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jmnh's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this book very much. I love the way F.G. mixes history with the modern day and throws in the creepy supernatural. His descriptions of old London are so atmospheric, I felt like I was a bystander to the events unfolding in the book. His descriptions of the protagonist Edmund Caul are so evocative they sent shivers down my spine! He manages to mix historic fact with fiction in a most enjoyable way. The Lazarus Prophecy would make a fantastic film. I would really recommend this book and look forward to his next one.
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
3.0
A spate of gruesome murders have hit London. Woman are being killed in a violent and vicious way which harks back to the work of 'Jack the Ripper' but this killers is not seen on camera, he can get through locked doors. At each scene he leaves a note in archaic languages, written in the blood of his victim. After starting with unknown prostitutes he then moves onto respected women - an actress, a doctor, a politician - and the pressure on DI Jane Sullivan to catch him increases.
I could stop there and this would be a standard police procedural but it is not at all, the book slips into a sub-Dan Brown link between a sect of monks and a prophecy about the Anti-Christ and the End of Days. Of course it's really silly, but that doesn't stop it being a really entertaining books. Suspend disbelief and go along for the ride!
I could stop there and this would be a standard police procedural but it is not at all, the book slips into a sub-Dan Brown link between a sect of monks and a prophecy about the Anti-Christ and the End of Days. Of course it's really silly, but that doesn't stop it being a really entertaining books. Suspend disbelief and go along for the ride!
atlantabelle's review against another edition
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
I enjoyed this so much more than the last book I read by F.G. Cottam. I really, truly could not put it down. It's one of those books that when you do put it down (to go to work or go to sleep), you're wondering what am I missing!?!?
"There is a killer loose on the streets of London, one that evades security cameras, is not held by locks, and savagely mutilates his victims." and it just gets better from there. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything for anybody but I promise you, you will be enthralled.
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
I enjoyed this so much more than the last book I read by F.G. Cottam. I really, truly could not put it down. It's one of those books that when you do put it down (to go to work or go to sleep), you're wondering what am I missing!?!?
"There is a killer loose on the streets of London, one that evades security cameras, is not held by locks, and savagely mutilates his victims." and it just gets better from there. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything for anybody but I promise you, you will be enthralled.
jonathangemmell's review against another edition
4.0
Awesome.
Such a good balance between different genres.
Good plot with a depth of history and a wide selection of engrossing characters.
Such a good balance between different genres.
Good plot with a depth of history and a wide selection of engrossing characters.
scully_67's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed this book, was well written and a good read.
blood_rose_books's review against another edition
3.0
F.G. Cottam combines past, present, serial killer and religion that takes the reader to one of the darkest points in London's history and to a very famous unsolved case:
Jane Sullivan is the lead Detective assigned to a serial killer case that is going to take her into a completely different realm of belief and theology. This Killer in London that has a flair that is very familiar and reminds the people of London of a murderer that should be long dead, Jack the Ripper. But this serial killer is not content to kill prostitutes and switches their MO to women who think they are safe. Sullivan is convinced that this is just a copycat, a Fan of the Ripper, but a secret sect of the Catholic religion knows better. They have faced this type of evil before and they know what they have to do to stop it, even if it mean sacrifices another individual's soul to the devil himself.
This the first book that I have read by Cottam and I do not think it will be the last. Cottam had a really interesting concept I really enjoyed the mixture of the Catholic faith and a serial killer investigation. Often times there is a fine line between preaching the religion that you believe in and using the religion to tell an aspect in the story and I think that Cottam does a good job of keeping it to the latter. It was also interesting how Cottam was able to show that one suggestion, no matter how crazy and with no evidence to support it, can spark a revolution and revolutionary thoughts in people that most would consider of sound thinking, but that is what fear does to people.
Where Cottom really excels in this book is his description writing, the words he chooses really transports the reader to the location of the character, his visual writing is excellent. This is also seen in the description of the murders and the crime scenes. Cottam tells you just enough but lets you imagination fill in the rest as to what the scene looks like and what has occurred
There are quite a few POVs within this book and they tend to go back and forth between London where the murders are occurring and Christian sect mountain home and I think that character development suffered because of this. Jane is a good character, though the more I look back on this book we as a reader never get to know her that well even though she is one of the main characters. She is a strong lead detective who knows how to "play the game" in order get the job done. Jane does not shy away from any suggestion or crazy idea as that could be the break in the case. There is even a physic element within the novel that I think that Cottan introduces well and it plays really well into the overall plot of the novel. As for the rest of the characters in the novel I think they fall on the same way as Jane, never fully developed, which is a shame as the rest of the book is really well written and developed.
My main criticism with this novel is the ending was really anti-climactic and I wish Cottam could have found a different way and/or a more exciting way to end this novel. I mean this is what we are waiting for, everything builds up to this moment and to be let down is never a good thing. I mean the ending was clever, but not even close to what I was expecting.
I enjoyed the mystery that Cottam was able to put forward and I would have rated it higher if the ending had not been so lack luster. However, Cottan a great way of mixing a serial killer, religion and historical aspects together that I would pick up another book by him.
Enjoy!!!
