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

Great step back in time

Wonderful performance with a good story. Easy to visualize London in the 1800's. Very much enjoyed the characters and the plot

Boring....

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Because I was able to purchase the book for $4.95 it wasn't a total waste as I was able to listen to a new author and narrator. It could have been the beginning of a series that I might have enjoyed, BUT I continually became distracted until the last third of the book. It is a book I will NEVER listen to again.

If you’ve listened to books by Alex Grecian before, how does this one compare?

Never heard of him before. He was okay, but I doubt I'll ever pick one of his books again.

Did Toby Leonard Moore do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

He was okay but I will not search out books narrated by him.

Could you see The Yard being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Can't imagine it.

Any additional comments?

If you love to read and the books are still on sell then go for it, otherwise there are many more books that might be more worthy of your time.

Throughly enjoyed !

London. Scotland Yard Murder Squad. Just post Jack the Ripper. What else needs to be said! Great detective tale about an investigation into the murder of one of their own. The tale leads them down some pretty dark paths and the underside and the uppercrust of Victorian London.

Enjoyable

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, very entertaining, characters to care about.

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

The Sherlock Holmes series, about the same period, crime suspense, investigation.

What does Toby Leonard Moore bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

Giving voice to the different characters makes you care more for them

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

Just the final chapters

I was hesitant at first….However, the storytelling grabbed me from the beginning. This was an excellent adventure!

I was hesitant at first….However, the storytelling grabbed me from the beginning. This was an excellent adventure! I heartily recommend it!

Enjoyable detective story

Kept me on the edge of my seat. The development of the characters was on point. How there is another series.

Coincidences galore

It's always a bad sign when a story requires amazing coincidences to work out - and this one piles them on top of each other until my eyes hurt from rolling so often. Too bad, because the premise and characters were pretty good. Hopefully the author will get better with more experience - I may check out the next one in the series before I give up entirely.

Beginnings of Scotland Yard

Scotland Yard seems like no big deal these days, but in 1889 London, after a reign of terror by Jack The Ripper, something needed to be done about the increased publics panic with murderers in this huge city. The murder Squad was started with twelve men who were in charge of solving all the murders in London. Unfortunately, the next big case involves the murder of one of these particular policeman. His body was found stuffed in a trunk, with few clues evident to how he got there.

Inspector Day is relatively new to the force, but his powers of observation and detecting instincts cause him to be put in charge of this case. He's befriended and helped by Dr Kingsley, who becomes the force's first forensic pathologist. Most of Dr Kingsley's ideas are revolutionary--like dusting for people's fingerprints. Though everyone isn't completely convinced of the uniqueness of these lines and swirls on people's fingers, his idea proves to be useful. Children, the homeless, chimney sweeps, and workhouses also come into play in this wonderfully involved story of the early Murder Squad.

The characters and story line are uniquely blended to create tension and suspense in this first of the Murder Squad Mysteries. I really enjoyed the writing style of these mixed mysteries too, as information was given close to a solution before it created more questions. Wonderfully done book!

Heavy Going in Places

This is really not a mystery. We know the murderer early on. The book is more about how long it takes the detectives to figure it out. The book introduces to three main characters who will probably appear in later books if this series continues. The characters are Insp. Day, Const. Hammersmith and Dr. Kingsley. Several interludes in the book give us the background of these characters.

The portrayal of Victorian England is rather haphazard. The conversations are full of 20th century slang, and the author seems to feel that decribing the scene is talking about Hansom Cabs and the smell. I honestly did not get a real feel for the period and I suspect the author doesn't understand it either. Whatever you may think of Anne Perry she certainly gets the period right and you feel as if you are in that period. This is not the case with this book.

The narrator is not a big help either. He is no Simon Prebble and his effort at unique voices falls flat at times. For me he made Dr. Kingsley sound like a twit. Although mostly he does an adequate but not an outstanding job.

The emphasis in this book is on the effort the detectives go through in tracking down a murderer who is right under their nose and how many clues they miss. Yet it is not a police procedural in the true sense of the word.

You make like the book as it tries to create a picture of the early Scotland Yard which seems reasonably accurate. However, I am not sure the detectives are typical of the Yard of that period.

Ths author could use a better editor. In places ths book just goes on way too long and a good editor would have helped enormously. For such a thin story, it is way too long.

Meh

It was not a bad story. I just had a hard time staying hooked to the story. Others liked it very much.