The Devil Aspect

'A blood-pumping, nerve-shredding thriller . . . ingenious'(A. J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window)

How do you find a killer when you're surrounded by madness?

1935. As Europe prepares itself for a calamitous war, six homicidal lunatics - the so-called 'Devil's Six' - are confined in a remote castle asylum in rural Czechoslovakia. Each patient has their own dark story to tell and Dr Viktor Kosárek, a young psychiatrist using revolutionary techniques, is tasked with unlocking their murderous secrets.

At the same time, a terrifying killer known as 'Leather Apron' is butchering victims across Prague. Successfully eluding capture, it would seem his depraved crimes are committed by the Devil himself.Maybe they are... and what links him with the insane inmates of the Castle of the Eagles?

Only the Devil knows. And it is up to Viktor to find out.

A blood-pumping, nerve-shredding thriller - elegant, edgy, ingenious. Craig Russell conjures not one but two unforgettable settings: Prague between the wars, pulsing with menace, and a Gothic mental asylum, as exciting a house of horrors as I've ever visited. You'll enter both with dread. You'll dwell in them with relish (A. J. Finn, New York Times bestselling author)Steeped in the chilling folklore of Eastern Europe and echoing the dread of a barbaric war to come, The Devil Aspect snatches the reader by the lapels for a thrilling, twisting trip through the darkest corridors of the human mind (Daniel H. Wilson, New York Times bestselling author)A tour de force: a clever and visceral thriller with a one-two-three knockout of an ending that left me dazed. (Lincoln Child, New York Times bestselling author)Deep, dark, and twisty, The Devil Aspect will keep you up all night reading... With all the lights on Russell has created a gripping masterpiece of a thriller! (Alex Grecian, New York Times bestselling author)Dark, stylish and packed with jaw-dropping twists, The Devil Aspect stayed with me long after I'd turned the final page. Part Gothic horror, part crime thriller, it's an astonishing piece of work (M. W. Craven)A Gothic masterpiece in psychological horror and creeping dread, The Devil Aspect is as disturbing as it is compelling. Be prepared to read it in one sitting - and to sleep with the lights on for a long time to come (Neil Broadfoot)Well-crafted gothic crime . . . more twists than a Chubby Checker album. A smart, atmospheric, and entertaining read (Kirkus Reviews)A superior thriller, at once stylish, absorbing and compulsive . . . a taut and chilling tale, expertly crafted against the backdrop of ethnic tensions in pre-Second World War Czechoslovakia . . . I was gripped from the very first page right up to that haunting denouement (Laura Carlin)Deliciously authentic and darkly atmospheric . . . a game-changer for the world of crime fiction (Graham Smith)Sensational serial killer novel . . . in which twists are both jaw-dropping and logical . . . a mind-blowing story line that will appeal to fans of Caleb Carr and Thomas Harris (Publishers Weekly (starred review))