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

Well plotted and performed

This book tells a compensatory about the murder squad of Scotland Yard in the aftermath of the Ripper murders.

Bloody slow, it is!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There are several storylines and all of them interesting, but there are a ton of characters and it bogs down every storyline. Plus, do we really need a 20 plus minute narration on the beginning of fingerprint analysis?

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No, I was able to put it down and pick it up and put it back down because it drags in many places. Get on with it!

What about Toby Leonard Moore’s performance did you like?

He has a great speaking voice and is able to give each character a distinct personality, which could not have been easy because of all the characters in this book...too many.

Any additional comments?

This is a series, so I will try the next book and hope it moves along quicker.

Very very enjoyable

What did you love best about The Yard?

I listened to the book over a period of more than a week on my long commute home from work. I thought the narration was terrific. For me, listening to the book brought out the story better than reading it. I have books I read and those I listen to. This is one which I will tell my reader friends to definitely listen to. There were a number of issues going on at the same time - sometimes this can be hard to track when you are listening to a story especially over time. However, it was easy to follow. I do love a book that makes an attempt to uphold the goodness of people. It gives one hope. I will look forward to more from this author and I look forward to listening to books of substance from this narrator. He is just so talented. He did an excellent job of individualizing the characters, I thought he brought out the inner humanity of Hammersmith particularly well.

Antique CSI

What a great book! I have never read anything by this author and got The Yard on some sale or another. I expected it to be OK but great is what I got as Grecian built this Jack the Ripper era police procedural around three other serial murder cases newly-born Scotland Yard was tasked with. Great character development, good guys and bad, complex plot that he brought together well in the end, and a story of budding comradeship and friendship you only find in professions like law enforcement or the military. He also provided an interesting spin on the beginnings of primitive criminal forensics. A different reading/listen experience and well worth even a full credit.

Victorian detective fiction at its best

This one sat in my library for some time before I finally had a lull between audible credits. It was on sale and just something to fill the gap between the series I follow. Man I wish I had gave it a try sooner.

If Guy Ritchie could bring a Victorian book to life (I know he did Sherlock Holmes) with his style of storytelling from Lock, Stock, and two smoking barrels and Snatch this would be my #1 pick.

You have the famous Scotland Yard going through a hard time with the people of London. Jack the ripper got away with several murders that they were unable to solve. And now a new detective comes on board the murder squad they face a new kind of criminal, the serial killer. The Yard finds one of their own murdered and have to act quickly to solve the murder (s) and find the killer or killers and bring them to justice. If not just for keeping the peace but proving to the people they can evolve to face this new threat.

Very entertaining

At first I was a little put off by the narrators slow pace but after a while I got used to it and just enjoyed the story. There were lots of unexpected twists and turns that kept things unpredictable and interesting. I hope there are more like it.

Okay, but not great

As a fan of historical fiction I expected to like this book a lot more. All the pieces are there but they never quite joined up into a suspenseful tale. I spoil nothing by saying the killer was revealed way too early in the book and was so stupid that I actually was a bit embarrassed it took so long to catch him. The book also suffered from an over abundance of side plots and too much ultimately pointless “forensic science.” Only the likability of main characters kept it uneasily afloat. I think I will go read The Alienist by Carr again to remind myself of how this book could have been done the right way.

A Gruesome Good Story

London was truly tough and grizzly in the 1800s. Crime was rampant, murders unsolved, no respect for police, morgues over crowded, child laborers and ridiculous medical practices. In spite of the horrors described in this book, the characters at the Yard seem real, doing their best in impossible situations. I appreciated their distinct personalities and began to pull for them in their investigations. The depth of the story was enjoyable enough to get me through the the gruesome parts. Worth the read.

Period Victorian

I liked this book. It did have a few anachronisms re forensic science and psychology as one reviewer mentioned. But I like detailed stories. There were numerous plot/subplots to add additional Victorian flavor and the narrator was GREAT! He differentiated between the various characters so that you knew who was whom. Day and Hammersmith were strong characters who were well supported by the large number of other characters spread throughout the novel. I would love to see a series with these two characters as well as their boss at the Yard, 2 other murder squad detectives, the forensic surgeon, his daughter and his new employee, and lastly Day's wife.
On the con side, the story was pretty long and the multiple murder cases were almost unbelievable. It did have a few grisly descriptions but this is the era of Jack the Ripper after all..
The Yard is a good read for a long listen and it did provide some historical details that stimulated my interest to find out more about life in Victorian London. It might do the same for you too.

It seems you either hate it or love it!

I enjoyed it. A bit rough starting off with the narrator taking audible breaths at the start of each sentence but those seemed to disappear as the story progressed. The narrator must’ve relaxed a bit! I couldn’t quite get over the kid from Wales talking with an Irish accent throughout the story. Ah well, suspension of disbelief was ever part of the performing arts ... and that included allowing a Victorian era doctor taking a few futuristic liberties with his work in forensic science.
One wondered how all the crimes and sub-plots were going to get resolved in one cohesive solution ... but it worked and the loose ends were tied up satisfactorily... giving the listener plenty of reasons to anticipate the next set of adventures!