The Mangle Street Murders

The Gower Street Detective #1

by M.R.C. Kasasian

Gower Street, London, 1882: Sidney Grice, London's most famous personal detective, is expecting a visitor. He drains his fifth pot of morning tea, and glances outside, where a young, plain woman picks her way between the piles of horse-dung towards his front door.

March Middleton is Sidney Grice's ward, and she is determined to help him on his next case. Her guardian thinks women are too feeble for detective work, but when a grisly murder in the slums proves too puzzling for even Sidney Grice's encyclopaedic brain, March Middleton turns out to be rather useful after all...

Set in a London still haunted by the spectre of the infamous Spring-heeled Jack, THE MANGLE STREET MURDERS is for those who like their crime original, atmospheric, and very, very funny.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Historical, Historical Mystery, Audiobook

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Martin Kasasian was raised in Lancashire. He has had careers as varied as factory hand, wine waiter, veterinary assistant, fairground worker and dentist. He lives with his wife in Suffolk in the summer and in a village in Malta in the winter.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mangle Street Murders by M.R.C. Kasasian is a 2013 by Head of Zeus publication.

The latest installment of this series was recommended to me a little while back, but I had not read the first three books yet, so without investigating the series too closely, I checked the first book out of the library, ready to dive into what appeared to be a cozy historical mystery.

Well, um..

This is not a cozy mystery. At first, I was not at all sure how I felt about the esteemed Sidney Grice. If I had read this book last year, I probably would have lauded the dark humor, the satirical tone, and maybe even tipped my hat to the author a bit, although, I admit, even under the best of circumstances, he really did push the envelope too far, and crossed some lines that would even shock the most cynical, mean, and unsympathetic person out there.

However, this type of dark satire, just isn’t as funny to me right now, although, I’m sure it was meant to poke fun at or spoof, the fictional private detectives who are always right, have impeccable instincts, and spooky powers of deduction, and are arrogant beyond belief. (I believe Sherlock Holmes was a prime candidate here, and most likely the intended target, but there are others who could have been at least a partial model for the author’s wrath)

Still, I had to know what was going to take place with the murder investigation, so I continued on with the book, even though I wasn’t sure if I ‘d continue with this series.

March Middleton, an orphan, becomes Sidney Grice’s ward, because he owned her father a debt of gratitude. It becomes clear, that the one-eyed detective is a mean -spirited man who has an addiction to tea, dislikes the police, and refuses to show even the slighted human sympathy for anyone or anything, and sees no need to apologize for his boorishness.

Although I believe I am grasping the author’s intent- and I DO hope I have that part right- I don’t have it in me right now to appreciate that type of dark and twisted humor, even if it is a spoof.

The mystery begins before March gets unpacked or a chance to settle in her new home. A Grace Dillinger arrives pleading with Grice to help her son-in-law, who has been accused of murdering her daughter, Sarah.

Grice employs March as his assistant, and the two begin to work toward discovering the truth behind Sarah's murder.

Almost overpowered by Grice’s overbearing persona, March’s character, had it been the most forceful one, would have made the book much more pleasurable. March, is not the biddable type, and is quite scandalous in her own right. She smokes, drinks, and keeps company with a devout feminist, whose thinking and habits are in sync with March’s.

But, despite the characterization’s dominating force, the mystery is quite good. The crime is very puzzling, even though I did figure out some portions of the story in advance. There are some unexpected twists, however, and I was taken totally by surprise on several occasions, with the conclusion adding one more final nail in the coffin. That last bit might have been overkill, if you’ll pardon the pun, but it still added an even more stunning portrait of a very evil, cunning, and diabolical criminal.

This one is not for the faint of heart, and includes grisly descriptions, with dialogue that some will find offensive, or hard to digest.

I have already downloaded the second book in the series, so I suppose I should give it a second chance, even if my heart isn’t totally into it.

Who knows, perhaps March will be able to humanize Grice just a little, making him somewhat palatable.

However, I can tell you, straight up, that if the character continues on in this vein, I will have to put the series aside until I can approach it with a different frame of mind. To do otherwise would be doing an injustice to myself and to the series.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bad news first: I loathed the Great Detective, Sidney Grice, who had all of Holmes and Poirot's pompousness and petulance, with nary a hint of their charm. Towards the end of the book, he seemed to become (slightly) more human, enough that I would be willing to give him a second chance at being in another book, rather than a complete deal-breaker of a character. His "gimmick" of fiddling with his glass eye didn't really work for me, although his being a vegetarian was interesting, and I did agree with his dislike of milk in tea!

Much better news: his "ward" (later assistant) March Middleton, a young Victorian orphan we first encounter smoking, and drinking gin from a flask. Her mother having died in childbirth, she spent her life traveling with her army surgeon father, sometimes assisting him in operations, so that viewing corpses turns out not to faze her as much as expected. Apparently, Grice knew her mother, but refuses to say anything more about that beyond acknowledging the fact; let us hope he doesn't turn out to be her natural father! March feels free to tell off Grice when she feels he's gone too far in his arrogance. Overall, she's a pretty neat character, and I'd be interested to see how she develops.

Plot itself was interesting in terms of suspense, although I wasn't wild about the ending (which I'm not sure I understood exactly). Audio narration took some getting used to, but by the middle of the book it was obvious Lindy Nettleton is a good fit for the series.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this author should be thankful Sherlock Holmes is in public domain because this doesn't pay homage to Holmes as much as it just blatantly steals from it. A brilliant personal detective, who has been befriended by a London police inspector, despite being anti-social to the extreme, has a protege who he reluctantly allows to help solve cases. And the protege happens to have a wealth of medical knowledge. The slight change of details: he is clean living as opposed to Holmes dubious habits; his protege is a women who gained her knowledge helping her father who served as a medical officer in India (close enough!)..and...uh, nope. Those about the only changes.

Oh, and he wants his protege to write about his exploits solving cases. *cough*

Some of the insults going back and forth between the different characters were droll enough, and it would have made the book bearable if the actual murder mystery had been any good. But the tediousness of the murder mystery combined with the terrible feeling of deju vu from the characters left me feeling like I had just read some half-edited fan fiction.

[Cynnamon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Victorian murder mystery with more than a touch of Sherlock Holmes.

I quite enjoyed the book and found the murder case quite thrilling.

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Ich kann mich nicht so ganz entscheiden, ob dieses Buch eine Hommage an Sherlock Holmes sein soll, oder eher eine Persiflage auf den berühmten Detektiv.
Ich vermute mal, dass es beides ist, denn anders können die Kombination von schon gewaltsam unübersehbaren Sherlock Holmes-Referenzen auf der einen Seite und die teilweise schon fast groteske Überzeichnung vieler Aspekte auf der anderen Seite nicht erklärt werden.

Ich war nicht so glücklich mit der erstaunlichen Schlagfertigkeit und dem unerschütterlichen Selbstbewußstsein der Protagonistin. Auch den plakativ dargebrachten Sexismus fand ich ein wenig überzogen.
Der Detektiv ist ein Misanthrop und Unsympath und die Polizeikräfte werden durchwegs als einfältige Tölpel dargestellt.
Dadurch ergeben sich natürlich etliche komische Situationen und Schlagabtausche, aber wirklich witzig fand ich das selten.

