The Yard

By: Alex Grecian

Narrated by: Toby Leonard Moore

Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Victorian London is a cesspool of crime, and Scotland Yard has only 12 detectives - known as “The Murder Squad” - to investigate thousands of 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 12....

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.

©2012 Alex Grecian (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Story is good. Narration starts out....breathy...

The story was really good. I enjoyed it immensely. Almost gave up in the beginning b cause the narration was so...breathy...glad I stuck with it.

Superb storytelling. Great characters .

I think I'm hooked. Very interesting to take a peek--however fictionalized--at the early days of the forensic sciences and unbiased detective work. I'm ready to start book 2 today!

This book and narrator grew on me

At first I was not happy with the narration. The longer I listened the more I liked the narrator and the story. The plot contains interesting twists and the characters are interesting. I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book as I am attached to all the characters.

Good book but too long

Good story with all the pieces solved at the end but too long getting there. Trying to weave numerous plots together makes it disjointed especially if you cannot listen to the whole book at one sitting.

If you love Sherlock you'll love this.

Very British, very slow at first. Stick with it....it is worth it! It is amazing how all the threads are woven together.......intriguing plot. I have been welded to my ear buds for the last 6 hours. The narrator was just right.

The first of a new series

and I am glad that it is. That is another thing I like about Audible. There are already four published books in this series and I had not heard of it until Audible brought it to my attention. This series opener introduces the reader to interesting characters of the Scotland Murder Squad on the heels of the Jack the Ripper murder spree. We open with a murdered detective, the suspicious death of a child, and a kidnapped young boy. Lots of story to keep the reader interested with excellent narration. I am ready for book two.

Loved it! Set in the time of Sherlock Holmes.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Yard to be better than the print version?

No idea.

What other book might you compare The Yard to and why?

The Alienist, the Anatomy of Murder, White City

Have you listened to any of Toby Leonard Moore???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but also a book to savor at leisure since a book like this does not come around very often.

Any additional comments?

More Victorian Era mysteries that are not romantic fantasies and are not formula based. More like this! I get annoyed with the female hero that seems to be always ahead of her time and always outsmarts the stupid men. Too formula and predictable and too numerous. I want a plausible but exciting and intellectually stimulating book like this. Very interesting and transported the reader to my favorite time period. Great story.

Great listen!

If you could sum up The Yard in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, authentic, compelling

What other book might you compare The Yard to and why?

To some degree, the Anne Perry series set in a similar (maybe a bit later) era. This one was deeper, though, and really made you feel you were in at the start of a great series, and at the start of modern forensics.

Which character – as performed by Toby Leonard Moore – was your favorite?

The main guy, of course! Walter!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Ahhhh....nothing! Very enjoyable listen. I like strong voices that handle different characters and accents well - male or female.

Any additional comments?

Hope to see more from this author!

5

The characters develop in such a pleasing fashion I was not over
whelmed by all the (interesting) history. First use of finger prints, after the French? Really?
I loved the novels that sketched the beginnings of the London police. This mystery is just plain fun. is this fellow the 2nd serial killer after Jack the Ripper?

Liked the book but could be better

I believe if you listen to this book you will not rank it in your all time best but most won't feel it was a waste. I like some of the characters but others I felt deserved more attention. I felt the narrator did a good job and would listen to other books by him. My general feeling was that the author was kind of exploring the space and that his books will only improve from here. If you like this period in time I am not sure all of it is 100% accurate but you did feel some of the limitations of criminology in the time as well as the burgeoning of scientific method in the craft. That part was fun as the author worked through how discussions and methodology might have worked in the time. I just felt there was more creative license then research in some of the choices made by the author than I usually like in this type of book.

I would read this author again.