Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Sequel to "Blind Justice"
Review: "Murder in Grub Street" was an excellent sequel to "Blind Justice", and I feel that most of those who enjoyed the first book in Bruce Alexander's Sir John Fielding series should be very appreciative of this, the second book.In my opinion, "Murder in Grub Street" is slightly superior to "Blind Justice" partly because the characters whom we already know become more fully rounded, as Sir John Fielding officially welcomes Jeremy Proctor into his household, and their relationship becomes more akin to father-son. Jeremy Proctor's virtue and his elevated manner of speech might be cause for some annoyance, but he is NOT a complete goody-two shoes, and one of the seminal occurrences in this novel is when he gets into a street brawl with sneak thief, Jimmy Bunkins, a lad about Jeremy's own age. The brawl between Jeremy and Bunkins becomes occasion for Sir John to actually regard Jeremy as a son who has, on this occasion, disappointed him, and we see how Sir John deals with a situation in which Jeremy has, for the first time, failed to meet his expectations. Jeremy's antagonist, Bunkins, communicates not in the King's English but in his street "cant" (slang), which is remarkably easy for the reader to follow, and he becomes a key figure in the story and will presumably figure again in this series. Bunkins's morally-flawed but street-wise personality makes him a good foil to Jeremy. When he warns Jeremy, "You'll do nicks to me, for I see no Beak-runners by your side, nor barking irons in your daddles", I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I had no trouble interpreting this to mean, "You'll do nothing to me, for I don't see any officers of the law with you or any guns in your pockets." Bunkins's colorful mode of expression, as well as his personality, make him an attractive character in spite of his faults. And if he seems a little too Dickensian to be regarded as completely of the author's creation, Alexander pays proper homage to the origins of this character by describing him as running away "at full speed, dodging artfully through the pedestrians in the street." Bunkins's introduction into the series also provides the occasion for the re-introduction of "Black Jack" Bilbo, the owner of the gambling house on St. James Street with the mysterious and reputedly sinister past, who is also a stimulating character. And notwithstanding Jeremy's sometimes too-treacly personality, there are a number of things which ensure that the story itself never gets too sugary. The mystery around which it centers is the gruesome murder of the household of Ezekiel Crabb, publisher and book-seller in Grub Street, and we are also introduced to the grotesque image of "The Raker", who collects and disposes of corpses for the cities of London and Westminster ("He enjoys his work too much. There is something unholy about the man," Sir John remarks). There is also a not-easily-forgotten trip to Bedlam, the famed London insane asylum, as it existed in the 18th century. While the revelation that climaxes this novel may not be all that surprising, the climax is still filled with more drama than that the first novel contained. All in all, an excellent sequel, and I look forward to reading the next novels in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: "Murder in Grub Street", the second installment in Bruce Alexander's "Bow Street Runners" series is more carefully crafted than the first book, but still has weaknesses. It is a period mystery set in 18th-century London. Blind magistrate Sir John Fielding and his young sidekick Jeremy, who narrates the story, solves a mass murder case in London's publishing district. It's a good tale, but some of the weaknesses of the first book are still here: Fielding does things no blind person -no matter how gifted- can do; young Jeremy speaks like an educated adult, and his occasional forays into childhood speech sound just like an adult-trying-to-write-like-a-child wrote them. The plot is carefully constructed but hinges on some artificial twists that must leave readers shaking their heads: Jeremy narrowly escapes from a building that blows down in the wind, not once but twice; a poor street urchin pops up conveniently every few pages to provide important clues. The most interesting thing about Alexander's mystery series is the local color and language of historical London. They're fun and easy to read, but as mystery novels go, these first two are strictly average.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: "Murder in Grub Street", the second installment in Bruce Alexander's "Bow Street Runners" series is more carefully crafted than the first book, but still has weaknesses. It is a period mystery set in 18th-century London. Blind magistrate Sir John Fielding and his young sidekick Jeremy, who narrates the story, solves a mass murder case in London's publishing district. It's a good tale, but some of the weaknesses of the first book are still here: Fielding does things no blind person -no matter how gifted- can do; young Jeremy speaks like an educated adult, and his occasional forays into childhood speech sound just like an adult-trying-to-write-like-a-child wrote them. The plot is carefully constructed but hinges on some artificial twists that must leave readers shaking their heads: Jeremy narrowly escapes from a building that blows down in the wind, not once but twice; a poor street urchin pops up conveniently every few pages to provide important clues. The most interesting thing about Alexander's mystery series is the local color and language of historical London. They're fun and easy to read, but as mystery novels go, these first two are strictly average.
