The River of Souls Hardcover – May 31, 2014

I have enjoyed reading the Matthew Corbett series so far and I plan to continue until I finish them . I have to admit , I did not enjoy this book as much as the others. I believe in tying up loose ends when the story ends. This one did not, it continues until the next book. I am ready to find Matthew and not drag out the story in doing so. On to the next book in Hr he series.

"The River of Souls" is my first foray into the imagination of Robert McCarron and it won't be my last. While I have described McCarron as "new favorite author" it should be pointed out that, while he is new to me, is not new to world of novelists. He has been quite prolific for quite a while. As has been the case with many authors/works with whom I am unfamiliar, I accidentally began reading in the middle of a series. I hate it when that happens but it happens (Repairman Jack; Col. Collins and the Event Group; Doc Ford; etc). However, the author has taken great pains to attempt to allow this story to stand on it's own merit. McCarron cleverly introduces the main character, Matthew Corbett, several pages into the novel making it seem as if he is secondary to the story.The book is well-written. It is descriptive but not overly so. It presents us with a significant period in our nation's history but avoids the pitfall of making the novel feel as if it's a text book for a history class. While the main character is a "problem-solver" and has quite powerful reasoning skills, McCarron avoids turning him into a super-human who is incapable of making mistakes.I enjoy historical or period novels. River of Souls is set in 1703 Manhattan, (NY,NY) and Charles Town (Charleston), South Carolina. I enjoy mystery novels, and while this story involves a murder mystery, McCarron also manages to draw us into a tale of what seems to be the super-natural. All of this is woven into a story the keeps the reader engaged and not wanting to put the book down.My only criticism of "The River of Souls" is that the publisher fails to alert the reader that this is a story with a history found in previous novels. The story did stand well on it's own, however had I known the continuing nature of the story and characters, I probably would have gone back to the beginning of the over-arching story and built the story structure chronologically.I heartily recommend "The River of Souls". Full of well-developed, complex characters, possessing a great story line and seamlessly mixing genres, I am reasonably sure that you will be glad you chose to enter McCarron's late 15th and early 16th century world.

In this latest installment in the excellent series set in the early 1700's featuring the young problem-solver Matthew Corbett, Matthew is on edge after his dangerous adventure at the Caribbean stronghold of the mysterious Professor Fell (in the last book, The Providence Rider), an adventure that has put a rift between him and his main crush, Berry Grisby. So when he is offered a tempting 50 pounds for the easy-peasy job of escorting a young debutante to a high class ball in the Charles Town colony, he takes the opportunity to get out of New York for a while. But once there, the daughter of a powerful plantation owner is killed and the murder is pinned on a group of runaway slaves. Believing that there is more to this murder than meets the eye, Matthew decides to join the mob chasing the slaves up the infamous "River of Souls", a creepy, swampy bog that is known not only for it's dangerous animals and violent native tribes, but also for the rumours of a supernatural predator who's presence is signaled by the sound of a wailing infant.The novel is the shortest of the Corbett novels so far and moves at an infectious pace. The book also stands out because the usual supporting cast is mostly absent as Matthew embarks on his new adventure solo! I also love the atmosphere the book has once the journey up the river begins. You can practically smell the swamp and feel the almost never-ending darkness of the night. But the mystery is solved almost immediately, which causes the novel to lose some of its momentum. And the book does feel a bit rushed, especially in it's final third, as if trying to wrap up the adventure as quickly as possible in order to get us to the final events in the end. But those events (although hinged on a huge coincidence!) add up to a doozy of a cliffhanger, leaving me aching to read the next installment. Although not as consistently amazing as the last few books in the series, the book is a worthy follow-up to the Matthew Corbett adventures and a quick and entertaining summer-reading adventure!

Robert McCammom is one of my favorite authors, and the Matthew Corbet novels are page turners. The River of Souls definitely rates five stars.

This book marks the completion of a journey that began with "Speaks the Nightbird" released in 2002. While subsequent books were relatively easy to track down, this one proved to be the most difficult to acquire, only being available from private booksellers in excess of $300. Yeah.So it was good to see it on the market. The series involved the escapades of a self-professed "problem-solver" in very early 18th century America, chiefly in New York City. The books are well researched and written.I must add that I have been a fan of this person's writing for decades.

I absolutely love this series, and the first 4 are some of my favourite books. The way the slow burning stories weave the plot together by dropping small details as they tease you along is basically the selling point. It leaves you desperately trying to guess the mystery.This book is something of an oddity in the collection that left a slightly sour taste in the mouth. Rather than focusing on plot, it tries to engage by using horror and action instead, which doesn't quite fit with the rest of the series, which used these elements sparingly.The plot is fairly straight in which Matthew goes to help capture some slaves accused of murder and expose the real murderer. At half the page count of his usual number and a cliff hanger ending, this really feels like half a book and ends jarringly without any proper resolution to the conflicts it raises.With that being said, it's still McCammon's atmospheric style and filled with tension and very fleshed out characters. I also raced to get to the end so he must've done something right!The ugly sibling of the series, this is worth a read for fans of Mr McCammon but it's also not likely to wow any new readers like the others will.

Another first class yarn from one of the finest authors writing today. This is a little more compact than the earlier Corbett novels, and should perhaps be considered more as a prequel to the next in the series, Freedom of the Mask, as the storyline is ongoing rather than 'stand alone' . However this only serves to whet the appetite for the next instalment, and should not be taken as a criticism. As long as Mr M can keep coming up with this kind of quality, I'll keep reading them!

Book 5 of the Matthew Corbett series, I have read Books 1 and 2 but 3 and 4 are out of my price range. Only book 1 is available on Kindle. The three books I read were first class and I can recommend them.

Simply the best writer alive today. Epic adventure as our hero evokes comparisons with Sherlock & James Bond and we are immersed in colonial New York. More, more, more please.

great read.....