The Queen of Bedlam

A Matthew Corbett Novel, Book 2

By: Robert R. McCammon

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

His epic masterwork Speaks the Nightbird, a tour de force of witch hunt terror in a colonial town, was hailed by Sandra Brown as "deeply satisfying...told with matchless insight into the human soul."

Now, Robert McCammon brings the hero of that spellbinding novel, Matthew Corbett, to 18th-century New York, where a killer wields a bloody and terrifying power over a bustling city carving out its identity - and over Matthew's own uncertain destiny.

The unsolved murder of a respected doctor has sent ripples of fear throughout a city teeming with life and noise and commerce. Who snuffed out the good man's life with the slash of a blade on a midnight street? The local printmaster has labeled the fiend "the Masker," adding fuel to a volatile mystery...and when the Masker claims a new victim, hardworking young law clerk Matthew Corbett is lured into a maze of forensic clues and heart-pounding investigation that will both test his natural penchant for detection and inflame his hunger for justice.

In the strangest twist of all, the key to unmasking the Masker may await in an asylum where the Queen of Bedlam reigns - and only a man of Matthew's reason and empathy can unlock her secrets. From the seaport to Wall Street, from society mansions to gutters glimmering with blood spilled by a deviant, Matthew's quest will tauntingly reveal the answers he seeks - and the chilling truths he cannot escape.

©2007 Robert McCammon (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Give Me More Matthew Corbett!

Murder/mystery/suspense is not my favorite genre. However, when McCammon pairs it with historical fiction and superb character development, I find I love it. Murder/mystery/suspense set in 1703 in the growing town of New York with vivid details and excellent dialogue. The Matthew Corbett series is growing on me. Edoardo Bellerini gives voice to the story beautifully.

A really enjoyable listen

I bought this book because it was the sale of the day, and I ended up enjoying it immensely. Although it takes place in the late 1600s (or early 1700s), it was modern enough to keep my interest. Modern in the sense that women had voices and strength, and many of the male characters were very likable and modern-feeling. I could not stand to listen to a book where oppression and harshness of the day were the pervasive storyline.
The book was entertaining and the mystery is superbly developed and resolved. The reader did a very good job with the different characters' voices.
I liked this book so much I bought the next one (and plan to buy the others in the series too).
Highly recommended.
Note: If you are someone who is still sad that Caleb Carr did not write a third book in the Alienist series, you will get a bit of a fix listening to this book and its sequels. Has some of the same feel and humor present in the Alienist.

Matthew Corbett book 2.

I discovered Robert McCammon with Swan Song and A Boys Life. These books have great ratings and thought I’d check them out. They’re well worth the time spent. The author does an excellent job with description, historical accuracy, and developing the characters. I haven’t found a book by Mr. McCammon yet that wasn’t excellent.
The narration is fantastic. I’d let this guy read me a book anytime.
5 stars for The Queen of Bedlam and looking forward to the next in the Matthew Corbett series.

Enjoyed the historic pictures in my mind.

I like the style of the writing. I enjoy the pictures painted of early American Life. This was an entertaining book for me. I like the character, Matthew Corbett. I much enjoyed the first book, and will likely continue with the series.

Great story perfectly narrated

I already have the next book loaded. The beautifully crafted writing, detailed character development and spot on narration drew me in start to finish. One note- maybe because I’m an old woman and a mom, I cried towards the end....

like this series

I really like this series and the characters. but, it takes me a long time to get absorbed in the story. either the writing or the narrator almost puts me to sleep in the beginning of the books. this happened with the first book too. once my ear is acclimated I don't want to put it down.

wonderful characters and six star narration

Intriguing read with well defined characters and a complex plot. Narration by Edoardo Ballerini is the best I've listened to since Jim Dale's Harry Potter series. Matthew Corbett is a creation who can easily support a series. Can't wait to get to others.

Not as great as Speaks the Nightbird

After being blown away by Speaks the Nightbird, the first book in this series, I have to say that I was kind of underimpressed with this one. It started off vey slow, and only until halfway through the book did it start to gain intrigue and momentum for me. The characters - such as Hudson Greathouse, Berry, and Mrs. Herald - seemed to more stereotypical, stock figures, not as nuanced and unique as the ones in Speaks the Nightbird.

I also found that Matthew seemed to be a lot more full of himself in this volume, treating people who are his elders and superiors with a total lack of deference at times.

That being said, I think the mystery all tied together well in the end and I found the climax to be both unexpected and poignant.

I love the series so far for the historical detail, some of which is quite gritty, and for the ingenuity of the plots and subplots. Not to mention the fact that Edoardo Ballerini may be the best narrator ever.

I'm planning on using my credits next month towards the next two in the series.

Great book. Can't wait to start the next!

Just finished Queen of Bedlam, the second Matthew Corbett book, and I loved it. We begin with Matthew, 3 years after the events in Speaks the Nightbird, working as a legal clerk in New York. Soon though, a murder, then another...both with similar markings cut into their faces. A serial killer in the days before there was a word to describe them. And that's just one of the mysteries Matthew is drawn into. But what is no mystery, is why I like these books. Robert McCammon has a writing style I've been a fan of for more than 20 years. That, along with the historical setting of New York in 1702, the believable characters you meet along the way and their relationships with one another, and just the true mystery of it all. I love a good mystery, and Matthew Corbett is as enjoyable a "Detective", as any I've ever read. I'm a big fan of BBC dramas and Masterpiece Mystery, and I could see these books on the small screen in that regard. Good stuff. I plan to start the next one soon!

Little Slow in Pacing, but a Great Series Gateway

This is the second book I've read about Matthew Corbett, now clerking for a new magistrate in New York. The premise of this story is a bit convoluted, because multiple plotlines get weaved together, much as things are in life.

We watch and experience Matthew's growth in a new town; how he fares with his personality of never giving up until the last question is answered and justice is served, at least to his own satisfaction. That trait, of course, continues to cause him problems with the entrenched powers, but also lands him a new job with the Herald (sp?) Agency as a "finder of lost things", as it is put to him.

As I mentioned, the pace is a little slow, though such writing does suit that time in early Colonial history. It is a book well worth listening to, as the narrator does an excellent job of characterizations, bringing the characters alive along with their personalities.