BOOK REVIEW: The Devil's Workshop, by Alex Grecian (A Novel of Scotland Yard's Murder Squad)

Ouch. This was a painful read. I alternated back and forth between reading the book and listening to the audiobook, so it was doubly painful. Sigh. I'll try to start with the good points.

1. First, I loved the first book in this series, The Yard. At least I think I did. After reading and hating The Black Country and The Devil's Workshop, I'm starting to question if I ever loved the first book as much as I thought I did. Maybe I only liked it because it reminded me of the far superior Inspector Ben Ross and Lizzie Martin series by Ann Granger (THAT'S A HELL OF A SERIES, BTW). Anyway, at this point I'm ready to give up on Alex Grecian altogether. As a writer he is clearly more interested in a gothic thriller style than a classic Victorian detective novel. It's just not my cup of tea.


2. Secondly, I should point out that the narration by John Curless is quite good. He doesn't overdo the voices or the accents, though sometimes it might be a wee bit hard to tell one character from another. Sure, it's excruciatingly melodramatic most of the time, but that's hardly Curless' fault. I'm convinced he read the book exactly as it was meant to be read. It's not his fault it was so poorly written.

I think that's the end of my good points. I found the book, as I said, excruciating. Here are just a few things that annoyed me:

1. Alex Grecian turned Jack the Ripper into some ridiculous caricature of a "devilish" baddy that is slightly less menacing than Sideshow Bob and twice as cartoonish. Plus all of his passages are italicized, which is a lot less fun to read than Alex Grecian seems to think it is.

2. Inspector Day's perpetually pregnant wife Claire is, as it turns out, a total idiot. She finally goes into labour (hasn't she been pregnant FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES?) and reacts by writing horrible poetry and simpering like a child. I mean I know childbirth is hard (TWENTY-EIGHT HOURS OF LABOUR, PEOPLE!) and lord knows I'm probably the least brave person on the planet when it comes to physical discomfort, but even I wanted to scream at her to buck up a bit. Honestly. I'm amazed this woman has the brain cells to operate anything as complicated as a button.

3. The entire premise of the book MAKES NO SENSE. A group of vigilantes have been busting prisoners out of jail so they can...what? Punish them MORE? But it's not like convicted murderers in Victorian England were sitting around on death row for decades before execution. These prisoners were definitely going to be executed, and quickly. So what then? Do they mean to torture them? I guess so, but again, Victorian English prisons WERE NO PICNIC. They were already being 'tortured' in a lot of ways, and the treatment they received at the hands of this secret group of vigilantes didn't seem any worse than descriptions I've read of actual prison conditions at the time. So are we supposed to believe that the torture was worse, but Alex Grecian just chose not to describe it? It's not like he's shy, because he certainly gets mighty descriptive about grotesque violence later in the book. My guess is he just didn't think it through all the way. So irritating.

In the end, I think my favourite thing about this book is that it reminded me of another series which I do love, the Inspector Ben Ross and Lizzie Martin series by Ann Granger (seriously, it's sooo good), and it prompted me to check to see if there's a new one coming out. And there is! Hooray! So I have that to look forward to at least.

BOOK DETAILS:
The Devil's Workshop
by Alex Grecian
Audiobook read by John Curless
Series: Scotland Yard's Murder Squad (Book 3)
Publisher: Putnam
Audiobook published by Penguin Audio
Publication Date: May 20, 2014
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Source: I borrowed both the book and the audiobook from my local library

BOOK REVIEW: The Mangle Street Murders (The Gower St. Detective: Book 1), by M.R.C. Kasasian

Research always shows in writing. If an author skimps on their research before writing a novel, it can ruin the impact of the whole book. While this may not be true for every book, it is always true for historical novels. Always. After reading some truly stellar historical mysteries set in Victorian England (plus several great non-fiction books about the time period and its real life crimes), as well as some truly awful ones, I approach every historical mystery with some healthy skepticism. Will this be as good as Ann Granger's Inspector Ross series? Or Alex Grecian's first book? Or will it be a mess, like Mrs. Poe? Or Alex Grecian's second book? I'm ever hopeful, but I've been disappointed so many times.

In the case of The Mangle Street Murders, I'm undecided. On the one hand, I'm not sure I completely trust the author's research, but on the other hand I'm not sure if it's factually incorrect or just poorly written. It sometimes seems that the whole book is written with modern values in mind, just "aged back" with old-timey words like "pianoforte."

