Craig Russell (1)Kirja-arvosteluja

(2021) An interesting thought exercise in who the Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde story was based on. Very readable despite the Victorian English and idioms. Edward Hyde is a police detective who has missing time that he is told is brought by his epilepsy. Goodreads: Edward Hyde has a strange gift-or a curse-he keeps secret from all but his physician. He experiences two realities, one real, the other a dreamworld state brought on by a neurological condition.When murders in Victorian Edinburgh echo the ancient Celtic threefold death ritual, Captain Edward Hyde hunts for those responsible. In the process he becomes entangled in a web of Celticist occultism and dark scheming by powerful figures. The answers are there to be found, not just in the real world but in the sinister symbolism of Edward Hyde's otherworld.He must find the killer, or lose his mind.A dark tale. One that inspires Hyde's friend . . . Robert Louis Stevenson.

Definitely my favorite horror read of the year. Russell seamlessly blends horror, mystery, pulp noir and the history of Hollywood filmmaking as he spins his tale about the creation and downfall of 'the greatest horror movie ever made' and the search for its rumored sole remaining copy. His intermingling of real and imagined characters and events makes it easy to forget that you are reading a novel, at least that's what I hoped it was.

Really fascinating!

Oblique and obscure most of the time, but sometimes it is taut and gripping with a lot of atmosphere solidifying into an emotional reaction. Could do with way less description of absolutely everything and more getting on with the plot. Which brings me to the element of the supernatural that I could also do without, but it's close to Halloween so we'll see how it goes.

With a push, I finished and while it wasn't exactly unsatisfying, the amount of time spent both knowing and with the true villain wasn't enough compared with how much time we spend getting there. I like it when authors balance narrative time more evenly so endings don't feel tacked on and villains don't pop out of the woodwork. This has both, but not egregiously so. Looking back, there were some hints at the Dark Guild leader, but not enough to make the reveal less than surprising. In the end the supernatural feel was really just madness and a lack of understanding about mental illness and how the mind copes with trauma and things it would rather not deal with.

If you like creepy historical fiction, detective thrillers involving serial killers and psychological suspense then this book will not disappoint. I could not stop reading it. Horrifying, intense and really well done. Read this book! I’m already thinking about the possible casting choices for the movie that undoubtedly will be amazing.

Lennox, un detective que podría ser el hijo del mismísimo de Philip Marlowe, --cínico por fuera pero con un corazón de oro— vuelve a las calles de Glasgow para resolver un caso que no pinta nada bien para él.
Cuando el corredor de apuestas ilegales y criador galgos Calderilla MacFarlane aparece con la cabeza machacada en su estudio, más de uno empieza a levantar un dedo acusador. Sin embargo, Lennox tiene una coartada sólida como el oro: ha pasado la noche con la hija de MacFarlane. Esto, lejos de ayudar, inevitablemente provoca que Lennox se vea envuelto en la búsqueda del asesino de MacFarlane y que descubra los otros muchos negocios turbios que el corredor de apuestas tenía. Algunos de ellos con Willie Sneddon, uno de los Tres Reyes del lumpen criminal de Glasgow. Y con éste más vale no meterse si uno no quiere acabar tiñendo la alfombra de casa con un brillante tono 0 negativo…

Dark, creepy and filled with surprises!

This is far from the typical books I normally choose and at times found it a bit too dark for my taste. Fortunately I stuck with it and was glad. Since the story takes place in Eastern Europe in the mid-1930s, the rise of the Nazi nation adds an unusual element. The author draws a connection between the devil and the antisemitism the Germans embraced steering the reader in that direction. What happens later in the book puts this to rest in a deeply sardonic manner. Since a large number of my GR friends enjoy crime, mystery and horror, this book is perfect!

Una cumbre medioambiental está a punto de celebrarse en Hamburgo cuando llega una tormenta a la ciudad que inunda sus calles por completo. Cuando las aguas bajan por fin, dejan al descubierto múltiples destrozos y algo siniestro: un cadáver decapitado.

Jan Fabel pensaba que su relación con la muerte y el crimen había terminado.
Sin embargo, justo cuando piensa en emprender una nueva carrera fuera del departamento de policía de Hamburgo, un detective de homicidios de Colonia le pide ayuda para encontrar al Señor del Carnaval, un sanguinario asesino en serie que durante los tres últimos años ha matado a sus víctimas durante las famosas fiestas.
Por otro lado, María Klee, la ayudante de Fabel, ha decidido viajar a Colonia para dar caza a un asesino más peligroso que el anterior, con el que tiene una cuenta pendiente.

El detective Jan Fabel y su equipo se enfrentan a una serie de homicidios: un político de izquierdas y homosexual confeso, y un prestigioso científico. Ambos fueron asesinados siguiendo el mismo método: los cuerpos tenían el cuero cabelludo seccionado y, sobre ellos, un pelo rojo teñido en la escena, procedente de la misma cabeza y cortado veinte años antes.
Fabel descubre que las víctimas pertenecían a un grupo anarquista de los años 70. Mientras tanto, los demás miembros del grupo, que habían tratado de dejar atrás su pasado, se dan cuenta de que un temible asesino va tras ellos.

