BOOK REVIEW: SERIAL MURDERS OF MARS BY PAUL BOULET

The title Serial Murders of Mars is a bit misleading. It could be some sci-fi B-movie thing with a bug-eyed monster murdering astronauts. Or it could a mystery criminal procedure that follows an investigator hunting down a murderer that happens to be a bug-eyed monster murdering astronauts. However, it is neither of these things. Instead, Paul Boulet posits a world where space travel was developed in the 1700’s, the British Empire has a mining colony out in space, and a HH Holmes-like murderer is on the loose. Serial Murders of Mars is a mixed bag of mystery, royal bureucracy, mining administration, labor disputes, and murder that ulitmately leaves you unsatisfied.

Let’s get the big issue out of the way, this does not take place on Mars, as the title suggests. The mining colony is in fact on Phobos, one of Mars’ two moons. They constantly go back and forth in the book talking about Mars and Phobos, making it confusing where they are going in the beginning. I understand that adding Mars to the title makes it more alluring, but don’t set us up to think that and then not deliver. This might be a minor thing for some readers, the story takes place in space where they are mining for precious metals and minerals, who cares where the characters are. I just think you are setting us up for frustration right from the start when you tease us with something in the title that turns out to be false.
However, the concept of Victorian space travel definitely overrides my issue with the title. Boulet does an amazing job making us believe that the world could develop spaceships and flight in this era. He even adds a very detailed timeline in the back of the book to show us the steps it took to make this possible. Of course, there’s a little bit of sci-fi magic involved, something to do with shifting time, but it’s pretty easy to suspend disbelief as everything else is thoroughly explained and matches up with how the real world developed space travel. His descriptions of the ships and mining colony remind me a lot of Bioshock, with all the bronze structures, deep sea diving-like space suits, and retro-styled tools. Boulet’s ability to get us fully onboard with this concept is one of the bigger achievements of this book.

For all of you HH Holmes fans out there, this book will be right up your alley. He is clearly the main impetus for the story and the throughline that propels the story forward. Early in the book we learn that one of the administrators of the colony worked with Holmes when he built his murder hotel in Chicago. This comes into play when the royal contingent reaches Phobos and sees the many alterations that have been done to the buildings. Slowly, the characters discover hidden passages, rooms, gates that shouldn’t be there, and a key that controls everything. This all culminates into a mystery revolving around why these changes were made and who is really in charge. Having read Devil in the White City, I quickly started to imagine what twisted shenanigans Holmes could get into in a place like this. Boulet clearly had a lot of fun building up space murder playhouse and throwing his character into it to see how long they could last.

It all sounds like a great concept. However, it is buried under a lot of bureaucracy and administration. The first half of the book is filled with characters going through ledgers, negotiating with the striking labor force, and all the ceremonies that come with bringing royalty to a new mining facility owned by the British. If it wasn’t for the title and that early clue about HH Holmes, you’d think this book was a historical examination on early space travel. Eventually it picks up and becomes a bloodbath, but this all feels rushed and crammed into the end. The beginning is such a slog that it makes the book feel longer than it is and tarnishes a pretty good second half.
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There’s a lot of good ideas in here. If you are a fan of HH Holmes, this is a great extension of his story. The descriptions of the colony, the tension of knowing there’s a murderer roaming the halls, and the final scenes all are spot on. The worldbuilding revolving around space travel developed in the 1800’s is amazing and something I’m surprised we don’t see more of. However, the parts don’t make the whole and Serial Murders of Mars left me wanting more. 

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