One character says she didn't want the indignity of "going into service" so she earns extra money by teaching pianoforte and French language instruction, as well as "taking in children when their parents are unable to care for them." I'm not sure I'm buying it. In 1882, would the middle class have been sufficiently established to allow for people to need pianoforte and French lessons for their children, but without them just hiring a governess or nanny? I'm skeptical. I think the working classes may indeed have left their children in the care of neighbours while the mothers went to factory jobs, but I don't think they'd be concerned about paying extra for French lessons. And I think pianoforte lessons would have only been for the wealthy, and those people had staff for those sorts of things.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it's just one example in the book that made me think, "Are you SURE about that?" Like I said, I didn't trust the author.

Also, the "personal detective" character of Sidney Grice was, as other reviewers have noted, not easy to like. I also kept seeing his name as "Sidney Grace" which reminded me of "Sophia Grace," that British child who sings Nicki Minaj songs in a tutu. Remember her? It's who I was picturing the whole time I was reading this book. (Oh lord, that girl has a movie. YouTube has a lot to answer for.)

I guess if I had liked the book more, these little things wouldn't have bothered me. But I just wasn't that into it, which is why I had time to wonder about the details and get lost in tangents.

In the end, I thought it was only okay. I think the expression I'm looking for is "damning with faint praise."

BOOK DETAILS:
The Mangle Street Murders
Author: M.R.C. Kasasian
Series: The Gower St. Detective (Book 1)
Publisher: Pegasus/Open Road
Publication Date: February 6, 2014
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Source: NetGalley

BOOK REVIEW: The Revenant of Thraxton Hall (The Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), by Vaughn Entwistle

The Revenant of Thraxton Hall:

The Paranormal Casebooks 

of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

by Vaughn Entwistle

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Pub. Date: March 25, 2014

Source: NetGalley

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Eeee! I loved this book so much! It was the most fun book I've read all month (I read a lot of books, so that's definitely a compliment).

I love detective fiction set in Victorian England ('VicLit,' I like to call it) but lately I seem to have found all the worst examples of the genre. I was starting to despair. I'm so glad I found this book. It was like a palate cleanser after a bad meal, or in this case, after bad writing.

Not only is The Revenant of Thraxton Hall well written, it's SO MUCH FUN. It's like a Scooby Doo episode for nerdy adults. Vaughn Entwistle has Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde investigating a murder in a haunted castle. There are secret passageways, spooky portraits, levitating psychics, blind butlers, ghosts, guests wearing masks, and--oh my god!--a family crypt with coffins! Not to mention a mirror maze, a monkey running amok, a woman allergic to sunlight... Oh it's just so much fun I can't stand it!

It may seem strange that I loved this book so much when I criticized other books in the genre for having too many plot points (The Black Country), for being historically inaccurate (Mrs. Poe), for having an ill-conceived ghost story (The Little Stranger), or unrealistic characters (The Mangle Street Murders). So what makes The Revenant of Thraxton Hall different? Simple. IT'S WELL WRITTEN.

If a story is well written it could take place in a unicorn colony on the moon and I'd find it believable. If a story is poorly written it could be an autobiography and I'd question its veracity.

My only complaint is that J.M. Barrie didn't factor into the story as much as I'd have liked. He was with Conan Doyle and Wilde in the beginning, and I think it would have been fun if he'd been with them at the haunted castle. They could be a supernatural crime fighting trio, with Sherlock Holmes showing up as the secret advisor only Arthur Conan Doyle can see.

I'm already fantasy casting the voice actors for a cartoon version of this book (can anyone say Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie?).

This review originally appeared on my other blog, Cozy Little Book Journal.

BOOK REVIEW: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, by Alan Bradley

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches
A Flavia de Luce Mystery
Author: Alan Bradley
Series: Flavia de Luce
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 14, 2014
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Source: NetGalley

There are few things that excite me more than seeing a new Flavia DeLuce mystery by Alan Bradley. With the familiar cover art it's easy to spot them right away, and when I saw The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches on NetGalley I literally squealed. Quite loudly in fact.

I read the entire book in the first twenty-four hours I had it, partly because it's a short book and partly because I couldn't put it down.

