The Death Collector by: Justin Richards is as intriguing as it sounds. From the title you can pick up about 1 thing. Death. That is one of the main themes of the book, almost the only theme. In the beginning of the book George Archer is working on a clock in the British Museum in early 20th century. All of a sudden George gets thrown into a mystery where he has to find out why his best friend… was murdered over a diary.

Eddie Dipper witnesses a rather unfortunate event where a man walking a dog is secretly kidnapped in the fog of a late England night. Eddie is a pick-pocket always looking for his next big target. George Archer happens to be one of them. Eddie finds a rather un-useful scrap of paper in George’s wallet. He took the money out of George’s wallet and attempts to switch it with another wallet. Miss Elizabeth Oldfield does not like that one bit and she takes action. That then leads her, the innocent, classic caretaker, smack dab in the middle of the mystery along with Eddie. Sir William Prothroe was fascinated at the fact the George’s friend was murdered over a couple of books. Sir William gets his facts straight and joins the team.

This book left me turning every stone and flipping every page, until I couldn’t believe my own eyes. Justin Richards goes into detail about the clues trapped in Eddie’s head, the ideas Sir William has about a man’s autopsy, the things Elizabeth does in her spare time. Every detail about how every chase for George Archer’s wallet goes down sets a screen in your head. You can hear the yells, feel the fog, and see the scrap of charred paper.

Every word makes you look forward to the next. Every paragraph sets the mood for the next. This book is page after page of mind- stretching mystery and heart-pounding action. The main theme of the book is death. You can pick that up from the title, and there are a lot of books about mystery and death. But, this is one you HAVE to pick up and read.