The Yard [Hardcover]

Alex Grecian (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 29, 2012

Victorian London is a cesspool of crime, and Scotland Yard has only twelve detectives—known as “The Murder Squad”—to investigate countless murders every month. Created after the Metropolitan Police’s spectacular failure to capture Jack the Ripper, The Murder Squad suffers rampant public contempt. They have failed their citizens. But no one can anticipate the brutal murder of one of their own . . . one of the twelve . . .

When Walter Day, the squad’s newest hire, is assigned the case of the murdered detective, he finds a strange ally in the Yard’s first forensic pathologist, Dr. Bernard Kingsley. Together they track the killer, who clearly is not finished with The Murder Squad . . . but why?

Filled with fascinating period detail, and real historical figures, this spectacular debut in a new series showcases the depravity of late Victorian London, the advent of criminology, and introduces a stunning new cast of characters sure to appeal to fans of The Sherlockian and The Alienist.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lusciously rich with detail, atmosphere, and history, and yet as fast paced as a locomotive, The Yard will keep you riveted from page one. It's truly a one- or two-sitting read."

—Jeffery Deaver, author of Carte Blanche and The Bone Collector

"Alex Grecian’s The Yard is a brilliantly crafted debut novel with unforgettable characters. An utterly gripping tale perfectly evokes Victorian London and brings you right back to the depraved and traumatic days of Jack the Ripper. And I mean that in the best possible way."  

—Lisa Lutz, author of The Spellman Files

“Outstanding. If Charles Dickens isn’t somewhere clapping his hands for this, Wilkie Collins surely is.” – Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“Grecian’s debut is the promising start of a new series and should be one of the most acclaimed and popular mysteries of the year. Caleb Carr’s The Alienist> is the obvious comparison, thanks to The Yard’s attention to detail and mix of historical facts and vivid fictional creations.” – Huffington Post

“A winner, filled with Victorian arcane and eccentric characters and more humor than one expects from such a work.” – The Rap Sheet

“Grecian powerfully evokes both the physical, smog-ridden atmosphere of London in 1889 and its emotional analogs of anxiety and depression. His infusion of actual history adds to this thriller’s credibility and punch. A deeply satisfying reconstruction of post-Ripper London.” – Booklist

“This excellent murder mystery debut introduces a fascinating cast of characters. Grecian displays a flair for language as well as creating vivid (and occasionally gruesome) depictions of places and events.” – Library Journal

About the Author

 Alex Grecian is the author of the long-running and critically acclaimed graphic novel series Proof. He lives in the Midwest with his wife and son. The Yard is his first novel.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (May 29, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399149546
• ISBN-13: 978-0399149542
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique, Sensually Stimulating Experience Back in Time to 1898 London Matching Wits with Memorable Criminals & Crime Fighters! April 7, 2012

By Tom McGee VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The Yard is Alex Grecian's debut novel and it is a winner! It is a unique, 421-page novel that is hard to put down. I read the last 300 pages in one sitting.

Unlike many Victorian Scotland Yard crime stories, this one is neither a thriller nor a mystery; however, it has elements of suspense and the author knows how to hold the readers' attention and interest from beginning to end.

The Yard is a historical crime fiction with vivid scenes, interesting characters and an atmosphere that reaches the senses and places readers' firmly in grimy 1889 East London where electricity and water closets were in their infancy. Women still wore their laced corsets, carriages were drawn by horses and police resources, communications and transportation were limited by the historical setting.

Some small children were kidnapped, sold or indentured for work as chimney sweeps and other dangerous situations during this impoverished and destitute era. "Murderers, thieves, whores, and swindlers were all pressed together alongside that rarest of species, the honest citizen" while homeless and unemployed live and die in work houses.

Alex places the reader in an era of an evolving police force where Jack the Ripper's heinous murders not only influenced police operations, but also gave rise to other deranged murderers who took notice of the Yard's inability to catch "Saucy Jack."

Stretched thin the police are looking at new ways to deal with their mounting case loads of crime and their morale is at an all time low. In an effort to remove the most dangerous criminals from the streets, the Yard creates a 12-man Murder Squad to deal almost exclusively with that element and their lives and numbers are at risk.

Through short Interludes, Grecian introduces and showcases three compelling characters-- Constable Nevil Hammersmith, Detective Inspector Walter Day and Doctor Bernard Kingsley--who could easily become the center piece for future enthralling works by this author. Likewise, other haunting and mesmerizing characters--the violent and mysterious Mr. Blackleg, who has a special place in his heart for children, is justifiably feared by his peers and newly appointed, yet highly respected, one-armed Metropolitan Police Force Commissioner of Scotland Yard, Colonel Sir Edward Bradford--could be the main characters for future tales by the author.

Married to his job, Constable Nevil Hammersmith grew up sensitive to the plight of children having worked in confined dangerous places within the coal mines as a child. Nearly working around the clock, he is side tracked from his mission by interest in bringing those responsible for the death of small child he found mummified body with legs protruding from the flute of a fireplace. Nevil will also become involved in the case of missing seven year old Fenn Hubbard.

The newlywed, Constable Walter Day, reluctantly left Devon with his committed bride, Claire a week earlier to replace the legendary Inspector March who retired from the force, frustrated by his inability to find and arrest the infamous "Jack the Ripper."

