Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Helpful Score: 2
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 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!
Helpful Score: 1
Other reviews provide a synopsis so I won't be redundant but The Black Country was not as good an effort as his debut novel The Yard neither in character development nor in storyline but it was still a good historical mystery. Grecian is an author to keep an eye on.
I read Grecian's first book in this series, THE YARD, a couple of years ago and finally got around to this second entry. I really enjoyed THE YARD and the exploits of Scotland Yard's Murder Squad around the time of Jack the Ripper. In this second go round, Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith are sent to the British Midlands to help out in trying to find a missing husband and wife and their youngest son. The Midlands is called the "Black Country" because of its extensive coal mining and the local population is full of superstitions and omens. One of these is an evil that may inhabit the mines along with a childhood poem about him:
Rawhead and Bloody Bones
Steals naughty children from their homes,
Takes them to his dirty den,
And they are never seen again.
Shortly after their arrival at the town's inn, Hammersmith is thought doomed because an owl flew into the inn and perched oh the chair he was sitting in. Other superstitions continue to pop up during the story. But what happened to the three missing persons? The story has multiple plot lines and hints on what happened are given throughout the narrative so before the end it is made pretty clear. But there are also other things afoot including an American Civil War vet who is seeking revenge upon someone in the village. The local constable who called in the Murder Squad also goes missing but doesn't really seem to be missed. An illness also plagues the townspeople and the whole town is slowly sinking into the underground mine tunnels. Not a very great place to live and make a living!
I didn't think this novel was quite as good as THE YARD. The plot was to me a little convoluted and there was one issue that was never resolved satisfactorily. Also, I didn't think the case really warranted the involvement of Scotland Yard. Not sure why they would have been called to the Midlands on a missing persons case. However, I did enjoy the return of the characters Day and Hammersmith along with Dr. Kingsley and the gentle giant, Henry, who is occupied trying to care for a baby magpie. I will be reading more in the series and have the third novel, THE DEVIL'S WORKSHOP, at the top of my TBR stack.
Rawhead and Bloody Bones
Steals naughty children from their homes,
Takes them to his dirty den,
And they are never seen again.
Shortly after their arrival at the town's inn, Hammersmith is thought doomed because an owl flew into the inn and perched oh the chair he was sitting in. Other superstitions continue to pop up during the story. But what happened to the three missing persons? The story has multiple plot lines and hints on what happened are given throughout the narrative so before the end it is made pretty clear. But there are also other things afoot including an American Civil War vet who is seeking revenge upon someone in the village. The local constable who called in the Murder Squad also goes missing but doesn't really seem to be missed. An illness also plagues the townspeople and the whole town is slowly sinking into the underground mine tunnels. Not a very great place to live and make a living!
I didn't think this novel was quite as good as THE YARD. The plot was to me a little convoluted and there was one issue that was never resolved satisfactorily. Also, I didn't think the case really warranted the involvement of Scotland Yard. Not sure why they would have been called to the Midlands on a missing persons case. However, I did enjoy the return of the characters Day and Hammersmith along with Dr. Kingsley and the gentle giant, Henry, who is occupied trying to care for a baby magpie. I will be reading more in the series and have the third novel, THE DEVIL'S WORKSHOP, at the top of my TBR stack.
Cameron-Ashley H. (BigGreenChair) reviewed The Black Country (Murder Squad, Bk 2) on + 461 more book reviews
OMG it was sophomoric. Ridiculous book, ridiculous story, a complete waste of time.Go find some good historical mystery!
Beverly H. (GainesvilleGirl) -
See my review on Amazon.com.
BH
BH
