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The Devil Aspect

‘A blood-pumping, nerve-shredding thriller'

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The Devil Aspect

By: Craig Russell
Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
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'A masterclass in suspenseful, character-driven prose fiction. Simply exceptional'
Frank Darabont, writer and director of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile

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

'Breathtaking'
(Daily Mail)

'Wildly entertaining . . . truly frightening'
(New York Times)


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.

'Deep, dark, and twisty . . . a gripping masterpiece of a thriller!' Alex Grecian, New York Times bestselling author of The Yard

'Elegant, edgy, ingenious' A. J. Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

'Drags you into its dark world kicking and screaming . . . gets under your skin slowly, then goes deep, like the tip of a butcher knife' New York Times

'Sensational . . . twists are jaw-dropping . . . a mind-blowing story line that will appeal to fans of Caleb Carr and Thomas Harris' Publishers Weekly

' A thrilling, twisting trip through the darkest corridors of the human mind' Daniel H. Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse

'A tour de force: a clever and visceral thriller' Lincoln Child, New York Times bestselling author

'Dark, stylish and packed with jaw-dropping twists . . . an astonishing piece of work' M. W. Craven, author of The Puppet Show

'A superior thriller, at once stylish, absorbing and compulsive' Laura Carlin, author of The Wicked Cometh

'Well-crafted gothic crime . . . smart, atmospheric' Kirkus Reviews

'A Gothic masterpiece in psychological horror and creeping dread ' Neil Broadfoot, author of No Man's Land

'Deliciously authentic and darkly atmospheric' Graham Smith, author of Death in the Lakes©2019 Craig Russell Crime Thrillers Historical Mystery Thriller & Suspense Fiction Thriller Crime Scary Exciting Suspense War
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Critic reviews

A splendidly Gothic story, inspired by European folklore, it asks difficult questions about how we judge evil - including whether the Devil can show himself in human form. It is breathtaking.
A wildly entertaining story that grabs you on page 1 and drags you into its dark world kicking and screaming . . . a truly frightening story, one that gets under your skin slowly, then goes deep, like the tip of a butcher knife. I read the novel one snowy night by the fire, unable to sleep until I finished, then unable to sleep once I had
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
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
All stars
Most relevant
Deeply dark and disturbing, superb historical thriller intertwined with central European folklore! My first read of a Craig Russell book and certainly not my last.

Intelligent dark thriller

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A truly magnificent work of the imagination, I echo the praise of other Audiblers below.

As a former reader-aloud for Librivox.org, I would particularly like to commend the minute care that Julian Rhind-Tutt brings to his rendering of the text. Accurate rendition of foreign names and phrases is for me a litmus test of professionalism in a narrator. In The Devil Aspect, we are in pre-war Czechoslovakia, and Czech is a sparsely-vowelled challenge for an English-speaker. Rhind-Tutt has researched the pronunciation - not hard to do, given the resources of the internet - and triumphs over the difficulties. (The only mispronunciation I noticed in the whole performance was of the English word dissect - read as DIE-sect; but to be fair, 98% of British readers ignore the double-s.)

This is the first book by Craig Russell I have read/heard. I intend to work my way through the rest.

Jekyll & Hyde on the Magic Mountain

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Fantastic story, mult-ilayered horror. an underlying sense of dread and suspense. the narrator was perfect for this novel.

really absorbing

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I have to say I have been listening to books for over a decade now and this hands down is one of the best stories and narration I have ever listened too. Literally from the first few minutes I was hooked. Atmospheric, detailed, character building, just an absolute classic.

What a story what a twist

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This is writing at its very best, his descriptive work is second to none and his knowledge of the themes involved is extensively showcased. I truly recommend to anyone remotely interested in dark psychological horrors.

Unbelievable - A gripping listen from start to end

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