murder noun 1. the deliberate and unlawful killing of a human being, especially in a premeditated manner; 2. a flock of crows.
Time is a river in which secrets are submerged, and we are caught in its undertow.
This week’s wintry weather and the promise of more on the way has turned my mind to Crow Court, Andy Charman’s debut novel with murder at its heart. From an opening amid a froth of bridal lace to a decisive climax on a night of falling snow, Charman spins his tale across a series of linked episodes over more than two decades. Set largely in the market town of Wimborne Minster, Dorset, the story begins in 1840, when a choirboy takes his own life by drowning in the River Allen.
[Content Warning.]
It is revealed that the boy had been abused both mentally and physically by the Minster’s choirmaster, and it soon becomes clear that generations of boys have routinely suffered the same.
Then the choirmaster is murdered …
Realising the killer’s identity increases our investment in Charman’s story; we are privy to the lives of the wronged, the righteously angry and the falsely-accused, witness to each confluence that might yet sweep them away. In a small community, tragedy touches all, and swirling around the key players, sympathetically-drawn, are those who dabble at its brink or swim in its current. Our attention is rewarded: importance flocks to throwaway lines; curious irrelevancies gain significance with hindsight; innocence and guilt come back to haunt us.
Charman’s omniscient narration utilises the past, present, and future tense, as well as first, second and third person points of view. From the fashion in wedding gowns to the coming of the railway, from bibliomancy to natural selection, his chosen period was one of huge change. He captures it with seamless rigour, encompassing the plight of the rural poor, attitudes towards homosexuality, and the role of women as his locomotive pace, sly symbolism and rhythmic step-changes build to a satisfying catharsis.
Crow Court by Andy Charman is published by Unbound, the crowd-funded independent publisher.