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The Black Country
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The Black Country
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The Black Country
Audiobook10 hours

The Black Country

Written by Alex Grecian

Narrated by Toby Leonard Moore

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Scotland Yard's Murder Squad returns, in the stunning new historical thriller from the author of the acclaimed national bestseller The Yard.

The British Midlands. It's called the "Black Country" for a reason. Bad things happen there.

When members of a prominent family disappear from a coal-mining village-and a human eyeball is discovered in a bird's nest-the local constable sends for help from Scotland Yard's new Murder Squad. Fresh off the grisly 1889 murders of The Yard, Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith respond, but they have no idea what they're about to get into. The villagers have intense, intertwined histories. Everybody bears a secret. Superstitions abound. And the village itself is slowly sinking into the mines beneath it.

Not even the arrival of forensics pioneer Dr. Bernard Kingsley seems to help. In fact, the more the three of them investigate, the more they realize they may never be allowed to leave. . . .


From the Hardcover edition.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 21, 2013
ISBN9781101620533
Unavailable
The Black Country
Author

Alex Grecian

ALEX GRECIAN is the national bestselling author of Red Rabbit, The Yard, The Black Country, The Devil’s Workshop, The Harvest Man, Lost and Gone Forever, and The Saint of Wolves and Butchers, as well as the critically acclaimed graphic novels Proof and Rasputin, and the novellas The Blue Girl and One Eye Open. He lives in the Midwest with his wife, his son, their dog, and a tarantula named Rosie.

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Reviews for The Black Country

