THE DEVIL ASPECT - Craig Russell

4 stars

Hell of a premise, and a gripping narrative that kept me up to read more of it. But then...a slightly lackluster and disappointing finish?

Concept: ★★★★★
Pacing: ★★★★
Reveal(s): ★★ 1/2 (for me)
Enjoyment: ★★★★

The Devil Aspect is one of those premises that grips you in right from the book description. Czechoslovakia on the rising tide of pre-WWII. A castle with a sordid history. A mental asylum housing the country's worst criminals, known by the public as "The Devil's Six." A young psychiatrist with the theory of an innate "devil's aspect" in all men and a desire to research his theory. And a series of grisly murders in Prague that seem to be morbidly inspired by Jack the Ripper.

Don't you want to read that?? I certainly did. I love a twisty, turny, atmospheric thriller with more than a hint of the macabre.

Viktor Kosárek, our intrepid newly trained psychiatrist, is the primarily POV for this novel as we follow him on his journey exploring the minds of the Hrad Orlu Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Viktor's exploration of those six pivotal criminals includes their stories, horrors, and Viktor's reflections. This is the primary backbone of the story.

However, there's a second main thread of POV and intrigue: police investigator Lukas Smolak is tasked with tracking down "Leather Apron," the killer behind a series of grisly murders in Prague. The unknown suspect is killing women in a hideous ways that are clearly inspired by London's infamous Jack the Ripper—fifty years after Jack stopped—and Smolak is desperate to find him before more women are taken.

With these two interwoven narratives, The Devil Aspect winds itself in tighter and tighter traps as the ominous tension creeps through this eerie, horror-soaked tale of intrigue and mental mindscapes.

My overall take on this novel is very positive. As someone who doesn't love historical fiction UNLESS there's a genre hook to it like mystery/thriller or horror, this novel's use of both subgenres in tandem with its historical premise was a win for me. I love a good mystery that dances with the devil literally(?) and leaves that question mark on the board as a part of the game.

The entwining POVs of Viktor and Smolak—as well as a few other one-offs—kept the pacing tight and propelled me through this dense novel quickly. Another plus!

But... I had some issues anyway. Most notably with the ending, which I'll be honest was a bit of a letdown for me personally.

****I don't think the following is enough of a spoiler to hide this review, but please take note that I do discuss vague items regarding the ending below!!****

So it's VERY possible I've just read too many of these types of tales. I'll start there. But there are a lot of us readers who have read/watched/consumed pieces of media with similar premises to this one at least in terms of story structures and... The Devil Aspect picked one of the more obvious endings in that niche. It was well done, don't get me wrong, but I'm sad to report that my first guess was the correct one. There were some red herrings that made the reading experience more satisfying, for sure, but then we went back to that basic concept for the ending and I'll admit that I was very disappointed to see it.

And, in tandem with the ending reveal(s), I also thought the climax sequence was extremely brief and then ended rather abruptly in a way that left no room for more exciting developments and/or events to bolster how reductive the ending felt. Again, all of this is my personal opinion.

I wish we had delved more into certain elements of the plot and its atmospheric elements vs. what ended up occurring. But, that being said, I'm still rating this 4 stars because 90% of the novel was gripping as hell and I very much enjoyed the reading experience itself.