Detective development programme
Im the author of The English Monster The Poisoned Island and Savage Magic I dont really visit Goodreads very often if youd like to get hold of me please go to my website or give me a shout on Twitter I m the author of The English Monster The Poisoned Island and Savage Magic I don t really visit Goodreads very often if you d like to get hold of me please go to my website or give me a shout on Twitter site_link Absorbing historical whodunit In the year 1815 River Constable Charles Horton is summoned to the scene of the gruesome murder of a London family The body of the husband and father a clerk in the East India Company is sprawled out on the kitchen floor its faced smashed beyond recognition His wife s body is in the parlour face down in the ashy grate the daughter s body seated in a nearby chair a red wound across the throat and a stench of bitter almonds hangs in the air. The detective and the devildrake The macabre murders echo similar slayings from the past and London is soon panicking that the Monster has returned But how far into the past does the investigation need to delve Can the ransacking of alchemist John Dee s library by a Dutch mercenary in 1815 be linked to the macabre crimes and why do a long line of Company assistant treasurers to the Island of St Helena not only lead lives way beyond their apparent means but also come to untimely deaths And what after all were the alchemists of old searching for the ability to turn all to gold or something far sinister Horton s investigation draws him into the dark world of the Company an organization so large and powerful that its tendrils appear to reach into the highest levels of Government where mere policemen and even magistrates soon find themselves out of their depth In pursuit of the monstrous killer could it be the Devil himself Horton and his intrepid wife Abigail find themselves drawn to the island of St Helena where this intriguing historical drama finally unfolds The writing is dark and atmospheric the march towards the truth incremental and brooding While devourers of fast paced thrillers with cardboard cut out characters may find this tale a trifle slow I enjoyed the array of memorable characters the careful plotting and the hints of magic madness and the supernatural. The detective and the devila summary Four starsJohnBreakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to read Paperback Another outstanding installment in this excellent series I think the best yet Very well written and a joy to read enthralling from start to finish Paperback The best one yet If you haven t read the previous 3 in this wonderful series what are you waiting for Paperback Not what I expected going into it as a classic historical crime novel I haven t read the others in the series yet but surprisingly good I even liked the female main character even though she s so so clearly written by a man Paperback I hadn t read any of the previous books in this series but must have been drawn to it by a review However there were too many nod and wink references to past plots and characters for my taste Some series can be read in no particular order but this isn t one of them Apart from that obstacle I found some of the characters such as Abigail not convincing The plot was fanciful and generally I like to come across unexpected tangents But I got the sense that the writer started with a list of facts he wanted to include and rammed them in wherever he could whether they supported the theme or not When I soldiered on to the end I found I d already skimmed it and put on my abandoned shelf Grrr wish I d noted that earlier Paperback 
This book has an excellent atmosphere all through I really felt myself to be in 1815 London and later Saint Helena The description is not heavy but by dropping passages here and there the author makes you aware of what is different from today unlike some historical authors where you feel like you could be in your own house just sans TV sans microwave etc. The detective and the devilkids The characters are well drawn and I particularly like the constable Horton his magistrate Harriott and the rival magistrate Markland The East India Company could be a character in its own right it is so well drawn and so in a way could the island of Saint Helena whose features crags caves and cottages really come alive There were a couple of odd typos indicating that the author toyed with other names for some of his characters one of which was Fernando rendered on the last page as Francesco As for the plot SPOILERS Right until the end the mysteries and twists of the plot kept me reading John Dee s library and the back flicks to his time is especially well done and the mysteries of Saint Helena loom large But I just felt that despite the excellent writing characterisation and period feel there was something of a let down in the denouement of the revelation in the plot hence 4 stars not 5 Paperback Constable Horton is back accompanied by murder and supernatural shenanigans Old frenemies from the Royal Society make appearances hullo Sir Joseph Banks and new characters design devilish plans and cause death and discomfort Poor old John Dee is frequently referenced but I wish had been made of