Rating: 3.659999877 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It took me a little bit to remember the characters of this series but once I did, I found this book enjoyable. It's always interesting to see how backwards medicine thinking was back then. To use leaches to drain an illness from someone. This town is built over tunnels that coal miners are digging and the town is slowly sinking into the tunnels. There are missing people, murders and a horrible blizzard. There were a couple things that didn't get resolved but all in all not bad.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed this second book in Grecian's Murder Squad series, but I felt it was lacking compared with The Yard. The two main characters (Inspector Day and Hammersmith are back, dealing with a case outside of London, having been called in by the local Constable. The story was interesting, with some nice twists, but I felt that this second offering was not as good as the first book in the series. Mostly, because the story focused on Day and Hammersmith, some of the other characters that made The Yard such a fun read were missing. We are given passing nods to Day's wife, and while Dr. Kingsley makes an appearance, his daughter - whose character I really enjoyed from The Yard - is absent from this story. In addition, there were some lose ends that did not get addressed in the conclusion of the story (like what happened to the local Constable - the reader knows, but this was never resolved for our intrepid Scotland Yard detectives). If you enjoyed The Yard, this is a fine follow on story, but for me it lacked the punch that made The Yard such an enjoyable read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Black Country is a solid thriller with an obvious debt to Conan Doyle. I look forward to the next book in the Murder Squad series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed this book far more than I expected that I would. I love British mysteries, but I am not a huge fan of the Victorian Era. That era is the setting of the book, but it is not so much about that era. The story could have been set in most any other era of British history, except that the plot need the setting, just as some stories only work at sci-fi. It is a story that takes place in Victorian London, not a story about Victorian London. It is not the best British mystery I've read this year, but I am looking for a used copy of his his prior book to read and looking forward to his next one.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have mixed feelings about The Black Country. I enjoyed The Yard a great deal and was eagerly awaiting this novel, in order to follow Insp. Day and the rest of the Murder Squad.This second book has Day, Hammersmith and Dr. Kingsley (all from the first book) sent out of London to the Midlands to investigate a missing persons case. I assume that Scotland Yard felt the missing would be found dead, or they would have sent other detectives rather than two key members of the Murder Squad. That was the first thing I questioned.This book is darker than The Yard. The village is Blackhampton, a mining community. Small, grim and insular. This allows for the superstitious and secretive nature of the people. Grecian describes the village and its people extremely well. The village is 'sinking' into the hollowness beneath it created by the mining and this allows for a climax at the end that I found more suited for a 'thriller' than a police procedural which is what I had hoped Grecian's series would be. And that is my question/thought. Perhaps Grecian doesn't see this series as 'historical police procedural'. Perhaps he is leaning towards a more gothic, darker series. Both this book and The Yard involved children - crimes done by and to children - and I am hoping that this is a coincidence and not what the rest of the series will be. I find the idea of a police procedural at a time when police were just being to develop their skills and forensics was still in its infancy to be a very intriguing idea and would like to see the series develop along those lines.Grecian has brought in sub-plots and extra characters. Some of them are necessary to the story and others not so much so. Not all loose ends are tied - I found it strange that when Campbell, the local constable, disappears no one in the village, or our Yard detectives, seems worried or concerned.It is pretty obvious, early in the book, what has happened. I found the ending unsatisfying and unlikely. Given the attitudes of the time towards children I found it unlikely that the two children would have been treated as they were even though Day and Hammersmaith have shown their concern for children in the previous book.I really like these characters and have great hopes for the series, so I will read the next one, as well, before deciding if I am going to follow the series over the long term.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed the main characters and this particular coal-mining village setting was wild. Reading it was like watching a movie--such a ride! The only reason why I'm not giving it a better rating was that it was simply too gruesome for my taste. For those who enjoy historical thrillers, I think this book would be fantastic!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It is finished and I am sad.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm really enjoying these historical police procedurals -- partly in their realistic creepiness, partly in their fascinating characters, mostly because the atmospheric settings are awesome and there's a certain joy in seeing who will drug/ beat-up/ rescue Hammersmith this time. I also really love how easy it is to interpret the things that happen as magical or cursed, and yet there is always a scientific explanation that comes through. I like seeing the superstitions held up against early forensic techniques -- and I like how well the stories illustrate where the superstitions come from/ how bizarre the realities of 19th century were -- when you think about reality of living in a town that is literally falling into the mining tunnels, it becomes easier to see why the residents would also believe in omens and portents.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Scotland Yard's Murder Squad is back and a new case brings forth Kingsley, Day, and Hammersmith to a strange English township that seems to have a life of its own, and toils on its residents. The eponymous Black Country weighs down even on the most forbearing visitors, which is unfortunate for the investigating party. As a whole, this novel is a sincere follow-up to its predecessor, it is an offbeat tale that furthers the Murder Squad team for future stories.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the second entry in Grecian's Victorian Scotland Yard Murder Squad series, featuring Inspector Walter Day, Sargent Nevil Hammersmith and Dr. Bernard Kingsley, pioneer of forensic medicine. It's set in the Midlands, in a small town where superstition reigns, there's "something" in the water, people disappear, and buildings periodically sink into the mines. Dark, chilling and thrilling. Occasional colloquialisms sounded much too 20th century American to me, but overall I was totally "there" (to the point of claustrophobia during a trip down a well). I ripped through it.Review written in January 2014