Auf der anderen Seite war ich schwer beeindruckt von der intensiven und lebensnahen Darstellung der damaligen Lebensverhältnisse in Londons Elendsvierteln. Diese Stadt muss im 19. Jahrhundert das reinste Drecksloch voller Elend und armer Kreaturen gewesen sein.
Es wird auch sehr plastisch beschrieben wie das Rechtssystem mit grossen Unterschieden je nach sozialem Stand funktionierte.

Den Kriminalfall fand ich interessant, und trotz einiger früher Hinweise in seinem vollen Umfang nicht von Anfang an zu durchschauen.

Mir hat das Buch gefallen und es hat mir großen Spaß gemacht, es heute anlässlich unseres Halloween-Readathons vollständig zu lesen.

Ich bewerte mit 3,5 Sternen, aufgerundet auf 4.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely enjoyed this Victorian who done it starring the irascible SIDNEY Grice and his young ward, March Middleton. A successful personal detective Sidney has few redeeming qualities. He is rude, lacks compassion and is sure he is always right. What makes this novel so different is the wonderfully witty dialogue between he and March and the fact that March more than holds her own.

Fun, different, interesting cases, I look forward to the next outing of this mismatched but amusing duo.

[laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 :)

“ ‘There was so much blood,’ she said.
I looked at her green eyes. They were wide with horror, and I looked at Sidney Grice and, though it was not possible, it seemed that both of his were shining.” (37)

*summary at the end in case some of you don’t take the time to read through this whole review :)

“It was the start of love at second sight and love at second sight is love eternal. You told me that so it must be true.” (109)

This review has A LOT of quotes, (some inserted in random places & part of a paragraph & some extras and specials at the end) because, well, i thought they were entertaining/interesting/deep/funny or whatever, (most are also in my quotes collection.) i italicized all of them (i think), so look out for those :)

“ ‘He is either a pompous ass or helplessly in love with you,’ she told me, ‘and, from the way you did not colour when you mentioned him, I should say the former. Oh, how disappointing. I had hoped he would have made you his mistress by now. How I could have entertained my tea-circle with that story. But do not worry, I shall anyway.’ ” (190)

This book is written in first person POV from March Middleton (the mc)’s perspective. (so the I’s and me’s in the quotes are referring to her)

“Inspector Pound put his thumbs into his pockets. ‘Since when have you needed assistance from a girl?’ His eyes were powder blue, iced with contempt” (112)

I wrote this while I was reading and added things along the way (some -but not all- of my opinions changed as i read further into the book), and spoilers depends on how far you have read. Sorry if there are no capitals (not sure what happened to autocorrect). Each paragraph starts a new thought -this is like a rant so brace yourself :)
I didn’t reveal anything too important so no spoiler tags for this review! Anyways…

“ ‘But it seems such an unlikely story to make up,’ I said. ‘Who would believe it?’
‘If a story is unlikely, then it is unlikely to be true,’ Inspector Pound said. ‘Surely even a girl can see the sense of that.’
‘If a story is unlikely to be made up, then it is likely to be true,’ I said. ‘Surely even a man can grasp that logic.’
The inspector puffed and said, ‘You should hear some of the tales we get. We had a man yesterday who said that all the stolen goods in his cellar were put there by a man from the moon. An Italian is a little easier to believe than that.’ ” (159)

The beginning of this book gave a very very bad impression of london (it was around 1882 so it might be true, but still, not a good first impression…) a chaotic place filled with smoke, horse excrement, unwashed bodies, noisome stench, beggars, purse snatcher, pickpockets, and people hitting another with a stick.
“Number 125 was a tall, terraced Georgian house, white-fronted on the ground floor and red brick above, with an iron balcony on the first floor and separated from the pavement by a basement moat and railings.” (25) this really shows the contrast of the living conditions back then. those living in poverty vs the wealthy.

“ ‘When God created fools he put the biggest of them into uniform and gave them helmets to prevent any thoughts entering their heads,’ Sidney Grice said, his face almost drained with anger.” (136)

"Sidney Grice frowned. ‘I see you have spirit – a modern but not a feminine quality.” (32) This private detective- Mr. Sydney Grice (yeah i thought sydney was a girl name… oh well)- is someone who thinks young women like March should be seen and not heard. But March is someone who is (very) kind, outspoken and independent. and smart of course. i would’t spoil the book and rant on about her cleverness but one small example would be how she thought of an excuse about the cigarette and alcohol she had. (if only my brain would work that fast when i’m in trouble…)

“ ‘Remember Libby Jacobs.’ Sidney Grice took a breath. ‘As sweet a girl as ever trod this earth. She garrotted her four sisters with a cheese wire in order to have a bed to herself, though.’ ” (113)

Honestly, this guy is so arrogant and cocky and overconfident (and all the words from thesaurus). He thinks he is so great and is “under no obligations”(39) to help his client. but he will because “[he] is bored” (39). i like that someone can have such confidence, but too much is too much. don’t overdo it sir…

“William Ashby hung his head for a moment. ‘She died of the fever.’
‘And no one could save her,’ Sidney Grice mocked.” (122)

“ ‘It might be a novel diversion,’ he said, ‘but if word got about that I was prepared to lower my extravagant fees for the deserving poor, I should have every jackanapes in London sitting on my doorstep.’ ” (47) said someone who is considered “a monster.” (48) yea he can be cruel (an understatement) at times… sometimes his reasons may sound reasonable but most of the time (especially in March’s perspective,) they are not.

“ ‘It is the living who frighten me,’ I said. ‘There is nothing to fear from the dead.’ ” (227)

another example: “ ‘That would be the polite thing to do.’ Sidney Grice replaced the lid. ‘But, if word got about that I had started being polite, people might imagine that I had become thoughtful, rumours would spread that I was kind, and that is only one step away from being expected to perform acts of charity.’ He shuddered.” (209) the way he views kindness is… very different from most people… He’s not poor, yet he cares about money SO much.

