The Devil's Workshop (Scotland Yard's Murder Squad)
HM Prison Bridewell has an occupant named Jack buried alive deep within its bowels. Every few days, men visit him to reenact his crimes upon women on Jack’s own flesh—not enough to kill, just enough to agonize. A locomotive smashes into the prison one day in 1890, and several prisoners, including Jack, escape. The Murder Squad, originally formed to find Jack the Ripper, is after another ripper named Jack. Or is it the same one? This third in Grecian’s Murder Squad series again delivers a hard-hitting historical thriller bursting with deft characterizations (especially of series hero Detective Inspector Walter Day) and the author’s knowledge of Victoriana. For example, part of the action here hinges on the tortures perpetrated by members of an actual Victorian secret society who believed in fitting the punishment to the crime. Tension builds as the escaped prisoners start a revenge murder spree and as Day’s own pregnant wife becomes a possible Ripper victim. Grecian is also the author of the graphic-novel series, Proof, which was named one of NPR’s best books of the year in 2009 --Connie Fletcher