Already an international rights sensation, this dazzling thriller stalks and illuminates the dark, disintegrating walkways of Victorian London.

It’s 1852, and the ranks of the London poor have doubled. In the swollen shadow of the great St. Giles Rookery, fallen women attract perfumed dandies of the West End in a vicious circle of venality, vanity and vice.

Edmund Whitty, correspondent for The Falcon, the city’s second-best sensational tabloid, writes whatever will stimulate the reader, delay his (increasingly physical) creditors, and supply him with the alcohol and opiates required to see him through the day. His most recent triumph was to supply a name to the fiend in human form who has murdered God knows how many prostitutes with a white silk scarf: Chokee Bill. To the correspondent’s satisfaction, Chokee Bill incited a garrotting panic that paralyzed the business of London -- until the arrest of one William Ryan. Normality has returned. The hangman, Mr. Calcraft, as dusty and dreary as death itself, awaits.

Broke again and in search of crisp copy, Whitty makes a shocking but not altogether surprising discovery: the white-scarf slayings have continued. When he endeavours to find the real Chokee Bill, he is greeted with emphatic hostility, both offcial and unoffcial.

This Dickensian tale offers galvanizing suspense and an evocative and witty vision of life in Victorian London -- in which the hallmark of a gentleman is perfection without, putrefaction within, and the hallmark of a lady is to have snared a gentleman.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

“Gray has a gift for dialogue and a keen sense of humour, which comes out in the hilarious exchanges between Whitty and his rival cronies.” -- Hamilton Spectator

“Gray has whipped up a marvelous, richly textured confection. All the sights and sounds and impressions of a brilliantly evoked era are here, together with a dexterous plot and a feel for the embroidered yet briny language of the period.” -- Quill & Quire

“Gray has a strong sense of place and setting….He also has a gift for dialogue, and a keen humour, much in evidence here…the action sequences are skillfully wrought and compelling.” -- The Globe and Mail

“Sex, drugs, violence -- it’s all here, and presented with deliciously wry humour….the unraveling of this complicated skein of secrets makes for a fascinating, enjoyable read, full of twists, reversals and last-minute shocks.” -- The Edmonton Journal

“Tight and vivid, propelled by an addictive mystery plot, the book makes the efforts of his peers look like dilettantism…. Gray delivers crisp writing of his own throughout the book. …The Fiend In Human is anything but a newspaper columnist’s self-indulgence. A smart social commentary and ripping good tale, it’s clearly the work of a bona fide novelist firmly in control of his craft. A fly job, indeed, Mr. Gray.” -- National Post

“…riveting plot…Gray’s historical thriller is a step beyond slasher-horror plots. It presents us with the intellectual intrigues of murder, luring us with the hope that we can understand the stalker’s mentality…and the social evils that allow maniacs to thrive…He draws characters with colour and spark as vibrant as the theatre.” -- Ottawa Citizen

“…with this novel, [Gray] proves himself to be a true man of letters…Gray employs a Victorian style here to great effect. You feel as if you could be reading a novel from the period, rather than one merely set in that time…” -- New Brunswick Reader

“…Gray delivers and in spades.” -- Books in Canada

"The Fiend in Human gives the reader the kind of experience one wishes all historical novels provided but almost never do. It throws open the door on a side of Victorian London few will be acquainted with, and does so with an exuberance and wealth of detail worthy of the nineteenth-century masters. Vivid characters, dead-on dialogue, and a galloping good plot make The Fiend in Human a tale irresistible." -- Giles Blunt, author of Forty Words for Sorrow and The Delicate Storm

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

John MacLachlan Gray is a writer-composer-performer for the stage, film, television, radio and print. He is best known for his stage musicals, including the phenomenally successful Billy Bishop Goes to War, and for his satirical videos on CBC-TV’s The Journal. Gray is the recipient of many awards -- a Golden Globe, the Governor General’s Medal and most recently the Order of Canada. He currently writes a weekly column entitled “Gray’s Anatomy” for the Globe and Mail. He lives in Vancouver with his personal demons.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page