“Sidney Grice sipped his tea. The cup looked quite large in his elegant hand. He said, ‘…I have two engines propelling my life. The first is a love of money and the second is a hatred of lies, and I would sooner send myself to the gallows than sacrifice the truth.’ ” (346)

“ ‘I am not sure if I believe that the road to hell is paved with good intentions,’ Sidney Grice said, ‘but the road to ruin certainly is.’ ” (209) personally, i think that’s a very philosophical thing to say, but then again, his ethics are very different from most people… (not always in a good way though)

“ ‘Now, tell me everything. Is your guardian kind to you?’
I took a large drink. ‘Sidney Grice is not kind to anybody.’
‘Does he abuse you?’
‘No. He is aloof and cares only for money and his work.’
‘Doubtless he is arrogant and overbearing too.’
‘Yes, and he does not approve of alcohol.’
‘The man is a monster.’
‘And he will not let me smoke.’
‘You have just described Mr Fitzpatrick perfectly,’ Harriet said, ‘and probably every man you will ever come across. Men are not like us. They are made of stronger but cruder materials.’
‘My father was not severe.’
‘Then you must miss him dreadfully.’ Harriet put her hand on mine and let it lie there.’ ” (193-194)

also seriously March, why would you pay him -who happened to be your cocky godfather- 125 pounds (A LOT in those days) just for him to take on a case of a (maybe) innocent (sorta) client??! YOU ARE NOT RICH ok? i get that you are trying to help “that poor woman”, but you could’ve given him smaller amount right? i wouldn’t say that it’s a smart decision but have it your way…

“ ‘These shoe laces are absolutely delicious,’ my guardian observed over lunch.
‘Lovely,’ I said.
Sidney Grice grunted. ‘So how is the book?’
‘Lovely,’ I said.
My guardian put down his knife. ‘You have been staring at the index for over twenty minutes now.’
‘Not that long, surely?’
He drew out his watch and flipped open the lid.
‘Twenty-four minutes without turning a page or uttering a word.’ ” (424)

Here’s a bonus dialogue for all of you:
“ ‘I will not drink the mammary excretions of cattle,’ he said. ‘Even the smell is nauseating.’
‘You make it sound disgusting.’
‘I make it sound what it is. Especially when one remembers that the cow only has milk to spare because her calf has been dragged from her to have its throat cut. If I were not such an excellent host I would not have milk in the house. Even the word curdles on my tongue.’ ” (53-54)
very… interesting descriptions… honestly, he really didn’t need to go into all the description. (seriously, too much info!!)

“ ‘The poor, I am told, are kind to each other but that is because they have nothing to lose,’ he said. ‘The rich cannot afford to be.’ ” (61) his ethics are somewhat (very) different from March’s, and they sometimes argue and have disagreements, but (most of the time) i actually find that very entertaining, i like how they have “intellectual conversation.” :)

“ ‘I have been in countries where I knew not a single word of the language,’ I said, ‘but I could understand the natives more easily than I can make any sense at all from your remarks.’ ” (420)

WOW, i haven’t even gotten half way and already said this much, i should probably stop… i guess i’ll leave the interesting part for you to read then! :D

“The whole chamber erupted at this revelation and I looked across at William Ashby. He shook his head and clutched it with both hands. And, in the gradual quieting, a low sound emitted from him, the man with no face.” (204)

(3/4 through the book) Let me just add something- i used to think Mr. Grice is crazy and delusional, but now i feel like March is missing some braincells… (i’m not bullying) AND WHY WOULD YOU GIVE THAT WOMEN 220 POUNDS TOO??! just start a charity already… (i’m not saying being kind is bad or anything but personally, i don’t think you should be TOO kind to people you barely know.) Also, can’t you SEE (THINK) why he went to Ashby’s school and that soldier?? Earth to March!?!

“ ‘Which of you is right does not matter very much at the moment,’ I said. ‘Either way there is a madman on the loose. He could be hacking another defenceless girl to death this very minute, and all you can do is stand here squabbling.’ ” (321)

“ ‘He is a policeman. It is his job to bully people,’ Sidney Grice said.” (102)

“ ‘Well, Mr Grice, you appear to have a rival. The good Lord may not have given you looks, miss, but he certainly gave you brains.’
I had managed to control my horror at the deeds of men many times, but I was sick of listening meekly to their insults.
‘What a shame he gave you neither,’ I said.” (444)

“ ‘I sit up and the air is thick with terror.
Then I open my eyes and know what it was, but there is no relief. The cruelty of dreams cannot begin to match the savagery of being alive.
And I hold it inside me like a dead child, the heaviness of my guilt.’ ” (335)

“That shadow hung over me. It follows me still. Sometimes I think I will never see the sun shine again.” (388)

【 IN SHORT; this story (the way they talk and do things) is a bit old-fashioned and somewhat different from things now; not in a bad way but it can take some time to get use to. A small amount of parts are a bit graphic (and a little extra), but you can choose skim though it and it won’t effect the plot that much (unless you skip a bunch of details completely). But I thought the plot was really clever, and the character were really interesting too. (although Mr. Grice can get really annoying at times…) The story really gripped me in and kept me wondering till the very end. The parts of March’s diary was also interesting. I was sort of confused at first but it gave a glimpse of her life which was interesting. Well written and the dialogues are captivating and enjoyable with just the right amount of humor (sometimes dark humor, which I like). And wow, those ending chapters… just wow, I’m mind-blown. I really enjoyed this book, and will continue the series. Definitely recommend to someone who likes a mystery/thriller! 】:)

“You were a hopeless dancer. You never trod on my feet but that is all I could say in your defence. You had no sense of rhythm and were the only man I ever met who would try to waltz in 4/4 time. You could not sing either. Your voice was a pleasant baritone but you could no more hold a tune than consommé between your fingers.
Once, after a few drinks and no doubt encouraged by your comrades, you tried to serenade me from the garden by my window – a romantic ballad, I think, but I could not stop myself giggling. You were hurt at first but then you started chuckling and we were both bent double, trying to catch our breaths, when father came out to see what was going on and you tried to run away but fell into a mulberry bush.

Sing to me now, my darling. I won’t laugh, I promise.” (510-511)

That’s it for now and thank you for coming to my TedRant. :)
08/07/20

[Elisha Condie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, it was a cheap Nook book, and the cover was nice, and something about summer just leads me to want to read a good mystery.

But this really wasn't one. The author is really trying to make a Holmes-Watson pair out of Sidney Grice and March Middleton. Sidney has all of Holmes' arrogance but none of his charm. In fact, I kept wishing someone would push him down a flight of stairs. March is lovely; a smart, somewhat independent girl in Victorian England who proves her mettle by never backing down from the coroner's lab or whatever body is turning up next. Yeah, yeah, March. You're one tough cookie.

Sidney only takes on cases for money, and he hates almost everyone and everything and as I said before, is begging to be pushed down a flight of stairs. Or punched in the face.

And the mystery unravels with some twists, a SUPER let down of an ending, and me itching to read a Miss Marple, Holmes, or even a Nancy Drew mystery to take ol' Sidney Grice out of my mind.

[Veronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sherlockian figures abound in literature, as in films, displaying their superior intelligence while being more or less socially inept, but I must admit that Sidney Grice is probably the most obnoxious one yet! Here is a totally dislikeable character - so why did I read and enjoy this novel?

Well, Kasasian also gives us the fascinating Miss March Middleton, narrator of the story, who is indeed much more palatable, but a conundrum herself. There is much more to the lady than what is visible and the author reveals little, mostly by exposition. The interactions between these two strong-willed protagonists is of course full of sparks, neither conforming to Victorian norms, and thus very entertaining (and sometimes not devoid of humour). In between these two, let's not forget Inspector Pound who provides some normalcy.

The crime/mystery element leads us into the darker and brutal side of London, from the morgue to the slums. The plot is nicely put together, with plenty of twists and turns, great dialogue and gritty details.

Apart from wanting to find out more about Middleton, I do wonder if Grice will change, or rather our perception of him. So, yes, I shall read the next instalment.

