Book Review: Jekyll & Hyde: Consulting Detectives by Tim Major

Heiress Muriel Carew has the shock of her life while attending a society party at the London home of wealthy philanthropist Simeon Courtenay. Her former fiance Dr. Henry Jekyll, whom she hasn’t seen in a decade, is somehow in attendance too. The last she’d heard of him, he’d disappeared to the continent after breaking off their engagement in the wake of her beloved father’s death.

Despite the unpleasant surprise, she quickly realizes that Henry may be there for the same reason that she is. Muriel even considers merging their efforts as they manage to have a relatively civil conversation, though that civility is due largely to her own poise and familiarity with his lack of tact:

“You have no wedding band,” he said. There was pity in his tone.

 

“That’s because I’m not married.”

 

“Yes. Muriel, I’m very sorry to hear that.”

 

She laughed. “It’s not something I’m at all sorry about, myself.”

 

“But I ruined your fortunes. Or rather, I dashed your hopes. I–”

 

She squeezed his hand hard enough to make the thumb click. “Stop right there, Henry. You did nothing of the sort. I have chosen not to marry. And don’t forget the capacity in which I am a guest here. [I am independently wealthy and t]his evening I’m indulging a hobby which has become rather an occupation: I am exposing hypocrisy. If that amounts to being ruined then I’d be interested to know what success looks like.”

Unfortunately, Henry isn’t quite as open to the idea of joining forces as she is. Muriel, however, shadows him through the party till one of the staff politely asks her to leave an area not intended for guests. In her search for where Henry has managed to disappear to, she comes across a terrible sight in the stables. Other women might faint dead away, but her discovery only makes Muriel more determined to find out what Henry is up to now. If she finds answers to the questions that have been plaguing her in the decade since she saw him last, then so much the better.

Muriel soon learns that Henry has set himself up in the city as a consulting detective, with the loutish Edward Hyde acting as his stand-in for situations where a less-than-gentlemanly touch is required. The duo’s specialty is in locating missing persons. Muriel, with her passion for justice, soon finds herself involved in their investigations, despite her occasional misgivings as to Henry’s methods:

“Do you intend to destroy the lock?” Muriel asked.

 

Henry shrugged. “There seems little chance of attracting the anger of the woman who lives here. And I’d prefer to discount a line of enquiry before we leave, wouldn’t you?”

 

Muriel wondered whether she would become equally callous, if she were to continue this association with Henry. He had always been dismissive of societal rules; even a decade ago she had never known him to read a sign stating No entry and not to stray beyond it. If nothing else, it was this self-important attitude that had led him to create Edward Hyde, a vehicle for his private vices and nothing else.

As Muriel gets closer to the enigmatic core of both Henry and Edward, the detectives discover that their missing persons cases may all be related. Braving depraved criminals and dangerous situations, Muriel, Henry, and Edward risk it all to uncover the truth . . . though it may be the secret that Henry and Edward are carefully shielding from Muriel that proves to be the most explosive of them all.

I really loved this twist on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde. Muriel is a compelling character who, while not present in the original novella, debuted in the 1930 film adaptation. Tim Major’s choice to make her the protagonist of this book is a strong one, as she provides the courageous everyperson perspective to counterbalance the destructive internal struggle personified by her detecting partners. Without Muriel, Henry and Edward’s shift from villains to heroes would be far less sympathetic and believable.

The mystery itself proceeds in the tradition of the very first detective adventures written by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, though any speculative fiction influences are limited strictly to the Jekyll-Hyde transformation. Everything else is rooted firmly in the reality of time and place. This only makes the novel feel that much more convincing as a natural continuation of the original story, though with an engaging new perspective in the form of Muriel’s invaluable point of view.