Craig Russell (1) (1956–)

(2021) An interesting thought exercise in who the Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde story was based on. Very readable despite the Victorian English and idioms. Edward Hyde is a police detective who has missing time that he is told is brought by his epilepsy. Goodreads: Edward Hyde has a strange gift-or a curse-he keeps secret from all but his physician. He experiences two realities, one real, the other a dreamworld state brought on by a neurological condition.When murders in Victorian Edinburgh echo the ancient Celtic threefold death ritual, Captain Edward Hyde hunts for those responsible. In the process he becomes entangled in a web of Celticist occultism and dark scheming by powerful figures. The answers are there to be found, not just in the real world but in the sinister symbolism of Edward Hyde's otherworld.He must find the killer, or lose his mind.A dark tale. One that inspires Hyde's friend . . . Robert Louis Stevenson.… (altro)

Oblique and obscure most of the time, but sometimes it is taut and gripping with a lot of atmosphere solidifying into an emotional reaction. Could do with way less description of absolutely everything and more getting on with the plot. Which brings me to the element of the supernatural that I could also do without, but it's close to Halloween so we'll see how it goes.

With a push, I finished and while it wasn't exactly unsatisfying, the amount of time spent both knowing and with the true villain wasn't enough compared with how much time we spend getting there. I like it when authors balance narrative time more evenly so endings don't feel tacked on and villains don't pop out of the woodwork. This has both, but not egregiously so. Looking back, there were some hints at the Dark Guild leader, but not enough to make the reveal less than surprising. In the end the supernatural feel was really just madness and a lack of understanding about mental illness and how the mind copes with trauma and things it would rather not deal with.… (altro)