[Thea Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be a breath of fresh air in a genre that is often rather serious and pretty gory. This is not necessarily the sort of book I might choose for myself but I am very glad that Head Of Zeus gave me the opportunity to read this book as if I had given it a miss I would have missed a real treat of a book (and my friend Jo would have never have read about the book on my blog, she'd have never have bought it for herself and wouldn't have had the chance to enjoy it either!).

What drew me to The Mangle Street Murders first was the rather attractive red cover, a very striking front cover giving the facade of a Victorian London townhouse with silhouettes of a man and a women who you presume to be the two lead characters. The cover gives a great first impression of the book (and the sequel has an equally attractive cover too but in blue this time - see the end of the post for details).

The second thing that drew me in was the write up for the book - the blurb. It made it very clear that this would be a historical piece, and I am a sucker for anything remotely historical relating to the UK, particularly England. At this point the fact that the book was a crime book didn't really matter as I have read other crime books with a genre background and really enjoyed them (I'm talking mainly about the Peter Grant novels by Ben Aaronovitch, about a modern day policeman who can do magic and fights monsters!).

This books has not let me down in any way, it was everything I expected, EVERYTHING!

The book centres around Sidney Grice, a famous private 'personal' detective (never call Grice a 'private' detective) and his new ward March Middleton. I have to say that Sidney Grice is a man very, very set in his ways and to be quite frank he is a bit of a sexist git with a tendancy to being a rather rude man. He firmly believes that women have a certain place in the world, a belief that is shaken by the arrival of Miss March Middleton from the country. Grice takes March in out of some sense of duty, although you are never entirely sure why he did (saying that a lot of men in those times took in young female wards as some sort of status symbol, and very often ended up marrying them - a taste of things to come maybe? Who knows!).

Grice reluctantly agrees to let March accompany him on his new case, after March kind of tricks her way into helping him and by the end of the book she has firmly established herself as a useful tool, but I expect her to become much more than that in the future, especially as she now had Grice's number and knows how to manipulate him and how to get her way.

The story could have been filled with gore but the author has decided not to make a big feature of the deaths, focusing firmly on the crime solvers and how they figure out what has happened. I think, in this case, that this was the correct move as it really lets the more humourous side of the book shine through, although it is very tongue-in-cheek humour.

Yes, you can make certain comparisons to Sherlock Holmes (Grice), Watson (Middleton) and Lestrade (Inspector Pound), in fact Mr Conan Doyle gets a cheeky little cameo at one point in the book which is rather amusing. I think the author does make the format his very own and his characters are very well written and put together. As I said Grice can be a bit unlikeable but you find yourself strangely liking the man for it as it does make him very interesting to read, and also very intriguing as you cannot be sure what is going to come out of the man's mouth next. March could have the weak link in the story and to begin with she does seem very meek and mousey, but this soon changes and she becomes a very strong character indeed, the perfect foil for Mr Grice.

In conclusion I found this book a pleasure to read, it's well written and while at times in the book things don't entirely make sense you find that by the end of the book it all makes perfect sense and it's given a satisfying conclusion.

I am actually very excited to read the next book in the series to see where things will go next.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first in the Gower Street Detective series featuring ‘personal’ detective, Sidney Grice, his ward March Middleton and with Inspector Pound as a third, but also important, character. Set in the 1880’s, neither Grice, nor Middleton, conform to our expectations of staid and proper Victorians. Grice is eccentric, rude, money obsessed and decidedly ungentlemanly. March has grown up assisting her father, who was a doctor in India, and is not apt to swoon when faced with a gruesome body – but rather indulge in a nip of gin and a cigarette. Although often described as ‘plain’, it is obvious that Inspector Pound is a little besotted with her and we also have snippets from letters, suggesting that March has had a serious love affair, ending in tragedy, in her past. She is more than capable of standing up to the larger than life Grice and is both sharp talking and sharp witted.

We first meet March on her way to London, to meet her guardian for the first time. Shortly after her arrival, a woman appears begging for help. Her daughter has been stabbed in the shop she ran with her son in law and he has been accused of her murder. When it is obvious she is unable to pay for Grice’s assistance, March offers to pay for his services, if she can accompany him. There follows a romp through Victorian London, with several murders and a lot of dark humour.

This is a good beginning to a series, which looks very promising indeed. Both Grice and March are likeable characters, with all their flaws and exaggerations and Inspector Pound offers a little serious policing amongst the mayhem. There is a cameo appearance by Conan Doyle, but this is more than just a homage to Holmes. I would certainly continue the series and look forward to reading further adventures. This is a strange mix of the light hearted and the gruesome, but it words very well.

Rated 3.5

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good Sherlock Holmes story, and the Mangle Street Murders are definitely author M.R.C. Kasasian’s take on the Sherlockian genre. His stand-ins for Sherlock and Watson are Sidney Grace, personal detective, and March Middleton, his ward.
Sidney Grice is pretty far along on the unlikeable/unsufferable scale, with his complete disregard for the polite behaviour of Victorian society, his keen interest in gruesome details, his unwillingness to help without financial recompense, his unwillingness to acknowledge women as being anything but annoying and mentally inferior, and his general lack of respect for anyone but himself.
March Middleton is a bit of an enigma. She’s left her home in the country for lack of finances, and though she’s repeatedly described as plain, she’s fascinating to several people she encounters in London, including Grice, though he’d never admit it. She also seems to labouring under a lot of grief, for her dead father and for someone else, though that’s not made clear in this book. She’s also not a typical, well-behaved Victorian woman, having grown up in India in an unconventional upbringing, and being forthright, curious, well-read, compassionate, funny, interested in Grace’s investigation, which she’s pulled into almost immediately after arriving in London, and also an intelligent observer, in ways that, if Grice and Inspector Pound had listened to her, would probably have hastened the case along.
The case itself is not a cozy murder mystery. Kasasian shows us an ugly side of London, with its poverty, sickness, filth, crime and pitilessness. And there are enough red herrings and twists to keep this case interesting, and the dialogue between March and Grice had me laugh out loud occasionally. I liked this book and really liked March (who is the narrator, much like Watson is), and look forward to the pair’s next case.

[Tras · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was Thursday. I was in a hurry to get out that morning because I had run out of cigarettes and there is something about tobacco which I find almost addictive.

I loved this book! It's smart, funny, inventive, and there's a rollickingly good Victorian murder mystery underpinning the whole thing. March and Sidney are an absolute delight, whilst the writing is literally overflowing with the most wonderfully knowing observations, witty asides, and deadpan humour. The author takes a multitude of Victorian tropes and pokes fun at them in hilarious ways, until they are lying prostrate begging for mercy and declaring that women can have the vote after all!

I have zero hesitation about jumping face first into the follow up. Sincerely hope this is a series that never ends.

"A grimy girl in a crumpled black dress stood against a pillar, looking about her expectantly.
‘Are you Molly?’ I asked.
‘Shit off,’ she said, and stumbled away.
‘I shall take it that you are not,’ I called after her.

