Lost and Gone Forever - A Review

LOST AND GONE FOREVER by Alex Grecian

In “Lost and Gone Forever” we revisit with the Scotland Yard Murder Squad.  The faces are all familiar but so much has changed since the previous book.  Nevil Hammersmith is no longer part of the murder squad.  He has moved on to running his own private investigations office, but aside from the odd missing persons case handled by his co-worker, Nevil has only one case that he cares to investigate – the disappearance of Walter Day – believed to be kidnapped by Jack the Ripper.

Day is eventually found but not through any of Nevil’s tireless pursuits.  Day is free but he also carries a secret that makes him a very dangerous man.

Can things ever go back to being as they once were or has Saucy Jack irrevocably damaged everything?

This is another good entry into the Murder Squad series.  And, in my opinion this one, over any other of the books in the series, would definitely not work as a standalone novel.  If you’re a fan of historical thrillers and this story piques your interest, do yourself a huge favor and pick up the others first … you won’t be disappointed.

With that bit of encouragement out of the way I must admit that the first third of this installment had me scratching my head a little.  It seemed like a major deviation from the past books.  Yes, the characters were all present and accounted for.  Yes, the reader is privy to what has happened since we left our friends approximately one year ago.  And yes, the reader is allowed to breath a sigh of relief that Walter Day has not perished at the hands of The Ripper.  Still, I began to enjoy the story a little more when “the gang” was all reunited in their attempt to apprehend the elusive Jack.

Again, Victorian London is well represented and the addition of a few new characters moves the action along nicely.  Buried secrets and lies are finally revealed and Mr. Grecian has thrown in a shocker that I NEVER saw coming.  With that he ensures I will be definitely be picking up the next installment.  Oh yes!!  I am sure there will be another Murder Squad book and I am looking forward to it.

A solid four stars for this one from this fan of the series.

I received this book at no charge from the publisher, Penguin Group Putnam via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his website)

Alex Grecian is the national bestselling author of the “Scotland Yard Murder Squad” novels, including The Yard,The Black Country, and the forthcoming The Devil’s Workshop. After leaving a career in advertising, working on accounts that included Harley-Davidson and The Great American Smokeout, Alex returned to his first love: writing fiction. He co-created the long-running and critically acclaimed graphic novel series Proof, which NPR named one of the best books of 2009. One of the Proof storylines is set in the 1800’s and inspired Alex’s debut novel The Yard.

He has also written an original “Murder Squad” e-book, The Blue Girl, and an original graphic novel, Seven Sons, as well as a multitude of short stories, both comics and prose, for various anthologies. 

He lives in the Midwest with his wife and son.