The Harvest Man

Any day with a new Murder Squad novel from Alex Grecian is a good day, and The Harvest Man is no exception. Scotland Yard is moving to a new building, and as the old one empties, there's a real sense of one era ending and a new one beginning. We're introduced to new characters, like Claire Day's parents, and we're able to observe how all of them are dealing with the brutal events of the previous book. Many things happened that are not easy to come to terms with.

As usual, Grecian shows his skill in telling a well-paced, engrossing story. Jack the Ripper seems to have spawned a new breed of killer, and it's interesting to watch the characters speculate about the reasons why this is so. For anyone new to the series, I have three caveats. show more One, Grecian immediately immerses you in the story. There is little background given at first, so it may take you a bit of time to get your bearings. Two, if you are the slightest bit squeamish, the gore level in his books may be too much for you. Three, if you're looking for a perfect rendition of Victorian London, you may be disappointed. Grecian's London of the 1890s isn't necessarily a visual one; it's an emotional, a visceral, one. There are many other writers who can depict this London in all its grimy glory. From them you'll know by sight and feel and smell the second you step in horse dung as you cross the street. When you read Alex Grecian, you won't care about the horse dung because you're too busy mentally running for your life.

There are many times when I was mentally running for my life-- or wishing that one of the characters would. Grecian knows how to tell that kind of story, and he's filled it with characters-- Day and his wife Claire, Hammersmith, Dr. Kingsley and his daughter Fiona-- that you care about. He raises the bar on suspense because, in his books, bad things can happen to good people. I'm not always in the mood for something like this, but when I am, I definitely know which author to read.

But in the midst of all the running and lives being in danger, there are flashes of humor and of grace. These characters are people who know how precious life is. When Dr. Kingsley jokingly introduces his rudimentary crime scene kit to Inspector Tiffany, we laugh, but we also know how much these men care about stopping killers. When Hammersmith asks the names of women city fathers would cross the street to avoid, we're shown true humanity.

When The Harvest Man ended, I found myself wanting to know what's going to happen to Walter Day. I look forward to Grecian's next Murder Squad book with a great deal of anticipation. show less

Grecian's Scotland Yard Murder Squad series have an extreme goriness to them, as they traverse the dark foggy streets and the labyrinth of tunnels and catacombs under the streets of London. Jack the Ripper is the "name" criminal that is the focus of Scotland Yard's search, but the many surrogates, imitators, and other murderers who go about their "business" in these page-turners, make it harder and harder for me to continue to say I don't read mysteries. This whole period of London crime stories have always pulled me in, ever since I read my first Sherlock Holmes stories, while puffing on my meerschaum pipe, those many years ago, in a small Vermont apartment that was painted bright red.

[The Harvest Man] by Alex Grecian
Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad series Book #4
4.5★’s

From The Book:
When London discovered that Jack the Ripper was back, it sent Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad into chaos. But now it is even worse. There are two of them. When the Harvest Man begins killing, carving people’s faces off their skulls, the men of the Yard know they need Inspector Walter Day to find him before more families are murdered. Meanwhile, Saucy Jack is playing his own games—and when the two killers come together, the men of the Yard may never be the same.

My Thoughts:
This was the most suspenseful and the most enjoyable of all the books thus far…even with… or maybe I should say especially with… the rather grotesque murder show more gains a much deeper insight into the lives of Walter Day and Nevil Hammersmith. Grecian has provided a deeply atmospheric book that is rich in historical detail as well as filled with intense plotlines, deplorable murders, intriguing characters and family situations of the era…interspersed throughout the book. The level of tension and excitement will keep the reader turning the pages. I would recommend The Harvest Man to anyone who enjoys historical thrillers and have been fans of Grecian’s previous books. show less

I have not read anything by this author. Now that I have read this book I will be adding this author to my list of authors to watch. Everything was right about this book... from the storyline, to the characters, tone of the story, and the beginning and ending of the book.