[Aleshanee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bei historischen Krimis die in London spielen kann ich ja immer sehr schlecht widerstehen und ich freu mich sehr, dass mich das Buch begeistern konnte - wenn auch auf völlig andere Weise als sonst. Denn die Art wie der Autor hier erzählt ist schon sehr eigenwillig, wie auch die Charaktere jeder für sich einen standhaften Stursinn haben, der kaum zu überbieten ist.

Da wäre einmal March Middleton, die als Ich-Erzählerin ihre Erlebnisse mit dem überheblichen "persönlichen Ermittler" Sidney Grice erzählt, die sich 1882 in London zugetragen haben. Als junges Ding und grade zur Waise geworden folgt sie seinem Angebot, bei ihm als Mündel zu wohnen und gerät auch recht schnell in eine Mordermittlung, deren Verlauf ungeahnte Folgen nimmt.
Sie ist mir direkt sympathisch gewesen, denn durch die unorthodoxen Erziehungsmethoden ist sie etwas ihrer Zeit voraus und lässt sich nicht so leicht als kleines Mädchen oder dumme Frau, die nur hübsch auszusehen hat, abstempeln. Ihre Vorliebe für Zigaretten und Gin lässt sie sich deshalb auch nicht nehmen, kann sich aber an die gesellschaftlichen Sitten soweit halten, um nicht unangenehm aufzufallen.

Trotzdem kann sie sich mit ihrer Gutmütigkeit nicht immer zurückhalten, an Sidney Grice selbstgefälliger und unbarmherziger Art Anstoß zu nehmen. Seine Art der Ermittlungen ist geprägt von der Entlarvung der Lügen und dem Einstreichen seiner Gage - und seiner Überheblichkeit immer im Recht zu sein. Dabei wirkt er ungerührt ob des Schicksals der Opfer sowie der Hinterbliebenen in einer spröden und unnachgiebigen Art, was sich auch in seinem Lebensstil zeigt.

Dennoch ermitteln die beiden akribisch und obwohl auch die Art des Schreibstils eher nüchtern ist und sich wenig mit Details zu der Zeit aufhält, hat es mir gefallen und er hat es auch geschafft, mit kleinen Bemerkungen und Szenen den historischen Schauplatz näher zu bringen.

"Ich verriet ihm nicht, wie widerlich mir ein Klosett im Haus war.
Kein Wunder, dass man so viel von Seuchen in London hörte,
wenn alle Häuser derart unhygienisch bestückt waren." Seite 29


Im Mittelpunkt stehen aber konsequent die Ermittlungen, die ich mit Spannung verfolgt habe und auch wenn ich schon relativ früh Vermutungen zur Lösung hatte, hat es Spaß gemacht die Spuren zu verfolgen.
Die nüchterne Art hat die vielen grausamen Details der Morde, die zum Teil sehr explizit beschrieben sind, dann auch gar nicht so schockierend wirken lassen - ich war die meiste Zeit beim Lesen darauf konzentriert, welche Indizien und Beweise auftauchen und wie sich diese verbinden lassen.

Es ist sehr untypisch geschrieben, hatte dadurch aber auch seinen Reiz und mir hats einfach richtig gut gefallen. Gelungen fand ich auch wie Marchs Gedanken immer wieder die Gespräche oder Szenen kurz unterbrochen haben; da sie aus der Ich-Perspektive erzählt hat das auch gar nicht gestört sondern die Eindrücke immer wieder abgerundet und gezeigt, dass sie eine sehr gute Beobachtungsgabe hat.
Auch erfährt man durch ihre Tagebucheinträge, die immer wieder eingestreut werden, mehr über ihre Vergangenheit, wo auch noch einiges an Licht gebracht werden muss, was sicher noch in den Fortsetzungen zum tragen kommt.

Ich freu mich jetzt jedenfalls auf den nächsten Fall, den ich sicher bald lesen werde :)

© Aleshanee
Weltenwanderer

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a bit torn how to review this novel since I enjoyed reading it because I just LOVE a whodunit set in the late 19th century but loathed the personal investigator Sidney Grice throughout the entire book. He is for sure smart and very educated but lacks the charm of Poirot, Holmes and other famous detectives. March Middleton is a great character and narrator of this story but I hope her personality will evolve from a female Watson into a unique literary figure in the upcoming novels.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was *ok*.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this mystery set in London 1882. It's pretty funny and sassy within the confines of the time period it's set in. I did not like Sidney Grice (you're not supposed to as it's 'complicated') but I mostly liked March Middleton his ward and the narrator of the book.
This felt cosy to me (although it is very grim and gory so NOT in the cosy mystery genre) because of the banter and humour.
I'm very much looking forward to reading more in this series.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I shouldn't have liked this book. But I did. I actually liked it quite a lot.

The main character - Sidney Grice - is one of the most thoroughly unpleasant and nasty people I've read about in a while. He is selfish, completely without regard for any other human being and utterly and unrepentently caught up in his own sense of self-importance. He is sarastic and clueless about the niceties of "polite" society. And yet, I could not stop reading about him and his exploits.

I can't honestly say I liked Grice, because I did not. I was as appalled by his lack of social skilss as was everyone else who came into contact with him in the book. And yet, you can't dispute that in almost every situation, his prounouncements - rude and thoughtless as they are - turn out to be correct. So while one may quibble with his methods, one cannot dispute his results.

Grice's awful personality is muted somewhat by the introduction of March Middleton as his ward. March provides the humanity in the situations they are in during the course of the investigations in the story, but even she is a non-traditional female for her time. March is an independent and intelligent woman in a time when these qualities were definitely not seen as desirable. So the counterpoint between the two, and the humour with which the author writes the snappy repartee between them somehow manages to make the absolutely awful things Grice says and does funny and entertaining.

Throughout the entire book, I continually found myself thinking that I should be ashamed of myself for laughing at the things Grice and Middleton get up to. And I was, but March saying the things that any decent person would to Grice's lack of human decency helps. It is frequently March who gets the lines that make the reader laugh, and reduces the tension of detesting Grice.

The murder mystery they are investigating is cleverly-conceived, and has plenty of drama and action to keep the pages turning. The supporting characters, too, are interesting and unpredictable and add to the overall interest of the book.

If you are thinking that Grice sounds very much like another famous detective without much in the way of social skills, you would be correct, although even that other renowned detective might blush at some of the things Sidney Grice says and does. But there is a very clever reference to the similarities in the two men near the end of the book, which I liked.

Overall, a very unusual sort of murder mystery, with highly unusual but strangely likeable characters to fill it out. If you like the Victorian era murder mystery, slightly off-centre characters and black humour, this may be a good read for you. For my part, I was shame-facedly but thoroughly entertained by this story!

[Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede · Rating 3 out of 5]

SWEDISH REVIEW

Morden på Mangle Street är en småtrevlig historisk deckare som utan tvekan kommer att uppskattas av läsare av t.ex. Flavia de Luce series av Alan Bradley. Sidney Grice känns som en parodi eller en mycket mer humorist version av Sherlock Holmes, och att en viss person dök upp i slutet av boken var småroande och passande. Personligen hade jag lite svårt för Sidney Grice, men March Middleton, hans skyddsling och "assistent" samt kommissarie Pound gjorde boken helt klart gjorde boken läsvärd.

