The Devil and The Detectives

A new swoon-worthy detective duo is in town!

Awesome in solving crime and crazily adept at egging each other on with witty retorts, McGray and Frey, the delightful creations of Oscar de Muriel’s rich imagination keep the reader easily glued to their side as they race across locations trying to outsmart some fiendishly clever villains.

I have been wanting to start a new series or two this year and the McGray and Frey novels were already on my series wish-list. Pairing an Englishman with a Scot in the late 1800s, this exciting new series promises a rollicking time for whodunit aficionados.

The pretty and pernickety Frey, unwillingly and grudgingly, teams up with the unkempt and eccentric McGray to solve cases assigned to the ‘Commission for the Elucidation of Unsolved Cases Presumable Related to the Odd and Ghostly’. Warning: Do not be taken in by the silly name of their subdivision for their cases are anything but that. Frey did take it lightly and lived to regret the day. Their division's forte: solving mind-whirling crimes that expose human cruelty (or would inhuman cruelty be more apt?) and may or may not involve elements of the occult, black magic, witchcraft, and other paranormal phenomena.

The first book in the series, The Strings of Murder, introduces the detectives to each other and lays the foundation of a partnership that hints at growing stronger but also increasingly complex over time. Jilted by his fiancée and nearly out of a job, Frey is forced to move to Scotland in a last bid to get back into the good books of the London CID. He arrives in Edinburgh looking for ‘Nine-Nails’ McGray with whom he is not just required to partner but also stay with till alternative accommodation can be arranged.

'My name is Ian Frey. I am looking for Inspector Adolphus McGray.'
'Oh, Mr. Frey from London! O'course! We didnae expect ye so early, sir. I'm afraid Mr. McGray isn't at home now.'
'I suppose I can find him at City Chambers?'
The man shook his head. 'No, no, I'm afraid. Mr. McGray must be at the lunatic asylum as we speak.'
I lifted my eyebrows in surprise. 'Oh! Well, I really cannot say it surprises me. Do you know whether he is receiving proper care?'
Now I thank Heaven the butler's eyes were not daggers. 'Mr. McGray doesn't go as a patient! He's visiting someone.'

Soon, Frey and McGray find themselves knee-deep in a spine-chilling murder case where the killer is targeting violin virtuosos and tearing apart their guts, supposedly using them to make violin strings. At the heart of the gruesome killings is an old and infamous instrument, the Amati 1626, rumoured to be cursed because the Devil himself had used it to play his music.

Tartini's Dream in which the Devil played the violin. 
Image Source:Wikipedia.

Owned at various times in history by some of the most renowned music maestros, Paginni, Tartini, and finally Stradivari, it was on the Amati 1626 that the terrifyingly eerie ‘Devil’s Trill Sonata’ had been composed. 

One string quivered like the broken voice of a terrified soul, while the other provided a low, anguished accompaniment that brought to mind Mrs Caroli's desperate wails. Altogether, the strings produced unimaginable echoes and harmonics- had I not seen it with my naked eyes, I would have sworn we were listening to an entire string quartet brought from Hell.

The soft voice of an old woman came to my memory: 

'It was horrible music....like poking knives...fear itself must sound like that...'

And, all those killed had played this very violin.

Is the violin really cursed? Is a dangerously deranged human killer behind these gory deaths or has the Devil come to collect more souls? Will one of Frey’s dearest family members have to pay the price of this investigation?

With plenty of unexpected twists, amusing repartee, and quite a bit of interesting trivia on violins and music composers, the story relentlessly races towards a gripping finale which left me thoroughly satisfied but deeply saddened at the same time. More surprising and unbelievable than anything else is the cruelty humans often show against each other.

While Frey has his own charms, I have a slightly skewed preference for McGray. Maybe it’s his tragic past or his loud unapologetic and strong sense of self or his eccentricities that leave me with admiration for this hardiest of souls who has seen too much in his young life and yet survived to challenge fate.

Earliest Depiction of the Violin (1535)
Image Source: Wikipedia

Supporting characters such as the irascible Lady Ardglass (nicknamed Lady Glass due to her fondness for drinking) with her match-making attempts (Frey with her grand-daughter Caroline), the nice Dr. Clouston with his empathetic approach, and irreverent servants Joan and George with their crude conversations play an indispensable role in including a lighter vein to what would have otherwise been a deeply dark and disturbing novel.

Recommended to fans of brilliantly plotted detective novels that leave you itching to know what happens next; the McGray and Frey series has confidently established its place in the highly competitive world of crime fiction.