Rating: 
Summary: Phooey!
Review: Although I would encourage anybody looking for a good (if not deep) read to pick up "Blind Justice", the first book in this series, I would advise those same people to avoid this book. Everything is too pat: Sir John Fielding is too wise and knowing; Jeremy (his assistant) is too nobly naive; their comrades too goody-goody; the bad guys are identified by wearing (no joke) black. The attempts at poignancy are as phony as a sit-com. Samuel Johnson would probably not recognize the sentimentalized version of him. There isn't even a mystery to solve. Shallow on most every account.
Rating:
Summary: Historical novel
Review: As others say, there's not much mystery here. But I enjoyed the atmospheric story of 1750's London street life, the new civil police, religious conspiracies and debate, criminal jurisprudence, and the effects of windstorms. I liked the contexts provided for famous but hitherto isolated things like Bedlam, Co(n)vent Gardens, coffehouses, Boswell's Samuel Johnson, Henry Fielding (Tom Jones), and the famous Grub Street itself (scene of the bloodiest events). The writing is quite "proper" and rather sentimentalizes boy hero Jeremy, aide to the blind Judge Fielding, but includes an intriguing dollop of the "flash" street slang of the day, in the person of a street urchin who one hopes becomes a regular in the series. In an odd way the major events of the second half, when the evil genius has been singled out, are a reprise of the first: the type of murder, the undertaker, the street vendor, the reformed prostitute, the urchin, all come back rather as goody-goodies.
Rating: 
Summary: Grub street is a bit disappointing, but still good.
Review: Bruce Alexander's second book in the "Sir John Fielding" series is a slightly dropoff from the first. The action happens a little bit after "Blind Justice", where Jeremy was about to be appreniated to Ezekial Crabb of Grub Street, but alas, Crabb and 5 other have been brutally murdered by an unknown assailant(s) who yielded an axe. A mentally disturbed man named John Clayton was found nearby with blood on his clothes, and is charged with the murders, but Fielding believes that Clayton is innocent. Meanwhile, Jeremy saves a poor woman from a building collapse due to shoddy construction. Alexander accurately describes the horrid conditions the London poor of 1768 found themselves in. This is a strong point of the book. Jeremy finds a strange cult to house this woman. Later, this same cult harasses a Jewish synagogue, and again Alexander shows strength in describing Judaism. From there, the killers are found out, and there is a predicable showdown, where Jeremy defies orders to try and save Fielding. Jeremy also shows a darker side of himself in a fight with a street urchin. Enjoyable period mystery
Rating:
Summary: A really good historical novel
Review: Easy to read, keeps your interest. Set in London in the 18th Century which is described in a good level of detail but done so as part of the story not like reading a history book. This is the follow up to Blind Justice which introduced the reader to Sir John Fielding (who apparently did exist) and the story teller young Jeremy. The series is now up to something like 6 books. I've read them all and enjoyed each one. These are well crafted mysteries with a little something extra, the historial setting. Read them and enjoy them.
Rating:
Summary: A really good historical novel
Review: Easy to read, keeps your interest. Set in London in the 18th Century which is described in a good level of detail but done so as part of the story not like reading a history book. This is the follow up to Blind Justice which introduced the reader to Sir John Fielding (who apparently did exist) and the story teller young Jeremy. The series is now up to something like 6 books. I've read them all and enjoyed each one. These are well crafted mysteries with a little something extra, the historial setting. Read them and enjoy them.
Rating:
Summary: An engrossing page-turner
Review: From Samuel Johnson to Bedlam, this book continues in the tradition quickly established by "Blind Justice" to provide a rich and detailed slice of 18th century London, while keeping us hanging on to near the end wondering how Sir John will solve this case.
Rating:
Summary: An ok read
Review: Fun historical fiction, but pretty predictable. Definately not as good as the 1st or 3rd books. I would read it anyway to keep up with the likeable characters.
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