The Strings of Murder

Completely loved this new historical crime novel, based during an unsettled time for Scotland Yard in Edinburgh 1888. The start of a brilliant new series by Oscar de Muriel. I was truly captivated by the atmosphere the author sets, witty and a great mix a of classic noir and entertaining horror. I look forward to reading more of these in the future. Thank you for letting me read an advanced copy.

As I understand it, Strings of Murder is Muriel’s opening novel to what I can see as a very promising career in writing. The story opens in London and moves to Victorian Edinburgh. I must say I don’t believe I have read a crime thriller that is set in Edinburgh during the era mentioned. I was truly captivated by the atmosphere the author sets. Not only that…but the author’s command of different personalities. You can say…wonderful character development and a truly wonderful study of the human condition when one meets danger, complete depravity and evils beyond imagination. Ripper’s murders almost pale in comparison…I kid you not. This story is not for the lighthearted and I caution anyone who hasn’t read in-depth the details in gruesome murders before. Having said that, I was captivated by the story and I was finding myself getting frustrated when distractions got in the way reading this story. The story flows beautifully, brilliant title and you can almost hear the music floating from the pages. McGray and Frey’s interaction with each other will intrigue you. I am hoping the author will write more stories involving these two and look forward to what comes next…

I found myself very quickly engaged with this tale. The language felt appropriate and accessible and the character of Inspector Ian Frey was appealing. Set at the time of Jack the Ripper in London Frey is sacked by Scotland Yard due mainly to internal squabbles and then rapidly recruited to join a (very) small section of the police in Edinburgh to solve a thorny crime. His arrival in Edinburgh and his meeting with his new colleague - the excellent Nine Nails McGray - turned this into something quite special for me.

This is a wonderful Victorian crime melodrama written with pace, humour and some interesting characters. It is macabre and contains elements of witchcraft and the like and it feels as though there is a touch of Holmes contained here maybe. The use of real historical facts & some good legends added a vein which felt real to me. There is a good crime drama that plays out over the course of this book however it is balanced by some very dry and cutting wit which I found worked well for me. The balance between drama, melodrama and humour I felt was creative and highly enjoyable - I will definitely be reading the next book!

First book by Oscar de Muriel.

Was hooked from the first couple of pages! Set in 1880s in Edinburgh we are introduced to the partnership of Inspector Frey and Detective McGrey.

Book starts as a mystery with a murder in a locked room, the story does become gruesome in parts and won't be for everyone but please give it a try and persevere, It is worth it.

The rapport between the two main characters helps make the book flow as well, they have a deep respect/affection for each other but neither would ever admit to this.

The book contains everything, murder, mystery, mayhem, the occult, humour.

Highly recommended and look forward to the next one.

(To be posted on Amazon.co.uk when the book is released)

An entertaining romp of murder and a cursed violin

This is an entertaining romp of a book set in Victorian Edinburgh with an odd-couple detective duo, and a case involving murdered musicians and a cursed violin.

The pace is leisurely and characterful, with some funny set pieces, particularly the bantering between Scottish, tartan-clad McGray and the more strait-laced English narrator.

The story is a sort of parody of gothic, with a touch of Poe in its more macabre elements.

Recommended as easy-reading escapism

The Strings of Murder is a fast paced read set in Victorian Edinburgh. It follows Inspector Frey, a disgraced CID from London as he tries to redeem himself by solving a potential Jack the Ripper copycat killer. His new boss "Nine Nails" McGray is also his temporary house mate while Scotland Yard sets up more permanent housing for him.

The partnership between McGray and Frey has all the making of a classic crime solving duo. One is uptight while the other is carefree, one likes cleanliness while the other cares nothing for his wardrobe. One loves convention while the other thrives on unconventionality and best of all one believes in the occult while the other is a stoic unbeliever. Their relationship reminded me a lot of the partnership between Mulder and Scully on the X-Files. McGray is a believer in the occult because of a personal experience with it while Frey believes in empirical evidence.

The partnership also has elements of humour in it with each of the duo flinging insults back and forth at each other. Their light hearted banter back and forth endeared the characters to me and added an element of silliness into an otherwise gory novel. This novel looks like the beginning of a great series and there were lots of questions I had at the end of the novel about what would become of some of the characters. I even had questions about secondary characters which lets me know that the author does a great job of investing the reader in his characters.

The crime itself is a classic British locked room mystery with the crime taking place in a locked room right under the nose of the household servant. While this part of the mystery is quickly solved the rest of the crimes have several elements that are fantastical and unbelievable. Although they all had rational answers in the end it is possible to see how the characters would believe the occult was involved. The investigation was also griping and the tension built quickly and was maintained throughout the novel. I was left guessing right up until the last second and would love to see the characters in another tense situation.

I highly recommend this novel for fans of X-Files, Martha Grimes, Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper and British Crime fiction. An overall enjoyable read.