The Devil's Workshop: A Novel of Scotland Yard's Murder Squad Hardcover – May 20, 2014

Having enjoyed Grecian’s first two Murder Squad novels, “The Yard” and “The Black Country”, I pre-ordered “The Devil’s Workshop, which I read immediately after its arrival. I had anticipated liking it as well as its predecessors, and I still recommend it, but it left me, not wanting more—which was the legacy of the first two books—but feeling I deserved more. Grecian, probably urged on by his publisher, not to mention eager fans such as myself, brought this book out too quickly. Consequently, it is too short, insufficiently developed, and “ends on a semicolon instead of a period.” If we seek closure, we must buy another book. Grecian was in a bit of a corner. In the first two books he developed an excellent cast with five sympathetic characters—Inspector Walter Day and his wife Claire, Doctor Kingsley and his daughter Fiona, and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith. If Grecian pleased his readers by bringing back all of them, he would also have to see to their improbable survival in the face of murderous enemies or, albeit reluctantly, permit one or more to become victims. To add to his difficulties, he adds two more hostages to fate before “The Devil’s Workshop” reaches its tentative conclusion. Despite the shortness of the novel, there is repetition. The detectives continue to sustain abuse, Dr. Kingsley and Fiona again act competently, and Claire Day is cast once more as Lois Lane. Also repeated, but very welcome, is Grecian’s Victorian London, which comes alive as the characters in the novel walk its squalid streets. Fortunately, there remains a great deal to like! We are introduced to the Karstphanomen, secret London vigilantes, before the novel begins, and Grecian uses them to explain why Jack the Ripper’s career ended abruptly despite there being no record of his arrest. Some minor characters are depicted with care, among them enigmatic Adrian March (Day’s mentor), perceptive Sir Edward Bradford (Day’s boss), and other members of the murder squad. We worry about the nosy, but intrepid Eunice Pye, and the little Anderson girl, and we know without being told what will happen to… [sorry, no spoiler]. Grecian avoids an almost universal flaw in detective novels. No one vamps Hammersmith, and we are spared beautiful damsels in distress. We have instead the marriage of Walter and Claire Day. Their household is anything but idyllic, and we scarcely see them together, but their affection is real and convincing. Like another reviewer, I could have done without Claire’s verses. The villains are sufficiently menacing. The tailor Cinderhouse, “…dangerous enough,” but “just wasn’t very smart,” returns from “The Yard” and is, in one regard, smarter than most. When confronted, he doesn’t parlay, he strikes, and he strikes with force and accuracy. Unlike the others, he prefers scissors to knives, but his scissors are deadly. He still likes small children and has a grudge against Claire Day. Another murderer, the “Harvest Man”, specializes in killing families and living with their corpses. He plays little or no part in the novel, but we can expect to make his further acquaintance in book four. Napper, a convicted cannibal, is captured quickly, and he will play the role of informer in book four. Hoffmann, another murderer, is obsessed with a cousin and is expected to kill her, but the book is also too short to deal with Hoffmann. We meet three of the Karstphanomen: the brutally efficient, but unlucky Griffin, and two prominent members of society. We probably met others, but they aren’t identified in “The Devil’s Workshop.” Which brings us to Jack the Ripper, who is the book’s central character. I am ambivalent about novelists who take an historic figure, even one as shadowy as Jack, and provide him with a fictitious history and personality. Since this Jack is Grecian’s invention, he might as well have been called “Stan the Slasher”, and we would have had the same novel, but without the publicity attendant upon another exposé of Jack the Ripper. That said, Grecian’s Jack is not inconsistent with what we know of the real Jack, and he makes a riveting “bad guy.” Jack likens himself to Prometheus, who brought a great gift to mankind, but was punished by the gods: chained to a mountain where an eagle daily devoured his liver, which was restored by night. He also likens himself to Christ, in contrast to Eunice Pye, who calls him the Devil. Like Cinderhouse, Jack is capable of sudden vicious attacks, but when hurried he prefers to “discipline” rather than to slay. “Transforming” someone, he believes, should be a measured activity with intermittent discussion, or, if the victim’s words prove tiresome, a monologue. Like Dr. Kingsley, Jack is competent, both mentally and physically. His knowledge of the body suggests that he has had medical training. Cinderhouse is completely subservient to him, and, Svengali-like, Jack charms and dominates. He is impatient of cant. He accepts as reasonable Walter Day’s wish to arrest him, but is contemptuous of Adrian March’s notions of justice. And, yes, he is undoubtedly mad, a notion that doesn’t disturb him. One wonders how many books it will take for Grecian to bring him to justice. I suppose Day and the Murder Squad must catch Hoffmann and the Harvest Man first. Yes, I recommend that you read the book, but understand that the tale isn't finished yet.