him and his endearing wackadoodle beliefs Somehow this installement of the series didn t really come together for me as beautifully as the previous three There s a slight feeling of d j vu as our characters battle the same dark forces colonialist bad guys stuffy higher ups as before but that said it is still a highly entertaining story with an enchanting sense of time and place There is a delicious dry sense of humour as well as the occasional whiff of melancholy I like the Hortons as a couple and was glad to see Abigail get her hands dirty I very much hope that the next book has her smoking cigars and discussing natural philosophy with Sir Banks with Browning serving drinks This might be a little confusing as a stand alone I think so I d recommend starting with the wonderful first book The English Monster It is a terrific series that I ll be following as long as there is black magic in the colonies and the River Police have ritualistic murders to solve Paperback This was a Cover buy in fact it was a Title buy as that alone intrigued me enough to check it out An author that I d heard nothing about but I do like to give those kinda authors a go coz well you just never know I m glad that I did. The detective and the deviljoy cast This is an historical thriller set in London 1815 Constable Charles Horton is called to investigate a brutal murder in the East End one that mirrors a case from three years prior and he along with his wife Abigail gets drawn into the secretive and dangerous world of the East India Company. The detective and the devila summary II really enjoyed this but have since found out that it s the fourth book in a series I m hoping it doesn t spoil reading the first three I m sure it won t but this author is definitely worth checking out especially if you like a good historical thriller Paperback I wrote this It s the best book you ll ever read apart from the three other books I wrote which are also the best book you ll ever read Paperback This is an intelligent eerie and atmospheric historical mystery the fourth in the series featuring River Constable Charles Horton set in 1815 in London and St Helena It is the first one I have read and whilst there are numerous references to other books I found it fine as a standalone It has elements of the fantastical and of horror with a creepy air of menace that builds through the narrative It begins with Dutchmen on the make Amsterdam merchants hiring an unscrupulous mercenary Jacobus Aakster to steal the library of the most famous Magus in England John Dee and a secret Arabic manuscript from his home in Mortlake Aackster with his wife Mina keep the manuscript the Opera containing a great secret memorising it then destroying it and in 1588 get funds from the merchants settling in St Helena using their knowledge to benefit themselves their family and the merchants In 1815 Horton is called to a scene of abject horror that echoes his previous experience of a monster an East India Company clerk Benjamin Johnson his wife Emma and their daughter are brutally murdered at their home looking for all the world like the work of the devil. The detective and the devilkin book Horton investigates as the number of dead bodies begin to rise all around him His wife Abigail is a highly intelligent and prolific reader who has had spent time in an asylum after suffering from terrible dreams helps Horton in his dangerous work Horton s magistrate John Harriott is suffering from declining health and influence and the ambitious Edward Markland is looking to benefit from this as the two men clash through Horton s case Horton finds the evidence taking him to the powerful and ruthless East India Company with its unique position of assistant treasurer applicable only to St Helena and where every man that has held that position being hugely rewarded but all are recently dead in separate incidents With stories of ancient seers hidden texts prussic acid an icehouse in Kent and murders that come too close to home Horton is forced to abandon his inquiries as powerful influences seek to protect the secrets of the East India Company He and Abigail set sail in a whaler for St Helena chasing a devil killer and hoping to learn what lies beneath the surface of an island with its very own immortal Caliban. The detective and the devile cast This is a beautifully written and compelling novel with a dark heavy atmosphere of gloom and darkness that pervades through out the claustrophobic narrative You get a real sense of what living in 19th century in London must have been like the filth stench poverty orphan street boys and attitudes to women The power and reach of the East India Company cannot be overestimated not only in England but globally like in St Helena I particularly liked the mind and independent spirit of the resourceful and knowledgeable Abigail Horton prepared to confound all expectations and norms of what a woman should be in that time A terrifically entertaining read that grabs your attention and holds it right up until the end Highly recommended historical fiction Paperback
| The Detective and the Devil By Lloyd Shepherd |
| 1471136124 |
| 9781471136122 |
| English |
| 336 |
| Paperback |
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