Själva berättelsen är OK, jag måste erkänna att jag inte föll lika mycket för boken som jag hade hoppas på. Troligtvis för att jag egentligen föredrar mer allvar än komedi när det gäller deckare samt att skämten, all tedrickandet osv var kul i början, men efter ett tag en aning påfrestande. Men ändå måste jag säga att boken var läsvärd trots mina problem med humorn och Sidney Grice. Den känns som en perfekt bok när man vill ha något mindre allvarligt och tungt. Helt enkelt en trevlig "Cozy Mystery" bok. Fallet med den mördade kvinnan var intressant, även om jag inte blev överraskad av hur det hela låg till när sanningen kom fram på slutet.

Morden på Mangle Street uppfyllde inte alla mina förväntningar men den var trevlig att läsa och jag ser fram emot att läsa fortsättningen.

Jag vill tacka Lind & Co. för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

The Mangle Street Murders is a nice cozy historical mystery that I think will appeal to readers of Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. Sidney Grice feels like a parody or a lot more humorous version of Sherlock Holmes, and that a certain person appeared at the end of the book was both fun and appropriate. I did have a hard time warming up for Sidney Grice, but March Middleton, his protege and "assistant" and Inspector Pound made the book worth reading.

The story is OK, I must admit that I did not enjoy the book as much as I had been hoping I would. Probably because I prefer more serious crime novels than cozy murder mysteries and the jokes, all the tea drinking, etc. was fun at first, but after a while a little too much. But still, I must say that the book was worth reading, despite my problems with the humor and Sidney Grice. It feels like a perfect book when you want something less serious and heavy. The case of the murdered woman was interesting, although I was not surprised by the ending when everything was released.

The Mangle Street Murders did not satisfy all of my expectations, but it was nice to read, and I look forward to reading more books in the series!

I want to thank Lind & Co. för the review copy!

[Emanuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giallo classico a tinte forti, ambientato nella Londra vittoriana, con due protagonisti di eccezione: un famoso investigatore che non sopporta nessuno, Sidney Grice, e una giovane ragazza minorenne che, dopo la morte del padre, gli è stata affidata in quanto tutore.

Di classico non c’è niente di quel che ci si possa immaginare tranne forse lo sfondo.
I richiami a Sherlock Holmes sono palesi un po’ ovunque, in allusioni e anche immagini più chiare, fino alla presenza del dottore Conan Doyle che si diletta di scrittura.
Ma i paragoni non sono delle mere scopiazzature perché questi due personaggi sono quanto di più improbabile possa esistere: lui misogino, tradizionalista, vegetariano, contro qualsiasi vizio (a parte uno segreto a cui accenna la governante Molly ma che non possiamo conoscere in quanto segreto), senza il minimo limite delle buone maniere nel rispetto degli altri ma solo per se stesso, fissato per il tè, borioso, vanaglorioso, insomma tutte le caratteristiche più odiose che possa avere, oltre alla sua innata capacità intuitiva sulle scene del crimine.
Inutile dire che l’ho amato!
L’altra, March Middleton, “eroina” sopra le righe, che sfida ogni tipo di convenzione dell’epoca per il genere femminile, dalla spiccata intelligenza, ma un tantino orgogliosa e che pecca spesso di superbia, il che la porta spesso a compiere il passo più lungo della gamba.
Lei purtroppo non mi ha conquistata, anche se non posso nemmeno dire mi sia antipatica.
Aspetto a conoscerla meglio perché sono convinta ci sia di più. E poi sono estremamente curiosa di capire gli spezzoni di discorso che sembrano rimandare ad un diario o a qualcosa scritto da lei, di cosa parlino realmente.
E poi c’è il commissario Pound che è quello che mi è piaciuto di più di tutti, nonostante nelle azioni giochi un ruolo quasi secondario, ma i suoi modi, la capacità di intervenire al momento giusto, il modo in cui riesce a trattare con tutti, soprattutto con due personaggi così strampalati, mi hanno fatta capitolare.

E poi c’è la Londra dell’epoca, quella tremendamente ricca di contraddizioni, quella con un fervore di vita e di cultura, avanti rispetto al resto d’Europa, ma con tanta povertà e degrado proprio lì accanto, l’ambientazione dark per eccellenza per omicidi cruenti come quelli descritti nel libro, con un intreccio così sapiente che, nonostante il colpevole possa essere facilmente intuibile, stupisce per l’inimmaginabilità delle motivazioni, dei moventi e di come si siano svolte le cose e di tutti i retroscena che si incastrano perfettamente in tanto squallore.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a hilariously clever read! If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, you will either be horrified at the caricature of him that Grice is or you will be delighted with the humor in it. I am in the camp of the delighted in the humor of the pompous, observant workings the personal (not private) investigator brings to the cases he accepts. His ward, March Middleton, is a closet smoker and gin drinker with a deliciously sharp mind. The sniping dialogue between the two of them alone is a solid reason to pick up this book. Another great reason is a love of a who dunnit story. A woman is found stabbed 40 times. The work of her husband, friend, or serial killer? When Grice feels his has the case tied up rather neatly, March feels a most serious error has occurred. But the famed detective Grice never is wrong... or could he be?

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recensione originale: https://sonnenbarke.wordpress.com/202...

Un paio di mesi fa ho trovato a 0,99 € su Kobo la trilogia Le insolite indagini del detective Sidney Grice e, sembrandomi carino, l'ho comprato. Ora, innanzitutto devo capire perché dare una copertina di questo tipo a un giallo che non è per niente "leggero" come la copertina potrebbe far pensare (almeno a me), anzi è pure abbastanza truculento. C'è comunque da dire che a quanto pare la stessa copertina è stata utilizzata nell'edizione originale inglese, quindi dev'essere una scelta voluta.

Questo primo libro della serie rimanda tanto palesemente ad Auguste Dupin e a Sherlock Holmes da non poter essere considerato che un esplicito omaggio, anche se devo dire che a tratti mi è sembrato soprattutto una bieca scopiazzatura, ma credo che nessun lettore di gialli abbia mancato di riconoscere le similitudini con i due personaggi sopra citati, quindi boh, il tutto mi è parso strano. Omaggio o plagio? Mah.

Ho letto moltissimi libri nella mia vita di lettrice, ma fatico a farmi venire in mente un personaggio più odioso di Sidney Grice. Personaggi odiosi in letteratura ce ne sono tantissimi, ma per ognuno di essi ho sempre trovato qualcosa che non dico li "redimesse", ma li rendesse almeno più comprensibili. Per esempio, che so, un passato difficile che li aveva resi così odiosi, o un qualche gesto che li facesse apparire più umani. Sidney Grice non ha niente di tutto questo, è odioso dall'inizio alla fine, insopportabile in una maniera così schifosa che mi ha fatto venire voglia di prenderlo a schiaffi o scaraventare il libro dalla finestra. In compenso March Middleton non può che fare simpatia con il suo assoluto anticonformismo che la rende così peculiare in un'Inghilterra vittoriana non certo amica delle donne.

