'A masterclass in suspenseful, character-driven prose fiction. Simply exceptional'
Frank Darabont, writer and director of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile

'The best twist I have ever read' (Michael Ridpath, author of Traitor's Gate)

'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 Kosarek, 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

About the Author

Craig Russell's novels have been published in twenty-five languages, four have been made into major films in Germany, in one of which he has a cameo role as a detective. He has won the CWA Dagger in the Library and the McIlvanney Prize (for which he has been shortlisted another twice), and has previously been shortlisted for the CWA Golden Dagger, the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, and the SNCF Prix Polar in France. A former police officer, Craig Russell is the only non-German to have been awarded the Polizeistern - the Hamburg Police's Police Star.

When not writing, Craig Russell paints, cooks and reads, but not simultaneously.

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. * Daily Mail *
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 * New York Times *
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) *


Awards
Short-listed for The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize 2019 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781472128331
Author Craig Russell
Format Paperback
Page Count 496
Imprint Constable
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 340g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 124mm * 40mm