El detective Jan Fabel se enfrenta a un nuevo asesinato: Ha aparecido el cuerpo de una mujer en una playa de Hamburgo con un mensaje en la mano: "He estado bajo tierra y ya es hora de que vuelva a casa". Unos días más tarde, se encuentra a un hombre y una mujer asesinados en un bosque con los nombres de Hansel y Gretel escritos en sus manos. El asesino está jugando a reproducir los cuentos de hadas de los hermanos Grimm en cada asesinato y Jan Fabel vuelve a tener ante él a un psicópata: uno que va a adentrarse en los miedos más ocultos se la infancia de todos nosotros.

El Hauptkommissar Jan Fabel investiga una serie de violentos asesinatos. En todas las víctimas, los pulmones han sido extraídos de los cuerpos, imitando así, un antiguo rito vikingo.Mientras Fabel avanza en la investigación, va quedando claro que se trata de algo mucho mas complejo que el trabajo de un simple psicópata; está sucediendo una historia compleja y extraordinariamente desarrollada.Muerte en Hamburgo invoca el moderno mundo criminal de Hamburgo, a la industria del sexo y actividades terroristas del pasado y del presente.

I liked the concept and would love to actually have read the book within the book instead. I think my main problem with this is I didn’t really like any of the main characters. The author tried to make me like them but I didn’t. I found them to be 2 dimensional caricatures. I like ‘The Devil Aspect’ so much better.

I enjoyed this book. Slow to start but quickly picked up pace. Was completely surprised by the twist especially given that the book made you disbelieve accounts you were being given. However a few things bothered me. 1) how did Judita get the tower door open when it had been locked previously and she needed a key and 2) what information could you even trust given the narrator’s memory is unreliable-what was real and what was not? Otherwise very compelling story. I really liked the final bit of the book that tied everything together.

The Devil Aspect is such a delicious thriller. A story about psychopaths and a serial killer on the loose. What's not to like? The time period in this book also adds much to the story since there is a big growing unease in Czechoslovakia and also burgeoning xenophobia. And now there is a serial killer loose as well. Amides all this is Dr. Viktor Kosárek taking up his new position as a psychiatrist for the so-called "Devil's Six". Six really nasty and dangerous psychopaths.

This book was very fascinating to read, and of course, a bit bleak since the theme of the book is pretty dark. During the book's progress do we get to know more about "Devil's Six" as Viktor Kosárek is trying to unlock their secrets. We also follow the police investigation in the hunt for the serial killer known as "Leather Apron". Kosárek himself gets involved in the case because of his job. There were moments closer to the end when I was starting to wonder how it would all end. The serial killer case seems to be near its ending and I was unsure how it all would end up at the castle with all the psychopaths. It's here something brilliant happens. Something that I did not expect, at all! A twist that really makes me see past events in the book in a different way. I just have to say wow! That ending is so fabulous. This is definitely a thriller I recommend if you want to be astonished!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

9781472128355

Captain Edward Hyde, Superintendent of Detectives of the Edinburgh police force, has both crimes to solve and a mystery within himself to unravel: for many years, he has periodically “lost time,” finding himself in strange places with no memory of arriving there. When a series of murders occur in the city, all apparently associated with a malevolent Celtic myth, and a wealthy young woman goes missing, he not only has to rely on his detective skills but also must keep his own condition hidden from the men under his command, before they begin to question his motivations…. This story takes the Jekyll and Hyde tale and turns it on its head; for a time, I kept waiting for the “Jekyll” part to start, but Mr. Russell was taking his readers in a very different direction, and indeed, I was kept guessing until the very end of the book. There is some graphic horror here, and also some very interesting takes on Celtic mythology, as well as Scottish political history and independence movements; quite a witch’s brew of elements! But Mr. Russell manages to keep all the elements in the air, deftly moving from one arena to another in a series of short chapters alternating between several characters, and the result is a very satisfying read indeed; not for the faint-hearted, but otherwise recommended!

The death of Thomas Quaid in this book is not a surprise, given that it’s in the title. Nevertheless, I felt this a bit predictable in that I could tell something was off about the so-called deal that Lennox was being asked to get him involved in. It felt like a horror movie where you’re yelling at the characters to not go in the basement, but at the same time, without this event the story wouldn’t have happened, so I had to roll with it. Then I found it oddly heartwarming how Lennox assembled a ragtag team of criminals and gangsters to avenge Thomas. As is to be expected from a Lennox book, there’s a good blend of humour, violence, and pensiveness. There are literal and figurative gut punches, and the novel ties up the loose ends in a way that also ends the series at a good point.

