Title: The Devil Aspect
Author: Craig Russell
Genre: Psychological Horror
Pages: 414
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Psychiatrist Viktor Kosárek believes that horrific criminal behavior is caused by the “devil aspect,” a dark facet of human nature present in everyone to some degree. His new appointment to the Hrad Orlu Asylum allows him to study Europe’s most infamous violent criminals: the “The Devil’s Six.”
The story drips with atmosphere. The asylum is a sinister castle (an Elizabeth Bathory-like nobleman figures in its past) in 1930’s Czechoslovakia (Nazis casting covetous eyes on the Sudetenland) with a serial killer known as Leather Apron on the loose in Prague. The plot splits its focus between the hunt for Leather Apron and Viktor’s sessions with each of the Devil’s Six as he attempts to isolate the “devil aspect.” Add a sprinkling of Slavic mythology, and chilling, gory details abound.
As much as I appreciated the atmosphere, this was only a 3.5 for me. Some of the Devil’s Six material (chilling as it was) felt like it contributed little to the plot. The pacing was slow until the end which was rushed and unsurprising (the foreshadowing of Leather Apron’s identity was fairly obvious much too early in the book). I was also very annoyed by the final coda as it eliminated a certain intriguing ambiguity. Overall, this is worth reading if you are a fan of psychological horror, but I feel like it could have been a lot better in terms of plot & pacing.
Perhaps YOU should have written the book? After your first couple of paragraphs, I was hooked! 😲
LikeLiked by 1 person
lol…I haven’t written fiction since high school and certainly don’t have the skills for something atmospheric like this. It really is worth reading for some chills. Had he removed a certain short paragraph of foreshadowing and omitted the final coda it easily would’ve been 4 stars (maybe 4.5 if I was in the mood for a slow burn).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well those first two paragraphs you wrote were great!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah the pacing was really slow and although I did end up surprised by the twist, I never ended up connecting with this one, so I really do get your view on this one!
LikeLiked by 1 person