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I hope Mr. Grecian makes this a long series. I have thourghly enjoyed both books I have read and am going to get The Devils Workshop ASAP. Really good writing keep up the good work.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was an engaging and atmospheric read. The mystery was interesting and the action at the end was, well, action-packed. Top-notch read. I'll have to look for his other book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith return in The Black Country the new chapter in Alex Grecian's Murder Squad series. While not up to the standard of his first entry in the series, The Yard, this is nonetheless an engaging and exciting adventure in which both locals and environment team up to hinder the investigators.In this novel Day and Hammersmith find themselves out of London, their native environment, on a 2-day assignment in a coal mining town located in the British Midlands. They're there to investigate the disappearance of 3 members of a local family. From the start local superstition has some of the inhabitants of Blackhampton resisting the efforts of Day and Hammersmith, much to their dismay. How they persevere despite collapsing roads and buildings, a foreign gunman, and a late season blizzard makes for a great story. I enjoyed it quite a bit but not enough to try Groaty Dick, aka black country risotto.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In this sequel to the popular The Yard we follow inspector Walter Day and sergeant Hammersmith to a small village where a family has gone missing. In the small mining town things are not all as they seem. But then again that was to be expected otherwise it wouldn't be the exact novel we were expecting. Not quite murder mystery, not quite Victorian drama, The Black Country is somewhere in between, but does spin a seriously good yarn. As Day and Hammersmith trundle through the thick snow in a village slowly sinking into the mines below they have to battle local superstition, ignorance and an evil all too human.The novel is well written and races by at a breakneck speed. Or perhaps the writing style is just very conducive to reading this novel speedily through. There is not a lot of character development but on the other hand the people in this novel feel awfully authentic in their thinking and behavior. Victorian times were harsh and gloomy and you certainly experience a lot of that through the eyes of the local townsfolk and the strange unwelcome visitors. Day has his murder case to solve and in order to do that constantly tramples from the Church to the Inn, which at some point does become a little ridiculous. It is not quite sure if Alex Grecian planned this novel out carefully or if he was pressured to produce a sequel as fast as possible. The latter seems to be the case and for two reasons. A number of threads are never resolved and even a major character who is killed off someway halfway through the novel is not even found at the end. You don't really know what is going until way over halfway into the story and even then you still feel that the author is making up plot by the skin of his teeth.Having said that I rated this book high because it is well written, reads smoothly and has a fantastic sense of presence. I was especially pleased with how the author presents the human side of the solution to the murder mystery, which, although seemingly far fetched, is appropriate and believable.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    unusual elements but a good read
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When I read Alex Grecian's debut novel, The Yard, last year, I immediately added him to my 'must read' list. His second book The Black Country brings back the investigators from Scotland Yard's Murder Squad. Grecian starts off the book with a quick little 'gotcha' scene. A little girl climbing a tree finds something of great interest in a bird's nest - what she thinks is a lovely little blue egg - but it's an blue eye.... 1899. Detective Day and Sergeant Hammersmith are sent to the small mining town of Blackhampton in the British Midlands. Two of the town's residents and their young son have vanished and the local constable is in over his head. But what Day and Hammersmith find is not a town overly worried about the loss of three of their residents, but an insular mining town full of superstitions, suspicions and secrets. No one is willing to talk to the detectives, instead they seem bent on stopping the investigation in its tracks. A stranger who's only been in town for two weeks with his own agenda is more welcomed than Day and Hammersmith. The Black Country is a busy book - the town is falling into the tunnels beneath, the townsfolk are falling sick from a mysterious malady, the children of the town are afraid of a boogeyman they've named "Raw Head, Bloody Bones", the weather is just as determined as the murderer to kill off a few more folks and the mysterious stranger has another mysterious stranger after him. A lot of plot? Oh, for sure - but I loved it! What drew me to the first book has again captured me in The Black Country. I love the time period, but I especially enjoy these characters. Day's quiet, calm intelligence shines through, Hammersmith's stubborn indefatigability, the clear and gentle soul of the giant Henry and the early forensic and medical pronouncements of Dr. Kingsley. Grecian again employs his 'interlude' technique, telling the story of the mysterious stranger in bits and pieces and slowly tying him to the mystery in Blackhampton. As with the first book, the identity of the killer is known before the end of the book. But, for this reader, it didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. Grecian continues to flesh out his character's personal lives - I know there's more to come and will be eagerly awaiting the third in this series. (I had a quick listen to who narrated the audio version of this book and may actually choose to listen to the next installment. Toby Leonard Moore has an amazingly rich, resonant voice with a wonderful set of accents. His pacing was slow and deliberate, catching the mores and manners of the time period.)