Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful tale
Review: "River Of Darkness" deals with Inspector John Madden and his attempts to solve a series of brutal crimes that have been occuring since WWI. I found the book well paced with interesting characters and a entertaining plot. However, I thought the book would delve into the psychological mind of the killer and detail why this person kills, but the story only touched on that aspect in some areas. The setting is great and it really gives you a sense of London just after the Great War. The motive of the killer is generic, but is presented in a unique way. Overall, a fine read well worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: I urge you all to get a copy and read it.
Review: River Of Darkness by Rennie Airth is set just after the first world war, in 1921. The story opens with the discovery of the horrifying stabbing of Colonel Fletcher, his wife and two of their staff. At first it looks like robbery, but Lucy Fletcher, the Colonels wife has her throat cut, and the robbery looks staged. Their child found under the bed is unable to speak.When I first started reading it I found myself to some degree confusing Maddam of Scotland Yard with Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard, first introduced to us in 'Test Of Wills', by Charles Todd.. Both men have served at the front, and both are now back at Scotland Yard considerably harrowed by their experiences, which is clear by their hollowed and general appearance of fatigue. But I soon found that the story in River Of Darkness overtook me, being more interesting than the person investigating. It is a powerful, complex and gripping tale. Much of it is narrated by Billy Styles, a young constable eager to prove himself as a police officer. Also I found that the evidence of the effects of war more effective. Rennie Airth transports you back to that time. I really felt that I was there, some of the descriptions are vivid, and I felt for the people trying to put their lives back together. It is clear that with the great loses that this war incurred, everyone was touched in some way. Apart from being a compelling read, this book is beautifully written, and unusual, in that we are to a degree conditioned that most times we know little about the murder victim, often we learn only about them until after they are a victim. To get to like a victim before they are murdered is rare and unexpected.. I urge you all to get a copy and read it. Lizzie Hayes
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful tale
Review: "River Of Darkness" deals with Inspector John Madden and his attempts to solve a series of brutal crimes that have been occuring since WWI. I found the book well paced with interesting characters and a entertaining plot. However, I thought the book would delve into the psychological mind of the killer and detail why this person kills, but the story only touched on that aspect in some areas. The setting is great and it really gives you a sense of London just after the Great War. The motive of the killer is generic, but is presented in a unique way. Overall, a fine read well worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: An Unexpected and Very Pleasant Surprise!
Review: "River of Darkness" just goes to prove that a great mystery can be written without blood and gore on every other page. The graphic violence is minimized and the characterizations are maximized. Rennie Airth has provided us with a page turning mystery in post-World War I that makes the reader yearn for more because you get so hooked on the leading characters. Well done!
Rating:
Summary: Scary and refreshingly original
Review: A combination of a 1920's British whodunnit and a serial murder psychological thriller? Descriptions of this book sounded too weird to be true, yet this is exactly what 'River of Darkness' is, and it works - brilliantly. Set in post-war England, an Inspector haunted by his experience in the trenches and helped by a sucession of village bobbies uses forensics and psychological profileing to track a serial killer - decades before any of these terms are even invented. The suspense builds as the author shows us the thoughts and doings of the victims, police, and killer, in the lead up to each of his awful and inevitable bursts of random and targeted violence. The victim's wounds point to a highly specialised military background; physical evidence indicates that the murderer watches his carefully-chosed victims for weeks; psychological opinion has it that his sexual release come only from killing. This killer is far scarier than any modern big-city stalker/slasher - not since Red Dragon have I read of such a truly frightening character. This is an excellent and original book - I totally recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good First Novel
Review: Actually, I rate this book at 3 1/2 stars, but the system won't let me. For a first novel it is fairly well done with no serious missteps. If you're looking for something to keep you occupied over a long weekend or for late night reading this is it. Unfortunately, I can't say it deserves all the praise some other readers have lavished on it. The setting is interesting, rural England just after WWI, and the nature of the criminal, a psycho killer, kept me reading. The only problem is that the author never really gets beyond skin depth in either character or setting. The characters are of the usual variety in a historical detective novel, the forward thinking girlfriend of the detective, the younger policeman just learning the trade and, of course, the policeman with a troubled history. Unfortunately, the setting is also perfunctorily rendered. No, the author makes no serious mistakes, he just didn't ever make me believe I was reading anything other than a decently done historical detective novel. All in all, a perfectly good casual read and, now that the author has gotten his feet wet, he should do better in the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling!
Review: An excellent thriller that keeps you guessing until the final twist. The time is shortly after WWI and the main character, a Scotland Yard Inspector wounded (physically and emotionally) by the war and the loss of his family to influenza, is investigating a mass murder by what they believe is a serial killer. The author does a wonderful job of fleshing out his characters...not an easy thing to do with so many different personalities central to the story. An interesting twist to this book, was seeing the story from both sides...police and killer. The book reminded me of The Alienist (Caleb Carr), but it's not nearly as wordy and is a much faster read. I give it two thumbs up as a great commuting or vacation book!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, intelligent story
Review: Being a big fan of Charles Todd's WWI-era mysteries, I was pleasantly surprised to find another author writing a post-WWI mystery. And it's every bit as good as and maybe better, in some ways, to Todd's series. I hope this DOES become a series because the atmosphere, feelings and characters are inventive, imaginative and, I would imagine, entirely correct. The introduction of Freud and his theories is entirely appropriate and, like another reviewer noted, will put you in mind of Caleb Carr's wonderful books. I won't go into the plot (it moves very quickly and doesn't leave you behind for a moment) or the characters (all quite believable and well written). I'll just say that if you don't read this one, you've missed a helluva good book.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful historical thriller
Review: From a pure police procedural novel, it quickly turns into a thriller as the Scotland yard inspectors search for a crazed serial killer. The author's use of the alternating point of view technique greatly heightens the suspense. Well sketched characters, a great sense of locale and relentless pace makes this one of the best crime novels of the year.
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: good story, well told, very hard to put down, has me looking for more
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