The Harvest Man is one creepy, sinister man. I would never want to meet him as his victims do not fare well. They end up with new facial makeovers. Inspector Day is a complex character. I like this about him. He was human and not perfect yet he is committed to his job and does a really good job of figuring out all of the pieces of the puzzle to get the whole picture. The Harvest Man will either keep you up with lack of sleep or give you nightmares!

This has become one of my favorite historical fiction murder mystery series. In this book there isn't just one killer on the loose, there are three and one of them is cutting people's faces off. Also, Jack the Ripper is still out there and he wants Inspector Walter Day. Jack feels he has a connection with Walter. Alex Grecian does a great job of pulling the reader into the lives of the characters living in 1885. You wish they could pick up a cell phone and call for help instead of looking for a young boy to give a penny to so they can run a message to someone. Can't wait for the next installment to find out what happens with Jack and Walter.

This is the fourth installment in the “Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad” series and while there have been a few minor bumps along the way I’ve enjoyed each of the books. “The Harvest Man” is no exception.

The transition from the ending of the last book to the start of this one is seamless. Mr. Grecian does not miss a beat. The “Harvest Man” (named after a reclusive attic dwelling spider) is still on the loose but this time he has left some witnesses behind. The bodies of dead prostitutes are once more turning up so suspicions are that Saucy Jack is up to his old ways again. Walter Day is recovering from his wounds while his in-laws are still making his home life miserable. Nevil Hammersmith has been relieved of his official show more duties but does not let that slow him down on his unrelenting determination to apprehend The Ripper.

Where this book differs slightly from the previous three is that Walter and Nevil are tracking separate killers. Nevil is on his personal quest to find Jack while Walter, still being part of “The Yard”, concentrates on the official case involving the Harvest Man. Despite the seemingly diverging plot line the book works. There is enough overlap that neither they nor the reader loses track of each of them.

Set in the late 1800’s this book, as were the others, is filled with colorful references to London and both its high and lower society. True to form Mr. Grecian once again caused a few grimaces with his blood, guts and gore descriptions of the victims of both the killers at large. If you are a reader that prefers “cozy mysteries” you might want to give this series a pass – although you would be missing out on some wonderful historical thrillers.

One aspect of these books that I particularly enjoy is the fact that Mr. Grecian does not use the female characters as window dressing. Do they play a major role in the meat of the story? No. However both Claire Day and Fiona Kingsley are pretty tough ladies with minds of their own considering it’s the 19th century. Dr. Kingsley is also becoming a favorite character of mine because of his antiquated CSI techniques, which are of course quite revolutionary for his time. He draws a fun contrast between “that was then” when the reader is aware of the “this is now”. It adds the much-appreciated lightness to an otherwise pretty gruesome tale.

This series shows no signs of slowing down and since this one ends on very much of a cliff hanger I hope I don’t have to wait too long for the next book to be released. I also just noticed that there is a prequel to the “Murder Squad” books called “The Blue Girl” – how did that one slip by me? – so I’ll definitely be having a look at that soon.

I have been listening to this series on audio book and would be remiss not give kudos to the narrator, John Curless. I am certain he adds greatly to my enjoyment of these books in the way he brings the characters to life. His accents are excellent and even the minor background players have major personalities of their own thanks to Mr. Curless. Great reading! show less

Multiple serial killers means multiple murders to solve for Scotland Yard and DI Day. Jack the Ripper is still out there taunting him but there are some new kids on the block to keep things jumping. Much is revealed about Day's home life with new twin babies and interfering in-laws who hire a "staff" for the household. His recent injury plagues him and the new DI who is taking over the bulk of the investigations is less than his equal. Ms.Grecian's prose brings things alive for me. I am right there in that time period, on the street, watching as events unfold. A thoroughly enjoyable read for me. My thanks to the author and Penguin's First to Read program for a complimentary copy
Comment Comment | Permalink