The Killing Breed

By Mark Graham

A debut historical mystery is set against a backdrop of post-Civil War Philadelphia and finds veteran Wilton McCleary investigating the cases of a missing child and a valuable dog held for ransom.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380800667
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Avon
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.3" x 0.8" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Informative and entertaining mystery

As a life-long Philadelphian, it was fascinating to read how much life has changed in the City of Brotherly Love in the past 100 or so years. This was a story that was too short -- can't wait to read the next installment.

If you like the Alienist, you'll like this book

An excellent historical crime novel, grippingly evokes the post Civil War street life in Philadelphia. Get deep inside the head of a fascinating character, Wilton McCleary, former Civil War POW and now a cop/detective. Kidnapping, plot twists, the story unfolds like a screenplay as you can better than see, taste, hear, smell- and because it is written in the first person- even feel the story. Like Carr and Peters, you feel the era. The story unfolds, and enfolds the reader. Even if you don't like history,if you just want to enjoy a great mystery, you'll like this book and you won't figure it out. I am already looking forward to the next one of these, Wilton McCleary could become a classic American character. This book is A1 to me.

A great start for a new series.

Killing Breed is a tightly plotted mystery, with a surprising, but logical, ending. The writing brings 1870s Philadelphia alive; it's almost a character in the book. The reader can feel (and smell) what it was like to walk the streets of an American city 130 years ago. I hope this series has a long life, so we will have many more chances to walk those streets.

A gripping detective story with an intelligent edge.

I found The Killing Breed to be a very enjoyable read that engaged my imagination as well as my intellect. Unlike other more celebrated authors who turn out banal, formulaic reproductions, Graham writes a realistic story with realistic people doing realistic things. The reader is educated through the story as well as entertained. I read the book in two sittings and almost missed my train stop in the process, so engrossing was the story! I hope this author keeps up the good work.

An ingenious mystery in a fascinating historical setting.

I am a fan of historical mysteries but have always yearned for a book that realistically recreates the past rather than paint it with a cozy glow. I have finally found what I've been looking for in Mark Graham's The Killing Breed. Graham masterfully evokes the rich squalor of nineteenth-century Philadelphia in this murder mystery featuring police detective Wilton McCleary, a Civil War veteran with no illusions about his city or its inhabitants. The period detail feels so real that I would swear the author had lived there. I wholeheartedly recommend The Killing Breed to lovers of historical mysteries, of mysteries in general, and of historical suspense novels such as those by Caleb Carr. This book is the first of a series featuring McClearly. We are in for a treat! Mark Graham is a major new talent.