This is Book #6 in the series and it--more than any of the previous novels--is not a stand alone story. It picks up where the cliffhanger ending of the last book (Speaking From Among the Bones) left off. In fact it's the last book in the original story arc that Alan Bradley had planned, though apparently there will be at least four more books after it.

BOOK REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye, by Len Bailey

Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye:

The World's Greatest Detective Tackles the Bible's Ultimate Mysteries 

Author: Len Bailey 

Foreword by: Warren W. Wiersbe

Publisher: Thomas Nelson 

Publication Date: May 7, 2013 

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I really, really enjoyed this book! Since it's a book about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson travelling through time to solve Biblical mysteries--complete with Bible study questions and notes on scripture--it's sort of fan fiction on multiple levels. Because of that, I feel I should disclose my own bias--i.e. where on the fan-fiction fan spectrum I fall. 

First of all, I LOVE mysteries, particularly Sherlock Holmes. Actually, I have a particular fondness for modern day mysteries set in Victorian London and written in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (so, fan fiction, essentially). That alone was enough to make me want to read this book. But I'm not Christian (despite my frequent reviews on Booksneeze), so I may not exactly be the target audience for this book. BUT here's a little secret: I actually love reading religious books, albeit in a non-religious way. I even have a degree in Religious Studies. So I've done my fair share of Bible reading, even though it was in a classroom more than a church.

Okay, now that I've alienated the atheists and the Christians alike, here's my review:

BOOK REVIEW: The Anatomist's Apprentice, by Tessa Harris (audiobook)

The Anatomist's Apprentice:

The Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mysteries, Book 1

Author: Tessa Harris

Audiobook Narrator: Simon Vance

Publisher: Kensington

Audiobook Publisher: Blackstone Audio

Publication Date: December 27, 2011

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Is there any book that can't be made better by the narration of Simon Vance? No. No, there is not. Simon Vance is the absolute best. A lot of the other reviews I read for this book on Goodreads complained that the writing was poor or that the story was convoluted and overly complicated but I honestly didn't mind any of it. I could listen to Simon Vance tell me a story any time. I'm thinking of doing a project next year in which I read classics of literature and I think I may start with a list of any book that has an audiobook narrated by Simon Vance. I bet War and Peace wouldn't even seem that long, to hear him tell it.

To be perfectly fair, I did perhaps find the middle to the end of the book a bit convoluted and overly complicated, and I'm not sure I would have loved it as much as I did if I were simply reading it. 

BOOK REVIEW: A Christmas Secret, by Anne Perry

NOTE: Oh. my. GAWD. Can't even deal with this.
A Christmas Secret
Author: Anne Perry
Series: The Christmas Stories
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 7, 2006
Source: local library
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NOTE: So I read and reviewed this book before I realized that Anne Perry was, in fact, herself a convicted murderer. I'm still trying to process that information. (Agghhhhh! That's the sound my mental processing makes.)

This is the first Anne Perry book I've ever read and I was pleasantly surprised. I guess I've always avoided her because, despite the "mystery" label, her covers always look like they belong on romance novels (not my favourite genre). And with a plot description about a 19th century vicar's wife who accompanies her husband to a remote village at Christmastime to replace the regular pastor, well, I was afraid the only "secret" she'd be uncovering would be the "secret to a happy marriage" and maybe a new biscuit recipe. But I am happy to say I was wrong.

BOOK REVIEW: Murder as a Fine Art, by David Morrell

Murder as a Fine Art, by David Morrell

Published by Mulholland Books on May 7, 2013

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If you took No Country For Old Men (or at least the movie, I haven't read the book), Ripper Street (the British TV show...I only saw one episode but it seemed like turn-of-the-century London meets Law and Order SVU) and Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher (the book, not the TV movie, although that was great as well) and shook them up in a jar, the result would be Murder as a Fine Art. 
David Morrell weaves facts about mid-1800's London (some of which are absolutely horrifying) with a story of a brutal mass murderer (fiction, but based on some real cases, such as the Ratcliffe Highway murders) and injects them with a fictionalized version of the real British essayist Thomas De Quincey (of Confessions of an English Opium Eater fame). De Quincey wrote an essay entitled, "Murder as a Fine Art," which was the inspiration for both Morrell's novel and the killing spree of his fictional character therein. As such, the opium addicted De Quincey (in the novel) becomes the chief suspect in the murders and struggles to clear his name through a fog of drug addiction.