The Devil Aspect, Russell - C

                     This is a lengthy novel set in Czechoslovakia in the mid-1930's. There are two parallel stories throughout. The primary focus is on Dr. Viktor Kosarek, a Prague psychiatrist who goes to work at a mysterious castle in the almost-medieval countryside. The castle is home to the Devil's Six, the country's worst murderers, and Kosarek attempts to plumb the depths of their psychoses using experimental drugs. Back in Prague, Det. Lukas Smolak pursues a serial killer, believed to be emulating Jack the Ripper. The police call him Leather Apron because his brutal work is reminiscent of a butcher, and butcher's wear leather aprons.  The stories merge in the end when Kosarek is determined to be the murderer in a plot twist that feels like a cheap trick, rather than a stroke of genius. I guess I failed to see the use of the words gothic and horror in some of the descriptions.