Il mistero è debole, il colpevole e anche il movente li ho capiti ben presto, poi certo, il tutto mostra svariate ramificazioni alla fine, che non avrebbero potuto essere previste dal più attento dei lettori, ma forse è proprio questo a renderle abbastanza inverosimili, anche se per carità, tutto ci può stare.

Francamente, non è un romanzo che mi ha divertito, e neanche particolarmente intrattenuto, insomma non lo consiglio. Ora, avendo gli altri due, magari posso pensare di leggerli in futuro, ma non è certo qualcosa che non vedo l'ora di fare.

Nota sulla traduzione: l'italiano è scorrevole, quindi senz'altro la traduttrice (che a quanto pare, cercando su Google, non è tanto una traduttrice quanto una scrittrice di libri di cucina) sa scrivere; il problema però temo sia piuttosto la comprensione dell'inglese. Non avendo sottomano la versione originale è difficile dire con certezza, ma alcune espressioni sembrano assurde e incomprensibili nel contesto, e ce ne sono diverse, non sono casi isolati. Faccio un esempio su tutti, che però in questo caso è comprensibilissimo: nessuna donna nella Londra dell'Ottocento, per quanto emancipata, chiederebbe mai a un'altra donna se il suo tutore "abusa di lei" (che poi diciamocelo, neanche oggi sarebbe una domanda normale, in assenza di contesto di quel tipo). Visto che si tratta di una semplice domanda interlocutoria, posta a March per sapere se il suo tutore la tratta bene, direi che siamo di fronte a un chiaro caso di "false friend", dato che "abuse" si traduce, certo, anche come "abusare" (parola che in italiano ha connotazione prettamente sessuale, "abusare" nel senso di "esercitare violenza/abuso sessuale"), ma in questo caso mi pare non ci siano dubbi che l'amica di March volesse semplicemente chiederle se il suo tutore la "maltrattasse", inteso in senso generico come "trattare male", che ha mille sfaccettature e in cui quella sessuale, seppure possa anche esservi compresa (il che è discutibile), non è certo preponderante. Insomma, l'impressione è che la traduttrice abbia grossi problemi con i "false friends", il problema però è che questo in certi casi rende il testo confuso e poco chiaro, in altri lo falsa proprio.

[☆LaurA☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

**È arrivato il nuovo Sherlock Holmes!
Le indagini dei detective di Gower Street**

E per i più affezionati a Sherlock sarà una patetica caricatura!!


Londra, 1882. Il celebre detective Sidney Grice è stato nominato tutore legale di una ragazza rimasta orfana da poco, March Middleton. Eccentrico, esigente e insopportabilmente pignolo, a tratti paragonabile al grande Sherlock Holmes (ma più quello del film con Robert Downey Jr.) Grice attende l'arrivo a Londra della sua protetta, convinto di trovarsi davanti una sprovveduta donnetta di provincia. Ma quando incontra March, il detective scopre che la sua ospite è tuttaltro che un'ingenua. Anzi, possiede una certa arguzia e un'insolita attenzione ai dettagli.Cresciuta sola con il padre medico e senza tempo per occuparsi di lei, March ha come unici compagni i libri del padre e affina arguzia e intelletto(che per le donne dell'epoca non era ordinario)
E, tra una tazza di tè e l'altra, sarà proprio lei ad aiutarlo a risolvere un difficile caso che nel frattempo ha sconvolto la città: l'efferato omicidio di una giovane donna, Sarah Ashby, di cui è stato incolpato il marito William. Una storia torbida che li porterà dal raffinato quartiere di Bloomsbury alle fetide strade dell'East End, dove li attende soltanto il primo di una serie di inspiegabili misteri...




Sherlock Holmes e il dottor Watson hanno due nuovi rivali in città: Sidney Grice e March Middleton**

[charlotte, · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best lies are always flavoured with the truth but if the substance is rotten, it will stink no matter how much you try to disguise it.

I love murder mysteries. If you gave me the choice between any book and a murder mystery, I would pick the murder mystery every time. I didn’t actually pick this one out though. My mum got it (and the second) and I borrowed the first one to read because she wasn’t.

As far as murder mysteries go, it wasn’t the best I’ve read. I think that’s the problem when you want to introduce a brilliant detective kind of character (a la Holmes and Poirot), you lose the reader being able to follow the story and perhaps solve it themselves. Because your brilliant detective doesn’t deign to tell people what they’re thinking and what they’re doing, you have your sidekick (there’s always a sidekick, and I’ll come to her in a moment) in the dark, and because this follows the pattern of both Conan Doyle and Christie (it’s written in the first person, from the point of view of the sidekick – who is invariably nowhere near as brilliant as the detective), you also lose the reader.

Saying that, March Middleton is a much better sidekick than either Hastings or Watson ever was. Both of them struggled to keep up with their respective detectives intellectually and often would have to ask how bits of the mystery tied together. March, however, is much more intelligent than them, and there are some great moments in this book where she teases the clues out of people by spotting things that others haven’t noticed (except maybe Sidney Grice, but we’ll never know because it’s her POV, so I’m going to choose to believe that he didn’t notice them, thanks). Besides being intelligent, March is absolutely not here for any of your Victorian misogyny (she doesn’t always call it out – when she does it’s wonderful – but there’s always an eyeroll implied in her narration). This part of March’s narration helps a lot of offset the gross misogyny that Sidney Grice shows (even after March has surely proved herself!!) and it’s probably why I didn’t choose to give up the book when about halfway through, when the suspect’s been found guilty, Grice provokes (disgustingly) the person who hired him to find the suspect innocent - he claims he doesn’t do finding people innocent, he finds the truth. Admittedly, this has a point (which we don’t find out until the end – Brilliant Detective Syndrome, I’m going to call it) but it’s still horrible.

Which brings me to Grice himself. If this were a book solely about him, with no distractions, I would have given up by halfway through. Sidney Grice is a completely objectionable man, who doesn’t care about hurting others, and looks down on women (he refers to them as the “crueller sex” at one point). I get that the looking down on women is typical of the time period, but he still does it even after the trip to the morgue where, you’d have thought, March proves herself. Even people like Inspector Pound start to respect her at that point. I detested Sidney Grice to begin with and had hardly changed my opinion by the end (perhaps I was a little more sympathetic, I don’t know). I feel like that isn’t great writing. Your character has not changed one bit in 300+ pages? Excuse me while I shake my head in disbelief. I’m hoping Grice will get some sort of comeuppance in book two. (Especially given the glee he shows on finding the suspect has been hanged. I get these brilliant detectives are supposed to be “above” everyone else on some level, but why do none of them seem to have any humanity whatsoever? Case in point, this is something Grice says: The poor, I am told, are kind to each other but that is because they have nothing to lose. The rich cannot afford to be. And that’s one of his less horrible quotes.)

But, despite Grice, the story is well put together, and the identity of the murderer was (to me, at least) a surprise. I still hope the second book improves on the first, though.

