardens closed down? Or could it even be a member of the Perfitt family? Even though Webb is pressed for answers by both the press and his superiors he resists and his obsession with finding the real killer even begins to lead Bartleby to presume that his judgement is flawed. If you want to find yourself immersed in the forgotten world of the Victorian pleasure-garden, in a gripping mystery of garish gaslight and dark secrets then you should certainly read THE LAST PLEASURE GARDEN. Jackson faithfully recreates Victorian London with all faults and foibles. He uses Webb's remarks not only to comment on the absurdities of the Victorian class system but also the eccentric and peculiar characters abound during the period. The reader is given the opportunity through the eyes of Webb to examine the double standards and the miscellaneous unpalatable truths that are lurking beneath the glossy surface. There is also a fascinating glimpse into the seedier reaches of Victorian life. The one disappointment for me in this book was actually the characters of Webb and Bartleby. They are not fleshed out enough, especially Webb who does not really seem to have any personality at all. I hope that as the series progresses that Jackson will remedy this. Essentially THE LAST PLEASURE GARDEN is about death, desire, and corruption along with all its ramifications.
Reviewed by Ayo Onatade, May 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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