Bellman and Black

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"As a boy, William Bellman commits one small, cruel act: killing a bird with his slingshot. Little does he know the unforeseen and terrible consequences of the deed, which is soon forgotten amidst the riot of boyhood games. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to be a man blessed by fortune—until tragedy strikes and the stranger in black comes. Then he starts to wonder if all his happiness is about to be eclipsed. Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, William enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business.

And Bellman& Black is born."

I found the book to be a very matter-of-fact type of book. Though I admire Diane Setterfield's Thirteenth Tale, this story failed to catch on the emotional aspect that should have been there. It was just merely stating out the events as they unfold, extending on and on, and eventually it started to get boring. What kept me reading up to the very end was the curiosity of knowing the role behind certain characters that would give the past, present and future a connection and a finality. Sadly, when the truth was revealed, the conclusion was disappointing, being unable to satisfy the readers of the questions that lay hanging.