3.5 rounded to 4

Well written, engaging prose, conceptually interesting story. What if Edward Hyde, Captain of Detectives, in Ediburgh, suffers with a form of epilepsy and is also friends with Robert Lewis Stevenson? This form of epilepsy has him losing time and also suddenly amidst a brutal murder. What is the duality of man? What has the good doctor been prescribing for his episodes? What is really going on here.

Hyde is the kind of historical fiction/mystery/supernatural thriller that gets harder and harder to put down as one reads. Craig Russell knows how to build suspense. He knows how to move between narrative threads in ways that are simultaneously frustrating and tantalizing. He also knows how to surprise readers. These are genuine "I. Did. Not. See. That. Coming." surprises of the sort that mean anyone sitting in the same room as the reader is going to be hearing a lot about the book.

This novel is built around The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but is much more than a retelling. Russell takes the character Hyde and transforms him in powerful ways. He also adds some interesting, capable female characters to the mix. And—keep your eyes open Holmesians!—there's even a little nod to Arthur Conan Doyle. Russell also weaves in some consideration of colonialism that adds to the narrative rather than feeling like a political agenda he's forced the tale into.

If Hyde sounds at all interesting to you, I recommend reading it. Hyde is one of those titles that can delight a variety of readers. I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

After the Empire Exhibition robbery in 1938, the leader of the gang responsible disappeared from the face of the earth. Flash forward 18 years later, and his remains have been dredged up from the bottom of the Clyde. But are they really his? His daughters, Isa and Violet, are not so sure, and they ask Lennox to get to the truth of the matter. Naturally, this will land Lennox in the world of the Three Kings, the gang leaders who divide the city of Glasgow between them. And Lennox had been hoping to steer his private enquiry business to more aboveboard cases…

This was another great book in the series. Lennox continues to be wry and self-reflective, even when he’s surrounded by violence. Of the first three books in the series, this one made me laugh out loud the most at his one-liners and observations. Glasgow in the 1950s continues to be evoked well, and the ending of this book is perfect. I had previously read Dead Men and Broken Hearts (I read series out of order, what can I say), so it will be interesting to re-read it with the knowledge I now have of Lennox, and to see how it follows on from The Deep Dark Sleep.

In this second book in the Lennox series, Lennox undertakes to solve the murder of a bookie whose daughter he was romancing (on the very night of the murder, in fact). At the same time, he receives a missing-persons case: singer Sheila Gainsborough is worried about her missing brother, who had some seamy underworld friends. These cases end up being connected, but how they are connected is what the reader has to find out!

This installment of the series was maybe a bit lighter in tone than the first installment. Sure there’s organized crime and a great deal of violence, but Lennox is able to show some of the kinder side of his personality, the Kennebecasis Kid shining through the self that was damaged in the war. The character of Lennox has me on his side as he wades through the postwar life in Glasgow. On to the next installment.

Glasgow, 1953. Lennox, an expatriate Canadian in Scotland, is a private investigator skimming the edges of the underworld. Not that he doesn’t try to have standards: he declines the opportunity to take on the case of mobster Tam McGahern’s death, even when Tam’s brother Frankie is the one attempting to “persuade” him. But the case gets him in his clutches, and he finds himself embroiled in the affairs of all three of the Three Kings who run Glasgow’s criminal classes.

I picked this up for the setting; books set in Glasgow are catnip for me. Even better is the fact that Lennox is Canadian, a Kennebecasis kid, hailing from New Brunswick. This combination of setting and character is a winning one. Lennox has a few personal struggles: physical and mental injuries from the Second World War have left him a very different person, one whom he finds occasionally repulsive. For this reason I liken this series somewhat to Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer books, although this one is definitely more violent, or at least more squishily violent.

Recommended if you like hardboiled detective novels set or written in the first half of the 20th century, or if you like Scottish noir.

1935. An asylum outside Prague. Viktor Kosarek is a psychologist who dreams of being able to cure the severely insane. Not just any mentally ill patients...but the most dangerous. The criminally insane. Murderers. Those who have what he calls The Devil Aspect. Kosarek decides to conduct an experiment. He will use narcoanalysis to get inside the heads of six serial killers held in the asylum. Five men and one woman. A cocktail of drugs will allow him to probe for their impressions of their crimes and give him a way to perhaps make them confront their personal demons. What he discovers is more disturbing and twisted than he ever imagined.

This story is chillingly frightening. It really brings home the idea that some things are best left alone. Kosarek has good intentions....he really wants to help people. But, searching for the devil -- even inside the minds of killers -- is never a safe endeavor....mostly because sometimes you find him.

This book is a creepy, disturbing, and twisted tale. I loved it! I halfway saw the twist coming at the end....but was still pleasantly surprised at the way the plot played out. Nicely done! I like this author's writing style. The plot wasn't presented in a heavy handed way, despite the gruesome details. Things progressed more subtlety until the ending smacked me in the head. Totally awesome!

This is the first book by Craig Russell that I've read. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Doubleday Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**