The Devil's Workshop

March 24, 2014
Heavy-handed telegraphing of plot turns and contrived drama mar Grecian’s third Victorian thriller featuring Insp. Walter Day (after 2013’s The Black Country). When a deliberate train derailment outside a London prison destroys the prison’s wall, a few convicts (the number is uncertain) escape through the breach. Among them are some vicious murderers, including Geoffrey Cinderhouse, the first killer Day captured as a member of Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad. Day is worried because Cinderhouse, who visited Day’s wife, Claire, shortly before his apprehension, knows where Day lives and could pose a threat to the now pregnant Claire. Several retired inspectors, including Day’s mentor, Adrian March, join the manhunt, whose challenges are amplified by the reappearance of Jack the Ripper a year or so after the Whitechapel slayings. Readers who find the storyline a frustrating tease will hope that Grecian returns to form in the next installment. Agent: Seth Fishman, Gernert Company.

In London in 1890, a secret society dedicated to a certain type of justice orchestrates a prison break, but the plan dangerously backfires when prisoners--and captors--are unaccounted for. From the start, narrator John Curless immerses listeners in the dark, criminal world of the Scotland Murder Squad. Curless confidently navigates the fast-paced mystery, guiding listeners between multiple plots and characters while employing a variety of British accents. Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith reunite to lead the investigation, and Curless captures their camaraderie with well-timed banter. Most chilling and effective is his rendering of the elusive Jack the Ripper. He gives Jack a sinister controlled voice that deftly reflects his twisted psyche. A.S. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine