Many Deadly Returns edited by Martin Edwards

 

First Line from the Introduction: Many Deadly Returns celebrates the twenty-first birthday of Murder Squad and showcases the range of our fiction.

 

Many Deadly Returns contains twenty-one short stories written by nine past and present members of Murder Squad, a group of midlist crime writers based in the north of England.

Several of the writers showcased in this anthology were familiar to me: Ann Cleeves, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, John Baker, Stuart Pawson, and Cath Staincliffe. Others, like Chris Simms, Margaret Murphy, and Chaz Brenchley, I met for the first time. That's something every good anthology should do: give you more of the familiar yet introduce you to the new.

The stories run the gamut from sly and humorous to grim and heartbreaking. Three of my favorites? Chris Simms' "Skeleton Crew" is set in a garbage dump and features a man who doesn't know how to leave well enough alone. Kate Ellis' "The Confessions of Edward Prime" is about a young man who likes to come into the police station to confess to each new crime as it's reported. And Margaret Murphy's "Still Life" is about a man with locked-in syndrome and the young girl who's repulsed by him. 

There's not a bad'un in the bunch; there's something to be enjoyed in each of these short stories. From great turns of phrase ("He was more simian than sapiens.") to O. Henry-like twists and other feats of plotting and characterization, Many Deadly Returns is a pleasure to read. Not only did I enjoy reading the ones by my favorite authors, but I also found new authors to read. Pardon me while I go look up their books...

 

Many Deadly Returns edited by Martin Edwards

eISBN: 9781448305575

Severn House © 2021

eBook, 194 pages

Short Story Anthology

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Lost and Gone Forever by Alex Grecian

First Line: "Peter?"

Many changes have occurred at Scotland Yard's Murder Squad in the past year. Scotland Yard is now in a new building. Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith has lost his job and set up his own private detective agency. Claire Day is trying to raise her family by writing because her husband, Inspector Walter Day, has been missing for this entire length of time. 

No one knows where Day is, although some have suspicions that Saucy Jack (AKA Jack the Ripper) has him. For Hammersmith, finding Day is his one and only case-- although one of the women working for him have other ideas. What Hammersmith doesn't realize for quite a while is that he isn't working alone. There is a pair of bounty hunters on the lookout for Jack and Walter, and Nevil should be worried.

I've been reading and enjoying Alex Grecian's Murder Squad series since the very first book, The Yard. Grecian has created several marvelous characters, and it's easy to become irritated when you feel that they all aren't getting their fair share of time in the spotlight. And that can happen here. Points of view can change from one book to another as a certain character takes charge of the narrative. Relationships shift... and bad things can happen.

Bad things have been happening to Walter Day for an entire year. He's been held captive by Jack the Ripper, and if you're afraid that Lost and Gone Forever's gore factor is going to be too high for you, or that you just don't want to read scenes of torture, you can rest easy. Grecian does something much worse (in my opinion) than describing gore and torture: he lets your imagination fill in the blanks. Toward the end of Walter's lightly described time with Jack, Jack looks at Walter and makes the comment that he's broken his favorite toy. I don't know about you, but my imagination can fill in a lot of blanks with that one short sentence.

It's so tempting to talk more in depth about the plot of this book, but I don't like giving things away, so let's talk about more general things. There are quite a few plot threads in this book, and sometimes it seems as though they jostle each other for space. Did I find it confusing? Not at all. I just admired Grecian's ability to keep everything straight. Throughout the book, Claire Day was working on a children's story, and we were treated to excerpts from it. Something tells me there was supposed to be some symbolism there, but frankly the story almost bored me to tears, and I skimmed through those sections quickly. I probably missed something important, but I have yet to feel any real remorse.

I've always found Alex Grecian's writing to be very visual, very imaginative, and his pacing and characterization are wonderful. If you're new to this series, I do suggest that you start at the beginning with The Yard because, as I said earlier, characters grow and change, things happen to them, relationships shift... and that information will be invaluable in later books. 

Be warned: these books read quickly, and they are very addictive!
      

Lost and Gone Forever by Alex Grecian

ISBN: 9780399176104 

G.P. Putnam's Sons © 2016

Hardcover, 384 pages

Historical Mystery, #5 Murder Squad

Rating: A-

Source: Amazon Vine  


  

The Harvest Man by Alex Grecian

First Line: Mother and Father were sharing a bed.

Things have changed greatly for Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith since the events that took place in The Devil's Workshop. Both men are still healing from their injuries, but while Day is confined to desk duty, Hammersmith is no longer employed by Scotland Yard.

While Day contends with paperwork, being a new father, and his obnoxious in-laws, Hammersmith is obsessed with finding Jack the Ripper, who's still roaming free in London.

Murdered prostitutes are turning up once more, and there's a new killer in town named the Harvest Man who has a particularly gruesome modus operandi with the husbands and wives he kills. No matter how hard Day, Hammersmith, and their colleague Dr. Kingsley work, the people of London may never feel safe again.

