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The Devil In The Dock: A Bowman Of The Yard Investigation Kindle Edition

4.3 out of 5 stars 275 ratings

Bowman of the Yard: Book Two

'Wonderfully atmospheric, full of the thrills of Victorian London.' Adam Croft.

Spring, 1892.

No longer trusted by Scotland Yard because of his unpredictable behaviour, Detective Inspector George Bowman is despatched to London’s docks on a security detail.

But he is soon plunged into a world of extortion and murder.

When his colleague Sergeant Graves investigates a corpse discovered in Drury Lane, the two detectives soon realise they are working on the same case.

But are the two men exceeding their authority?

Bowman is brought to task by the Special Irish Branch for interfering with their investigation into Fenian activity at the docks. Bowman has more questions than answers. A piece is missing from the puzzle.

Still haunted by his part in his wife’s death, Bowman struggles to keep his sanity and find a link that connects crime across the capital. Cautioned for his erratic mental state by his superiors, the inspector’s very career is at stake.

His life becomes endangered too, as Bowman must face his nemesis across the newly constructed Tower Bridge and prevent a deadly strike against the heart of the Empire itself.

Richard James is an actor, playwright and author with many credits to his name. The Bowman Of The Yard series marks his first as an author. Other books in the acclaimed series include The Head in the Ice and The Body in the Trees.

'A genuinely impressive debut.' Andrew Cartmel, The Vinyl Detective.

'Crime fiction with wit and twists.' Richard Foreman, Raffles: The Complete Innings.

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There are 4 books in this series.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08767KY6M
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sharpe Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 15, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.4 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 219 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 2 of 4 ‏ : ‎ Bowman of the Yard
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 275 ratings

About the author

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Richard James
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I've been telling stories all my life. As an actor I've spent a career telling other people's, from Charles Dickens to David Walliams. As a writer, I get to create my own!

I wanted to write a series of books set in a world I would want to spend time in and featuring characters I would want to be with. Most importantly, it would have to feature a grisly murder or two!

I love the Victorian era. It seems such a rich period of history, populated by some colourful characters, so that is where we first meet Detective Inspector George Bowman.

The Head In The Ice is the first in the Bowman Of The Yard series and follows Bowman's investigation into the discovery of - well, a head in the ice of the River Thames. Over the course of the book, however, and throughout the series in general, we see he has demons of his own to contend with.

There are four books in the Bowman Of The Yard series in all, together with some short stories from Bowman's Casebook. These have been collected into two volumes and fill in the gaps between the novels, giving the reader the chance to follow Bowman's professional progress and personal battles (he's a troubled man, as you'll see) over twelve months of his life.

'A masterful new Victorian mystery series.' Rosie Amber books

'A genuinely impressive debut.' Andrew Cartmel

'Full of the thrills of Victorian London.' Adam Croft

Aside from my historical fiction, I have been entrusted by the estate of legendary television producer Gerry Anderson to write a series of adaptations and novelisations based on his ‘lost’ or unproduced scripts, including Five Star Five, Intergalactic Rescue 4 and Space Precinct.

I really hope you like the books. If you do, you can tweet me your thoughts at @RichardNJames. I hope to hear from you!

Richard James

2019

www.richardjamesonline.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
275 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2022
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Enjoyed reading this book. The pace was fairly fast. However the flashback parts of the story could have been shorter or eliminated in order to maybe develop other characters or even Bowman himself a little better.. The resolution left a little more to be desired.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2020
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Richard James has written another good book. I like the Victorian age and Richard has brought it to life. My next read will be his book The Body in the Trees.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2019
    Review first posted at Girl Who Reads. A free copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

    Inspector George Bowman was sent to the docks of London because coworkers had felt he was a loose cannon. They thought he could do no harm there, but an explosion ripping through the wharf soon changes that. The Kaiser is a mysterious figure emerging in the underworld, and he seems to have played a role in the death of Bowman's wife Anna.

    The emotional outbursts mentioned in the first novel, as well as the tremors in his hands-on seeing the asylum physician again, led directly to Bowman being transferred from murder investigations to the docs at Shad Thames. Graves is as thoughtful in this novel as he was in the first, and Hicks is just as much of a jerk. It isn't that he's inept as an investigator, but he is tone-deaf and callous, primarily concerned with himself and his own needs. We meet new players in London now that Bowman is out in the docks, but his desire to actually uphold the law again is bumping up against others' wishes to do otherwise. He is summarily told to stop investigating things with the threat of his career being destroyed by the commissioner himself. Luckily, Bowman isn't the only one interested in justice and law, and the investigation continues anyway.