Jane Sullivan is the lead Detective assigned to a serial killer case that is going to take her into a completely different realm of belief and theology. This Killer in London that has a flair that is very familiar and reminds the people of London of a murderer that should be long dead, Jack the Ripper. But this serial killer is not content to kill prostitutes and switches their MO to women who think they are safe. Sullivan is convinced that this is just a copycat, a Fan of the Ripper, but a secret sect of the Catholic religion knows better. They have faced this type of evil before and they know what they have to do to stop it, even if it mean sacrifices another individual's soul to the devil himself.
This the first book that I have read by Cottam and I do not think it will be the last. Cottam had a really interesting concept I really enjoyed the mixture of the Catholic faith and a serial killer investigation. Often times there is a fine line between preaching the religion that you believe in and using the religion to tell an aspect in the story and I think that Cottam does a good job of keeping it to the latter. It was also interesting how Cottam was able to show that one suggestion, no matter how crazy and with no evidence to support it, can spark a revolution and revolutionary thoughts in people that most would consider of sound thinking, but that is what fear does to people.
Where Cottom really excels in this book is his description writing, the words he chooses really transports the reader to the location of the character, his visual writing is excellent. This is also seen in the description of the murders and the crime scenes. Cottam tells you just enough but lets you imagination fill in the rest as to what the scene looks like and what has occurred
There are quite a few POVs within this book and they tend to go back and forth between London where the murders are occurring and Christian sect mountain home and I think that character development suffered because of this. Jane is a good character, though the more I look back on this book we as a reader never get to know her that well even though she is one of the main characters. She is a strong lead detective who knows how to "play the game" in order get the job done. Jane does not shy away from any suggestion or crazy idea as that could be the break in the case. There is even a physic element within the novel that I think that Cottan introduces well and it plays really well into the overall plot of the novel. As for the rest of the characters in the novel I think they fall on the same way as Jane, never fully developed, which is a shame as the rest of the book is really well written and developed.
My main criticism with this novel is the ending was really anti-climactic and I wish Cottam could have found a different way and/or a more exciting way to end this novel. I mean this is what we are waiting for, everything builds up to this moment and to be let down is never a good thing. I mean the ending was clever, but not even close to what I was expecting.
I enjoyed the mystery that Cottam was able to put forward and I would have rated it higher if the ending had not been so lack luster. However, Cottan a great way of mixing a serial killer, religion and historical aspects together that I would pick up another book by him.
Enjoy!!!
nushreadsbooks's review
3.0
Rounded up from 2.5.
This was a creepy crime thriller, with fantasy aspects that I wasn't expecting. I quite liked main female DCI, she was a no bullshit kind of woman who got things done.
I listened to the audio book instead of reading this and I regret it so much! I think I would have enjoyed this so much more if I read this instead. I don't understand how the voice actor could make this crime thriller sound so dry.
This was a creepy crime thriller, with fantasy aspects that I wasn't expecting. I quite liked main female DCI, she was a no bullshit kind of woman who got things done.
I listened to the audio book instead of reading this and I regret it so much! I think I would have enjoyed this so much more if I read this instead. I don't understand how the voice actor could make this crime thriller sound so dry.
fiona_with_the_cats's review against another edition
3.0
F.G. Cottam certainly knows how to spin a good yarn. Thoroughly ridiculous but incredibly entertaining. No Nazi werewolves this time sadly.
edmwdm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
missmesmerized's review against another edition
4.0
Three prostitutes have already been killed in London. Since the police do not publish anything about the serial killer, he chooses a much more popular victim: the actress Julie Longmuir. Women do not feel secure anymore and Jane Sullivan, head of the investigation, and her team are under pressure. The parallels with Jack the Ripper are stunning, but of course, the Ripper has been dead for decades. Has he? At the same time in the French Pyrenees region. A couple of old monks try to keep a secret and fulfil their sole task as a clandestine order, but there has been a major incident and now they have to face the consequences.
F.G. Cottam’s thriller combines a murder story with religious aspects and paranormal elements. What I found most interesting were actually the killer’s message at the crime scene, his knowledge – there is a clear reason why they named him “The Scholar” – about ancient languages and the holy books. The cross references and allusions of course are not very singular, but I like these kind of books and I appreciated that not all is based on this but that we also have other interesting aspects in the novel. The protagonist, Jane Sullivan, is an interesting character. She is not the super hero but struggles with the case, sometimes close to giving up, but then again following her intuition and striving to solve this case. She is open for the paranormal and goes a road not often travelled in police work.
Yet, this is also the point which left me not completely satisfied with the novel. I would have preferred a more down to earth solution for the case. In the novel’s development, it was all logic and stringent, but readers who are avid of mystical explanation will not really appreciate it.
F.G. Cottam’s thriller combines a murder story with religious aspects and paranormal elements. What I found most interesting were actually the killer’s message at the crime scene, his knowledge – there is a clear reason why they named him “The Scholar” – about ancient languages and the holy books. The cross references and allusions of course are not very singular, but I like these kind of books and I appreciated that not all is based on this but that we also have other interesting aspects in the novel. The protagonist, Jane Sullivan, is an interesting character. She is not the super hero but struggles with the case, sometimes close to giving up, but then again following her intuition and striving to solve this case. She is open for the paranormal and goes a road not often travelled in police work.
Yet, this is also the point which left me not completely satisfied with the novel. I would have preferred a more down to earth solution for the case. In the novel’s development, it was all logic and stringent, but readers who are avid of mystical explanation will not really appreciate it.