Any day with a new Murder Squad novel from Alex Grecian is a good day, and The Harvest Man is no exception. Scotland Yard is moving to a new building, and as the old one empties, there's a real sense of one era ending and a new one beginning.  We're introduced to new characters, like Claire Day's parents, and we're able to observe how all of them are dealing with the brutal events of the previous book. Many things happened that are not easy to come to terms with.

As usual, Grecian shows his skill in telling a well-paced, engrossing story. Jack the Ripper seems to have spawned a new breed of killer, and it's interesting to watch the characters speculate about the reasons why this is so. For anyone new to the series, I have three caveats. One, Grecian immediately immerses you in the story. There is little background given at first, so it may take you a bit of time to get your bearings. Two, if you are the slightest bit squeamish, the gore level in his books may be too much for you. Three, if you're looking for a perfect rendition of Victorian London, you may be disappointed. Grecian's London of the 1890s isn't necessarily a visual one; it's an emotional, a visceral, one. There are many other writers who can depict this London in all its grimy glory. From them you'll know by sight and feel and smell the second you step in horse dung as you cross the street. When you read Alex Grecian, you won't care about the horse dung because you're too busy mentally running for your life.

There are many times when I was mentally running for my life-- or wishing that one of the characters would. Grecian knows how to tell that kind of story, and he's filled it with characters-- Day and his wife Claire, Hammersmith, Dr. Kingsley and his daughter Fiona-- that you care about. He raises the bar on suspense because, in his books, bad things can happen to good people. I'm not always in the mood for something like this, but when I am, I definitely know which author to read.

But in the midst of all the running and lives being in danger, there are flashes of humor and of grace.  These characters are people who know how precious life is. When Dr. Kingsley jokingly introduces his rudimentary crime scene kit to Inspector Tiffany, we laugh, but we also know how much these men care about stopping killers. When Hammersmith asks the names of women city fathers would cross the street to avoid, we're shown true humanity.

When The Harvest Man ended, I found myself wanting to know what's going to happen to Walter Day. I look forward to Grecian's next Murder Squad book with a great deal of anticipation.

The Harvest Man by Alex Grecian

ISBN: 9780399166440

G.P. Putnam's Sons © 2015

Hardcover, 400 pages 

Historical Mystery, #4 Murder Squad mystery

Rating: A+

Source: the publisher

The Devil's Workshop by Alex Grecian

First Line: The white canvas hood covered his nose and eyes and ears, but there was a slit near the bottom of it for his mouth.

Each step of the prison breakout was meticulously planned, including the four vicious murderers who were selected to escape. But the plan has gone wrong, and those four killers are now loose in London, each looking to carry out his own agenda. It's going to take Inspector Walter Day, Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith, and everyone else on Scotland Yard's Murder Squad working full-out to catch them all.

What they don't know is how badly the deck is stacked against them. There are people amongst them who don't want the killers caught by Scotland Yard; one of the killers is heading straight for Day's home and his pregnant wife; and yet another of the killers has unleashed a plague upon the city: Jack the Ripper is alive and well... and walking the streets of London. 

Once again, Alex Grecian turns loose his formidable powers of description to bring Victorian London to eerie, bustling life. From the prologue that takes place in the underworld beneath the city streets, to the prison break, to the adrenaline-pumping chase scenes, I could see it all before me, and I have to admit that the hair was standing on the back of my neck over and over again. Secondary characters like the young boys used to deliver messages and drive the police wagons from place to place as well as the marvelous Eunice Pye and her garden hoe added so much depth to the story.

Having known from the synopsis of the book that Jack the Ripper was involved, I expected blood and knife work, so those scenes did not surprise me. They also didn't seem gratuitous or over the top.  

But what of our heroes, Day and Hammersmith? Their relationship is progressing and right on the threshold of turning into something very special. We also get to see how Walter Day is responding to impending fatherhood, but the two are separated for much of the book. Dr. Kingsley and his daughter also play reduced roles, and these factors seriously weaken the story.

In many ways, it felt almost as though there was a bit too much going on in the book. A secret society, Jack the Ripper, four other killers scattered around the city, Claire Day's pregnancy, Day going his way and Hammersmith in another... I got the distinct impression that Grecian was laying the foundation for future books in the series. I love his writing-- the way he can set a scene and bring it to life, the atmosphere and the marvelous characters he creates-- but The Devil's Workshop was a bit hectic and unfocused. Still miles better than many other crime fiction novels available today, just not quite up to the standard Grecian set in The Yard and The Black Country. That said, I still highly recommend the entire series and am eagerly awaiting the next.

The Devil's Workshop by Alex Grecian

ISBN:  9780399166433

Putnam © 2014

Hardcover, 400 pages

Historical Mystery, #3 Murder Squad mystery

Rating: B

Source: Amazon Vine 

The Black Country by Alex Grecian

First Line: It was an unusual egg.

The little girl who discovers a human eyeball in a bird's nest sparks fear in a small mining village in the black country of the English Midlands due in no small part to the fact that three members of a prominent family have disappeared. The local constable knows that he's in over his head, so he sends for help to Scotland Yard's new Murder Squad. Inspector Walter Day, Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith, and Dr. Bernard Kingsley have two days to solve the case, but they have no earthly clue what they're getting themselves into. Everyone has a secret in this tiny community, and most of the villagers' lives seem to be subsumed by superstition.

Alex Grecian's The Yard was one of the few books I purchased during my recent trip to the UK, and when I'd read it and turned the last page, all I could say was "Wow!" I'm thrilled to say that The Black Country has now firmly placed this author on my Must Buy list.

Grecian has a very visual style of writing that makes me feel as though I'm right in the thick of things. His setting of a small mining village that's virtually cut off from the rest of the world adds the perfect Gothic atmosphere-- especially since the mine has tunneled underneath most of the buildings, and the town has been slowly sinking into the shafts for years.

Taking these three out of London gives them a chance to bond and form a relationship away from all the other characters-- in particular Day and Hammersmith-- and although I did miss some of the cast from The Yard, this element worked very well. The villagers add just the right touch of helpfulness and obstinacy and are brilliant at showing how people's histories intertwine in such a remote place. In fact their closely woven lives add all sorts of complications to the detectives' investigation.

My mother once told me that she believed I must have been a miner in a previous life (one that died in a cave-in) because I refuse to go underground. If you see me at someplace like Carlsbad Caverns, rest assured that I'll be camped out in the parking lot. With my fanatical passion for these Murder Squad books, and with a character like Nevil Hammersmith who literally grew up in a coal mine, I think I shall have to resign myself to having the heebie jeebies when I read parts of these books because they do go down into the earth from time to time. In this case, however, these sections heighten the suspense and sense of danger... a delicious way of scaring myself, I suppose you would say.

Creepy atmosphere, wonderful characters, a convoluted mystery, all wrapped up in the Victorian Era's conflict between science and superstition. What a marvelous reading experience Alex Grecian has created! Do I recommend his Murder Squad series? You bet I do!

The Black Country by Alex Grecian

ISBN: 9780399159336

G.P. Putnam's Sons © 2013

Hardcover, 400 pages

Historical Mystery, Police Procedural, #2 Murder Squad

Rating: A

Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer program

The Yard by Alex Grecian

First Line: London, 1889. Nobody noticed when Inspector Christian Little of Scotland Yard disappeared and nobody was looking for him when he was found.

Just months after Scotland Yard spectacularly failed to catch Jack the Ripper, Colonel Sir Edward Bradford has created the Murder Squad-- twelve men put in sole charge of solving all the violent crimes committed in the largest city in the world. Morale has never been lower at the Yard, for their failure to catch the Ripper has turned the population of London against them-- and now someone is killing them, sewing the police officers' eyes and mouths shut and stuffing their bodies in steamer trunks. Detective Inspector Walter Day, the newest member of the Murder Squad, will need all the help he can get from Dr. Bernard Kingsley (the Yard's first forensic pathologist) and Detective Constable Nevil Hammersmith if these murders of their colleagues are to stop.

Even before I finished this book, I wanted to have copies of it magically appear in the hands of all historical mystery fans. When I did finish it, I had to restrain myself from dancing around the house in delight. What a marvelous book!

Alex Grecian's descriptive powers would have Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins clapping him on the back in approval. In The Yard, Victorian London comes to life in all its smelly, crowded and depraved glory. Some readers may glance at the book's almost 600-page bulk (depending on the particular edition) and walk away, but this story reads like a house afire. The murders of the policemen aren't the only crimes Day, Kingsley and Hammersmith wind up investigating either. When the story begins, Day has only been at the Yard a week. As he becomes more accustomed to the men with whom he's working and with workplace routine, he and the other two men begin to pick out similarities in other crimes... and sometimes things just fall into his lap.

Grecian does not leave his villains under cloaks of invisibility until it's time for the ending reveal. No, one by one they raise their masks, pull back their hoods, and show themselves to us. What's brilliant about this is that there's absolutely no reason to despair. This book is about so much more than identifying a few criminals. Knowing their identities and watching them follow the good guys around during their investigations really ratchets up the suspense-- especially when the chase leads Day and Hammersmith through narrow streets in the dead of night or in the creepiest asylum you'll ever have the "pleasure" of exploring.

But more than lush descriptions and an intricate plot, The Yard is about people. We learn the backgrounds of Day, Kingsley and Hammersmith. We come to know them, to like them, and to care about their safety. We see the way they interact with people from every level of society. We learn what they believe to be important. I know that one of the basic tenets of crime fiction is justice-- to right wrongs, to speak for the dead. The Yard does all this and much more, but it's been a long, long time since I've read a book that was filled with so much compassion and humanity. Not only do Day, Kingsley and Hammersmith see the absolute worst that we humans can do-- they still believe we're worth fighting for, and worth saving. This book spoke to me on so many levels. I can't recommend it highly enough.

The Yard by Alex Grecian

ISBN: 9780241958919

Penguin Books © 2013

Paperback, 583 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Murder Squad mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased at Waterstone's, Cambridge, UK