Alex Grecian's "Scotland Yard Murder Squad" series ( The Yard (Scotland Yard's Murder Squad) , The Black Country (Scotland Yard's Murder Squad) ) are well-written historical mysteries; _The Devil's Workshop_, the third in the series continues Grecian's excellent characterization, but the plot was a little thin.Grecian's description of late Victorian London is excellent - the details and vividness of his writing are first-rate. Similarly are his characters believable, as they work within (and against) Victorian attitudes towards social class and gender. I will certainly continue to read the series given these strengths. The plot, however, was a bit disappointing. Inspector Day and Constable Hammersmith are called to investigate a prison break, from which four (or perhaps five) inmates have escaped, one of whom (Cinderhouse, from _The Yard_) has a history and vendetta against Day. At the center of the breakout is a vigilante group calling themselves "the Karstphanomen" - self-appointed executioners who inflict on the convicted the identical trauma committed in their crimes. Unbeknownst to Day and Hammersmith, one of the criminals held by the Karstphanomen is none other than Jack the Ripper who manages to escape the vigilantes and join up with Cinderhouse. At issue then, is not only the safety of Day's family, but also the already tarnished reputation of Scotland Yard which is only just recovering from their inability to catch Jack the Ripper.The plots of the previous two novels were plausible, the resolution believable. _The Devil's Workshop_ was neither, for which I deduct a star; frankly I expected more from Grecian. Still, there is much to like here, especially given the affininty developed for the characters from the previous books and the pending danger (even as stretched as it is here) they face. I absolutely look forward to more by Alex Grecian, and while _The Devil's Workshop_ isn't the best in the series, it is a series I recommend to mystery fans and those who enjoy Victorian-themed historical fiction.

I am similar in my situation as the the earlier one-star reviewer who says, "This is the third book I have read in this series. I thought when I started reading them that they would be entertaining as I like reading books related to the Victorian era." I had thought the first two books weak, but this one is a 24 carat stinkerThe characters are witless in behaviour and using Jack the Ripper as a proto Hannibal Lector anti hero, is both crass and tasteless. Victorian torture-porn My only redeeming aspect to take away from this book is that I bought it in a charity shop.Avoid as you would a rancid pile of poo

This is the third book I have read in this series. I thought when I started reading them that they would be entertaining as I like reading books related to the Victorian era. I started this book thinking that it must be better than the previous two. How wrong could I be. The ending of the book is designed to get you to read the next one but I will not be buying it. The stories are full of gratuitous violence and a shallow theme for a plot. The characters are ill thought out and there are lots of loose ends which are never explained. Sorry Mr Grecian but your books are not for me. I have never written such a review about an author before.

I purchased this book as it was the current book for my reading group and I loved it, it may not be historically brilliant but I enjoyed the story line and the characters. It has been clearly written by an American author and it may have been a good idea for a little more research to have been done into the language etc that was used at that time in Britain, but having said that it is a work of fiction and should be read as such. It is very gory and is not for anybody who does not like that kind of content. I found the book difficult to put down as I was desperate to know what was coming next. I will certainly read the sequal and will also read the prequels to this.

An inspired take on a much travelled road of speculation. Who was he, where did he go? Worthy questions, and herein brilliantly crafted answers! The characters we've come to know in the first two books are no match for the vile creatures unleashed by well meaning fools and their secret society. Now the stage is set for ghastly retribution and I can't wait to start reading it!

Couldn't get on too well with this for some reason. Everything seems a bit drawn out and pedestrian. Couldn't warm to the characters either. I usually like historical crime novels and this story of Police Inspector chasing escaped criminals seemed promising. Trouble is it seems to take too long to get going and contains unneccesary sub plots. Don't think I'll read any others in the series.