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A solid second novel from Grecian. This time Detective Day and his Sergeant Hammersmith are in the Black Country investigating the disappearance of three members of a family. We also see the return of Dr. Kingsley (although I thought his character was under utilized in this book). If you liked The Yard (first book in the series) you will like this one as well. The formula is close to the same (dark plot and setting, deep and intense characters, short chapters to allow for plot changes and updates on existing and/or additions of new characters, and interludes placed at just the right time to give the reader a teaser about things to come). There is a bit of a slow part toward the middle, but it is made up for in the end as the entire story really unfolds. The change out of London and the addition of a small town almost as a character works. I also like the way Grecian writes in very short time frames (wrapping up in 2 days). While it isn't that realistic that a case as complicated as each of the ones in the first two novels could be wrapped up completely that quickly, it does add a sense of urgency and keeps the reader more engaged. All in all a great add to my historical fiction collection and I will read the next one in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is an ARC review. The Black Country is a dark, moody book. Taking place in an old mining town with buildings sinking into collapsing mine shafts creates a surreal, fantasy-like feeling to the book. I used "Google" to discover if such mining towns had ever existed and, indeed, they have. Nonetheless, the book delivers that "unreal" quality. The author has created a maze-like mystery with convolutions and distortions and eerie events that make the book a compelling read. Characters are vividly drawn. Three principals from The Yard appear: Inspector Day, Sergeant Hammersmith, and Dr. Kingsley. I assume that the author will bring them back for yet another Scotland Yard mystery of the Victorian Age.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Opening with the discovery of an eyeball in a bird's nest and the mystery of 3 missing people--a father, mother, and child--the book immediately draws the reader into the atmosphere of a small coal town in England. Day arrives with Hammersmith to search for the missing family members, but an old murder, a long term love affair, revenge, and a sinking village complicate his investigation. As the village continues to sink into the coal mines one tremor at a time, the London denizens hope to survive long enough to solve their latest case.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Alex Grecian's "The Black Country" is a terrific follow-up to "The Yard," even if the premise at the beginning of the novel seems a bit weak. Inspector Walter Day, Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith and Dr. Bernard Kingsley supposedly comprise the Scotland Yard's Murder Squad, yet they are sent to the Black Country in the English Midlands to find three people -- a husband, wife and son -- who have been missing for a few days. This does turn into a murder case, but at the time the investigators are dispatched there is no hint of a murder, just some missing people. Would Scotland Yard really send its most elite team of detectives to a rural area to conduct a search? Couldn't lesser men handle such a chore?It soon develops that these are the right men, after all. There is much going on here in addition to the missing family. Campbell, a large and mysterious stranger in town, appears to have something to hide. A sinister American with a rifle stalks the woods, trying to kill someone. The superstitious innkeeper tries to keep Day and Hammersmith from their search. Most of the townspeople are seriously ill. And this is a coal-mining own located directly above the mines that provide its livelihood. As a consequence, the whole village is sinking into the ground a few inches at a time.The trio of detectives complement one another nicely. Day, whose wife is expecting their first child, shows compassion, extreme bravery and a mind that never stops working. Hammersmith is a big lug who is ill throughout most of the story, yet keeps chugging along, insisting he is fine. Kingsley is a master of early forensic medicine, finding clues where most detectives in the 19th century would never think to look for them.Grecian's story is complex enough to be interesting, without becoming convoluted. It moves at a fast pace and, with its brief chapters, seems much shorter than its 386 pages. Anyone who loves Victorian mysteries with lots of atmosphere will enjoy "The Black Country."
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a library thing early review. I love reading a good historical novel, and this is a good historical novel. I was fortunate enough to be an early reviewer for Alex Grecian's first book, The Yard, and so I was looking forward to this second novel of the Scotland Yard Murder Squad. He brings back 3 of the characters from The Yard, Inspector Day, Sgt. Hammersmith, and Dr. Kingsley, and places them in the small village of Blackhampton. The Black Country explores life in this mining town where buildings collapse into the minds that are beneath the town, the villagers are superstitious, and there are many secrets. A little research on the Internet let me know that Grecian was accurately describing the experience of those towns. The characters talk about a local boogieman known as "Rawhead and Bloody Bones," and in fact those frightening characters were captured in tales told the children in England and later in the United States during that timeframe.I thought the sequel was not as good as the original, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The Black Country is complex in its storyline at times, and then at the very and tries to tie them all together. Alex Grecian is clearly developing as a novelist, and I look forward to reading his work in the years to come.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Black Country is a very odd sort of detective novel in that the detective in question does exceedingly little to unravel the central mystery. Not for lack of trying but the story unfolds in such a way that he is often little more than a spectator to tragedy.That tragedy was very well plotted and written, but the story still felt a bit unsatisfying. This wasn't helped by having a death of a major character happen in such a way that the rest of the cast never became aware of the murder. This issue was even acknowledged right at the end with a cursory "I'm sure they'll turn up eventually", which could have been played somewhat wryly but didn't quite succeed if that was the author's intent.I also struggled a bit with this book because it happened to dispense with most of the trappings that I'd found to be the most interesting from the first book in the series, The Yard. That book largely focused on the dawn of modern forensics science, while this one by comparison was focus on confronting those methods with the folklore and superstitions of the countryside. I do appreciate that juxtaposition, but I think Grecian went a bit too far in that direction in this outing and sacrificed one of his strengths as a writer in the process.