[Geordie · Rating 2 out of 5]

March Middleton goes to live with her guardian, the famous detective Sidney Grice, in this murder mystery set in Victorian era London.
The prose of the book is quite clever, and March has a lot of redeeming qualities - and really, I WANT to like this book, but I don't.
Sidney Grice is an ugly jerk, a racist and a sexist who treats everyone, especially the lower classes, like shit. Pardon the language, but by no means does he treat anyone like trash or rubbish, he treats them like shit, no other word for it. And yet, he is always proved right. Even when he has to elicit court testimony the way he likes it instead of the absolute truth, he is still right.
March Middleton is smart and experienced, but ruinously naive. She is a feminist (and so naturally Grice treats her like XXL shit), very stubborn and independent, but she never does more than banter and rebuke, why doesn't she actually stand up for herself? For example, she hires Grice to investigate a murder, only to have him railroad the suspect he has picked. Later evidence reveals that he is almost certainly wrong. All March does is sulk, why doesn't she hire a lawyer. Well, probably because that would derail the story, which ultimately ends with Grice being right.
Maybe this book was meant to be a satire of the clinical and arrogant detective protagonist. Except, while there is some fun dialogue, it's not a fun book. It is full of gruesome descriptions of Victorian era slums. In fact, every poor person encountered is despicable and grotesque. I get it, it was a terrible time to be poor - could we see somebody in the slums with a few redeeming qualities? It's like reading a Victorian mystery by Ayn Rand.
Ultimately, while the details are convoluted, the actual murderer is very obvious. But the baffling details are heaped on top of the main murder to keep things annoyingly convoluted. Also, after the murder is done, the murderer is able to convince her lover (an otherwise honest man, with a fear of blood) to go murder somebody else. As Grice explains, a person in total shock can easily be convinced to do something out of character. What?? What ass did you pull that out of?
I thought Sidney Grice being proved always right was the low point, but the ending gets even worse. The murderer escapes from the detectives and flees to Australia. But, no worries, she dies when the ship she's on sinks. What exactly was the point of that? Did the author want to show, one last time, how clever the killer was, but didn't like to have the book end with her getting away with it? So... justice is served? This is followed by more details on what an awful person the murderer was - details that serve no purpose at all - and information on other murders she committed, that I have no idea how she could have possibly gotten away with. But, hey, Grice must be proved right.
I like the writing, and wanted to like March, but in every other way this is an ugly book full of convoluted details that add up to saying not much, except... I don't know? The writer hates poor people? It's funny when obnoxious and irredeemable detectives are always right?

[Susan in NC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fresh, fast-moving and darkly funny introduction to personal detective Sidney Grice, his ward March Middleton and Inspector Pound. The author does a good job of describing the filthy, dangerous East End of London in this homage to Sherlock Holmes, and Grice is enjoyably prickly, greedy, brilliant and rude - a fascinating character!

I liked March even more; she is smart, tough, strong and very likeable and I look forward to getting to know her better. March has obviously loved deeply and lost so much, I hope Kasasian plans to give us much more background in future books; and I hope other characters can stop commenting to her face how plain she is - I couldn't help thinking that was uncommonly rude for extremely uptight and manners-obsessed Victorian London! Inspector Pound is fleshed out as more intelligent and worthy than the usual Scotland Yard hack trotted out to act as a clumsy foil for the brilliant private detective; here and hopefully in future books he contributes intelligently to the investigations and the three could be a formidable crime-fighting team!

The only slight fault, and it seemed much less noticeable in the last half of the book, was an almost farcical air to the black humor and Grice's character in particular; there were running gags about his tea obsession and glass eye, for instance, that seemed out of place as the mystery deepened. The mystery itself, involving several brutal and bloody stabbing murders, was very well done and I would definitely seek out future books in this series and recommend it to historical mystery buffs.

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good debut of the series. Pretty gory at times, humorous, and very unconventional characters. Sidney Grice is 109% unlikeable so be forewarned. March is a good match for him though because she’s willful, does not bow to social convention, and is determined to be as good if not a better detective than Grice. The mystery is good, lots twits, turns, corners, clues, before the murderer is revealed. The ending is VERY unconventional

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant Debut Novel

Welcome to a new Victorian detective duo in the famous London detective Sidney Grice ably assisted by his ward March Middleton. This is a wonderful debut historical crime novel written by M.R.C. Kasasian who has good eye for correct historical detail an easy reading style with a use of language that gives off perfect imagery of the scenes that they confront. This is a cleverly written crime novel with all the twists and turns you come to expect set at a pace which makes reading this book a complete pleasure. This looks like it is going to be the first in a series of “The Gower Street Detective” and I look forward to the next instalment.

Sidney Grice is famous throughout England as the best personal detective that there is, who is a rabid tea drinker, without milk, very fussy extremely abrupt and the biggest crime of all a vegetarian! He has a great success rate works only for the money, has an encyclopaedic knowledge of crimes that have been committed and solved, interested in forensics and an inveterate inventor.

Sidney Grice and March Middleton try to find the killer of Sarah Ashby and when her husband is convicted and hung for the crime, March thinks him innocent, whereas Sidney believes the right man has been put to death. From this start we delve in to the seedier side of London life back and forth to the East End and the docks. Grice wants to prove to March that the Ashby was guilty of a crime and at the same time uncovers more dead bodies, the red herrings and the eventually the killer.

This is a wonderfully easy and enjoyable book to read for lovers of crime and historical crime fiction. Please welcome Sidney Grice!

[Manu ✦★✦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

I've never read a lot of mystery novels, still, I liked this book. The London atmosphere was pretty good and overall the setting was really well created.

The mystery is good but, I focus a lot on little details, and maybe because of that I wasn't quite surprised at the ending, but overall is okay, and I believe most people would be very very surprised.

The characters were very good. March was pretty much the best character, she's the mc and in a time full of male chauvinism she's pretty damn tough and through the book, we also get to know some things about her past (that I didn't understand at all). Also, Mr. Grice is the typical English private detective, although I found him at another level of arrogance plus he wasn't charismatic at all which makes me not quite fond of him. Still, there are many other characters that are very good.

Overall the book was good and I'll most likely read the next one.

[MTK · Rating 2 out of 5]

A solid historical mystery, basically destroyed by the botched characterization. I understand that the intention was to create a dark satire of fictional detectives, but the one who stars in this book is so unlikable and devoid of any positive attribute that he becomes a caricature of a monster. As for the main protagonist, if the point was to portray her as a self-possessed Victorian woman with a mind of her own, the author would have done better to give her a modicum of intelligence, possibly by not having her believe in the innocence of an accused murderer because "he has kind eyes". Also, male attitudes toward women in that era were bad enough without trying to make them comically nasty, and class was a huge deal back then: a village constable would not say to an upper-class young lady's face that she is ugly.

[Jude: The Epic Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked these characters so much! I am a little sad that there are only 5 books in this series and that this isn't a longer mystery series. I was interested in the mystery, I really liked the main character; she surprisingly didn't annoy me though she did make annoying comments, I only occasionally liked her partner but I believed that is the intent of the author. I am glad I checked out all five of these books from the library so I can binge read these. I got a feeling that this got me out of my month-long slump.