Nervous and lacking in self-confidence, Day wonders if he is worthy of his wife and his appointment to head up the investigation of the brutal murder of Murder Squad Inspector Christian Little, whose body was found by a porter, broken and stuffed in an abandoned steamer trunk with his eyes and mouth sewed shut at the Euston Square Station.

Clever, intuitive and on the cutting edge of modernizing forensic evidence, Doctor Bernard Kingsley, with the help of his brilliant young daughter, Fiona, initiate exciting medical crime solving techniques assisting the Yard's other memorable characters.

While this novel is not perfect, the search for one crazed serial killer while bearded men are targeted by other tortured and demented souls is a quick and entertaining read by an author who will soon be a household name.

Enjoy!

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Victorian London? "No way, dude," as they apparently used to say then. September 6, 2012

By Sid Nuncius TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

I don't like writing critical reviews but in truth I thoroughly disliked this book. It purports to be about the Victorian police force in London, but fails to convince in any way. My copy carries an endorsement from Jeffrey Deaver promising that it is "rich with detail, atmosphere and history." It isn't. The descriptions of London (such as they are) are feeble and generic, and the language - so vital in generating a sense of period - is ludicrously inappropriate. The dialogue in particular is absurd. This is supposed to be London in 1889 but within just the first few pages people use such phrases as "no worries", "I'm right on it", and "he's heading up the investigation." These weren't in use in London in 1989, never mind 1889 and phrases like "Where was the beat cop?" still aren't. Conversation is liberally sprinkled with "yeah", "sure" and the like. It's all as phoney as Dick van Dyke's cockney accent and it destroyed any possible atmosphere or authenticity, making the book almost unreadable for me. It's as though a British author writing about Chicago gangsters had given Al Capone lines like "I say, old chap - steady on!"

I wasn't convinced by the characters, the plot, the language or the period setting. This is a run-of-the-mill psychotic serial killer story with many of the clichés of the genre well in evidence. It would have been unremarkable set in the USA in the present day; set in a paper-thin caricature of Victorian London it is plain silly.

Others have obviously enjoyed the book but I'm afraid that I really, really didn't.

48 of 53 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Grecian's formula needs a lot of work, but the characters are winners March 26, 2012

By Maine Colonial TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

In 1889 London, the morale of the Metropolitan Police is at a low ebb. They were never able to catch Jack the Ripper and are not much respected by the city's citizenry. They're underpaid, called "bluebottles" or worse, and their status in society is at a critical point. Colonel Sir Edward Bradford, police commissioner, is determined to turn the department around and build a professional Murder Squad that uses inventive methods to track down killers.

Just when the last thing Scotland Yard needs is more killings that could panic the city, a gruesome discovery is made at the Euston Square train station. The body of Inspector Little of the Murder Squad is found there, his corpse stuffed in a trunk with his legs broken to cram them in and, horrifically, his lips and eyes sewn shut. Sir Edward makes solving the murder his squad's first priority, appointing Inspector Walter Day, newly arrived in London from Devon, as the lead investigator.

Inspector Day will work with the young, eager and relentlessly hardworking Constable Hammersmith, and the first forensic pathologist in England, Dr. Bernard Kingsley. These three, together with other members of the Murder Squad, juggle the Little murder case with several other cases, including one involving a bizarre series of throat-cuttings.

When I began reading the book, I didn't much like it. The writing in the Prologue and the first part of the book is rough, with a lot of unclear descriptions, odd statements (like saying that there was no hierarchy at Scotland Yard), and non sequiturs. It soon became clear that the murder plots involve psychologically deranged killers, which is frequently a lazy and derivative choice. There is a subplot involving crimes against children; a topic I can't stand reading about and that is all too often cynically used for shock value, but at least I can say there are no graphic descriptions.

Despite my misgivings, I kept reading and got caught up in the story, which became increasingly tense and involving. So much so that I wanted to overlook the fact that the murder methods and, to some extent, the choices of victims, don't bear close examination. They just don't make any kind of sense, and there is far too much coincidence involved in the murders and in other circumstances in the book. (I can't say more without spoilers, but I would be happy to discuss the plot issues in comments if anyone would like.) There are quite a few distractingly anachronistic expressions along the way as well, and scenes that seem disjointed and inconsistent with other parts of the book.

With such serious criticisms, why do I give the book three stars? It's the characters. Author Alex Grecian develops Sir Edward, Inspector Day, Constable Hammersmith and Dr. Kingsley into lively, appealing personalities I became attached to and wanted to know more about. Even second-tier characters, like Day's wife, Kingsley's daughter, the "dancing man" Henry Mayhew, Blackleg, and the other members of the Murder Squad were well drawn and compelling. Grecian based many of them, including Sir Edward, Inspector Day and Dr. Kingsley, on real people. He also clearly did extensive research on the Murder Squad and the history of police investigative methods; for example, showing us Dr. Kingsley's first experiments with fingerprinting and Sir Edward's directive for detectives to begin working in pairs. I enjoyed these historical insights and the atmosphere of Victorian London.

With his talent for creating strong characters and atmosphere, I hope that Grecian can develop equally strong skills in plotting. He plans future books featuring the Murder Squad and, if he can overcome his considerable plotting problems, I will look forward to reading them.