    This is a fairly clever police procedural, with some splashes of interpersonal drama. The actual "Devil" in the Kaiser is revealed slowly because the dockworkers don't readily confide in policemen.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2019
    I received an early ARC copy of this novel and I freely chose to review it.
    I recently read, enjoyed, and reviewed the first novel in this series, The Head in the Ice, and was aware the second novel was on its way, and made sure to read it as soon as I was able to. And, let me tell you, it doesn’t disappoint. If anything, I’d say I enjoyed it even more than the first instalment (and that is saying something).
    The story is told from an omniscient point of view (I talked about it at length in my previous review, so I won’t repeat it here), and that gives the reader a chance to see things from different characters’ perspectives, and sometimes experiencing the confusion of their circumstances and the events they are confronted with (we see things from the point of view of one of the victims of the story at some point, and it does make for pretty unnerving reading). Although we mostly share in the point of view of D.I. Bowman, we also read more about Graves, one of the younger detectives working for him and the most sympathetic to Bowman’s circumstances, and that helps us not get completely sucked in by Bowman’s subjective experiences. I know some readers don’t feel comfortable with the changes in perspective implied by this point of view, but I again feel it fits the story well, and I’d advise checking a sample of the book in case of doubt.
    We meet again some of the same characters from the previous novel, and the events follow chronologically on from the previous ones, to the point where Bowman gets moved onto a security detail because of doubts about his performance and his mental state in the previous case. Bowman is disappointed and tries even harder to get a hold on his flashbacks and on his difficult recovery from the trauma of his wife’s death and from his guilt about it (I’m trying not to give away spoilers). He is not totally successful; he drinks a bit too much and does not always look after his appearance as well as he should, but he manages to keep his wits about him, and the fact that his analytical mind keeps ticking, despite the stress and the grief, evidence his intelligence and suitability for the job. He is also determined, and although he knows his word is doubted because of his mental health issues, he never gives up in his pursuit of the truth.
    We also learn more about Graves, who is a pretty jovial and genial character, but we discover he hides depths of feeling not so evident in the first novel. Even Hicks, a man mostly interested in making his employment in the police force as painless an experience as possible, appears less obnoxious and more willing to work as a member of a team, despite his questioning some of the decisions. We meet some other characters, get to know better Bowman’s boss, we meet Callahan, who seems only interest in advancing his career within the ranks of the police, no matter what it takes, and we also come across a host of secondary characters, including plenty of inhabitants of the criminal underworld (and the distinction is far from clear-cut at times). Oh, and I loved the baddy (but I won’t add anything else on that subject).
    The novel is atmospheric and conveys extremely well the feeling of the era, without becoming a catalogue full of description of Victorian clothing and wares. We have fascinating historical notes, such as information about the building of Tower Bridge, in London, also of the Thames Tunnel (initially for pedestrian use), the Queen’s steamer, and I particularly enjoyed the insights into the London Docks and how they were used at the time, as they were the point of entry for most of the goods arriving from around the world into London. We see the extremes of poverty and wealth, and how they are hardly separated by a few yards, and the characters themselves reflect upon the social gap between the haves and the have-nots (in fact, a chasm), also noting the level of crime, corruption, and the intermingling of the criminal underworld and the everyday activities of many people. There are workers being injured, protection rackets at work, goods being stolen, kidnappings, illegal betting, drug use… but the legal side of things is hardly blameless, and it is not surprising that the population remain suspicious of the police and of the workings of the justice system. There is much talk in the book of the Empire, Queen Victoria, and certain practices —like the transportation to the colonies as punishment— are highlighted and questioned. Readers can make their own minds up, but it is difficult not to look at it and conclude that such projects have a high cost, and those who pay for it are rarely the ones who end up reaping the benefits.
    The mystery part of the novel is extremely well constructed, and as I advised in the first novel, here it is necessary as well to keep one’s eyes open, and not miss anything, as there are clues dropped along the book, and none of them are casual. There are red-herrings, some of the characters are led down wrong lines of enquiry (it is all to do with the Fenian Brotherhood [the pro-Ireland Independence movement of the era]?, is it all part of a protection ring?, who is the Kaiser?), and Bowman’s mind starts seeing connections between what is happening and his own tragedy, but, are they real? The novel alternates scenes of action with those of observation and enquiry, but the rhythm increases as the story progresses and towards the end, the action scenes come fast and thick, and we can hardly turn the pages quickly enough to keep up. I enjoyed the ending, even if it is not what I’d call a “happy” one per se, but it fits perfectly well with the story, it shows Bowman in a very good light, and it answers many questions, not all pertaining exclusively to this book.
    This is another great Victorian mystery novel, with solid and complex characters, which poses questions about the society of the time and also about the nature of the British Empire. I look forward to reading more adventures of Bowman and his team in the future.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Bill Drury
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good story
    Reviewed in Canada on May 20, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    A good, well told story set in London England in Victorian times. Worth your time!
  • greg stevens
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great characters
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 25, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Amazing read. You can almost smell Victorian London while reading these books.
    Highly recommended to any lovers of historical crime novels.
  • Greg Lomas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another great story
    Reviewed in Australia on December 11, 2020
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Its fast moving and an easy book to read and enjoy, with lots of plot twists. Good to see the main characters develop. Highly recommended.
  • helen r
    4.0 out of 5 stars challenging read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 26, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I found this book a little hard going compared to the first, there were too many loose threads which became confusing and I almost gave up, but I persevered and I was glad I did.
  • Isabelle Saucier
    5.0 out of 5 stars Richard James has done it again!
    Reviewed in Canada on July 29, 2019
    Book two in the Bowman of the Yard series doesn't pick up immediately after book one -- there are two short stories for you to enjoy in between--but we continue to follow the inspector as he attempts to conduct an investigation while being under the scrutiny of his superiors for any slip up that could tarnish the service and put an end to his career.

    We learn more about the characters we have met in book one, how they are all more complex and vulnerable than they seem at first. We continue to care for them and root for them and want to know what will happen next. Again, the settings are well-researched and I'm sure that more than one reader will learn a thing or two about Victorian London as they read along. Well done!

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