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love mysteries set in Britain and I was particularly pleased with this one. I did not read the first book in this series, "The Yard," however I had no problems at all following it. I have to say, I adored the two main characters, Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith and I intend to get "The Yard" so that I can then follow the series. The duo are sent to a very isolated mining village in the English Midlands to investigate a missing family (father, mother and son). Grecian did a wonderful job with the setting--the village is slowly collapsing into the mines which have, over the years, sprouted tunnels that now run under most of the village.The story is set in winter and amidst the physical challenges of investigating the missing--and perhaps murdered--family members, there is the challenge of finding a safe place to stand when even the building are collapsing without warning around them. There is also a mysterious stranger who claims to be a birdwatcher but who is a little too concerned about the missing child to be quite the stranger he claims to be. There is a subplot revolving around him and his identity that dovetails with the main mystery nicely at the end.My next remark is not really a complaint so much as an odd observation. This is the second book I've read lately where one of the characters has unfortunately been imprisoned in the notorious Andersonville prison during the Civil War. I just find it odd that this is coming up more and more. I guess authors are figuring it is a good (and gruesome) way to provide a heart-wrenching backstory for a character. I won't say more on this, other than just my observation, and I won't give away anything more about that to avoid any spoilers.All-in-all, I found this to be a wonderful book and the nice thing is, you don't need to read the first one (The Yard) in order to enjoy this one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is an Early Review copy. Thank you.The Black Country is the second in a series about the newly formed Murder Squad branch of Scotland Yard. The reader is introduced to the ensemble of detectives and their associates in The Yard, the premier novel which dealt with a serial killer in London just after the Ripper murders. In The Black Country Grecian takes three members of the team (Detective Day, Sergeant Hammersmith, and Dr. Kingsley) and sends them to investigate the disappearance and possible murder of a village family in the Midland's coal-minding district. Though there are indeed murders in this novel, it is more of a gothic horror read than a historical police procedural.Atmosphere is everything in this book. The village of Blackhampton has almost a surreal feeling about it. Built on top of excavated mining seams, the village is sinking into the vacant space below, caused by the removal of the earth beneath it. Doors open below street level; homes have to be ducked into; floors slant. The ground shifts, it appears almost constantly. The few villagers the reader meets seem to accept this as a price for providing a living for the locals. When Day and Hammersmith arrive for the two day stint it takes to untangle the mysteries, there is a raging blizzard which continues to the end of the novel. This ice and unnatural cold contribute to the cock-eyed perspective. Add to that the legend of a bogeyman who lives in the deserted parts of the mine, the crazy inn-keeper who keeps rambling on about the Old Beliefs, and three really (in my opinion) creepy children and the readers gets an engrossing read.Day and Hammersmith are invited by the local constable to investigate the disappearance of the Price family, husband, wife, and youngest child. The three older children are still at home. No one in the village, except the constable and a visiting birdwatcher named Calvin Campbell, seems concerned about the missing family. And oddly, Campbell, seems to be interested in just the missing baby boy, even though he is a stranger to the village. As the hours pass and the weather worsens,half the people in the village become seriously ill and the more fragile begin to die. As Day becomes familiar with the cast of characters he discovers that there is more than one murderer in the village, that the mysterious illness affecting so many people can be traced to a violent death, and that events that happened thirty years earlier during the American Civil War have ramifications for the people of Blackhampton.I read the book in two days. Once I accepted that logic, plus the laws of physics and biology, seem to be suspended in Blackhampton, I had a great time. There were quibbles. It took me right out of the story when I was asked to accept that a miner (not a supervisor or official) would have both a housekeeper and a nanny for his children, plus a chandelier in his sitting room. Those children speak the most unnatural, proper English, especially five year old Virginia. Hammersmith gets drugged, poisoned and suffers two serious head injuries in less than 24 hours and keeps on going and going and going. Still, the book was fun and I look forward to more cases for the Murder Squad, hopefully back in London.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A dark gloomy coal mining town filled with dark gloomy residents holding true to the mystic 'old ways.' When mysterious disappearances occur, everyone suspects the worst. Is it murder or the work of the local bogey man known as "Rawhead and Bloody Bones?" Detective Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith are dispatched from Scotland Yard's fledgling Murder Squad to investigate. Soon, Dr. Kingsley joins them to add his scientific knowledge to debunk Blackhampton's magical thinking. Very atmospheric tale, with a taciturn stranger at the Inn and a freshly arrived assassin lurking in the woods. The action moves quickly between this small town and an American Civil War prison camp. I did not read the first book in this series, but did not feel this was a detriment to my enjoyment. This was a fast paced mystery. Although I'd figured out 'whodunit', it was well worth it to stick with the tale to the end. I will keep my eye out for more by this author.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The second in a series. The year is 1890 and Inspector Day and his Sergeant travel to the British Midlands, to coal country, to find 3 missing villagers. Every thing imaginable, (snow storms, collapsing mines, illness, just to name a few) befalls them and the villagers before the story ends. Gritty, realistic, very well written.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Unfortunately, I didn't like this book as much as I did the first one in the series. One of the things I liked most about the first one was its London setting. 19th century London has always fascinated me. I can understand wanting to give characters new places to explore, but that seems like something one does after a few more books if you're writing a series.That said, I did enjoy catching up with the characters. A subplot involving a mysterious American who is wandering the woods also added a much-needed element of mystery since I had a good idea of who the culprit was fairly early. Not sure I would read another in the same series - depends on the setting/story and my mood.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I received this book from Early Reviews to read and review, Awesome! This is Alex's second book in this series. I love the how I get pulled right in. Great writing! I really like the plot, the detectives and the time period. I can't wait for the next case!! Alex great job!!