Dr. Thomas Bond thought he'd put the horrors behind him, as the Jack the Ripper and Thames Torso murders seem to have reached their conclusion. Unfortunately, the evil that lurked in the form of the "Upir" hasn't been destroyed and is just lurking, waiting for its next victim. Will the Upir be stopped or will the bodies continue to pile up?

MURDER is the sequel to Mayhem, and is based upon historical events and characters but with a supernatural flare. MURDER pick up shortly after Mayhem and further builds the dark legacy of the Upir. We actually get better insight into the ravings of James Harrington, the Upir's host than in the prior book, as old letters of his are interspersed throughout the book. Sarah Pinborough provides readers enough details to read MURDER as a standalone story.

I like the character of Dr. Bond as depicted in Mayhem and it was difficult to read about his mental and physical decline in MURDER. His affection for James Harrington's widow, Julianna, is growing steadily but he now faces competition with the appearance of Edward Kane, an old friend of James. I wanted to like Edward as he is quite affable and obviously cares for Juliana, but my attachment to Thomas' character just leaves me infuriated by the sequence of events that transpires in MURDER.

Sarah Pinborough is a master at creating gritty, intense worlds that haunt the reader. Her characters tend to be flawed as Dr. Bond exemplifies perfectly. MURDER is dark, disturbing, and sure to delight readers who like their mysteries tinged with horror.