Part of Lady Darby Mysteries
First published 2021
Edinburgh, March 1832. Kiera and Sebastian Gage are weeks away from the birth of their first child when a scandalous new book hits the city, followed quickly by a stage adaptation. The story dramatizes the criminal exploits of Bonnie Brock Kincaid, the city's most notorious rogue, and thinly disguised versions of Kiera and Gage appear in its pages. Kincaid is furious. He insists he had no hand in the book and wants the real author found as badly as anyone. The Gages are not entirely convinced of his innocence. Then crimes begin rippling across Edinburgh, each one lifted straight from the play. When the publisher turns up brutally murdered, the killing staged to mirror a gruesome scene from the book, suspicion lands on Kincaid and on the Gages themselves, who have been loudly critical of the work. Now Kiera and Gage must find the actual killer before the case closes around them. Cholera still moves through the city. The play stokes public unrest. And Kiera is running out of time. The investigation forces her to balance the weight of a murder charge against the arrival of new life, and every answer she uncovers seems to pull her deeper into danger.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, adult, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, fast-paced, intricate, suspenseful
Tropes: crime-mirroring-fiction, false-accusation, married-couple-detective-team, murder-investigation
Setting: Edinburgh, Scotland
Period: March 1832, 19th century
384 pages · Paperback · Berkley
Content warnings: murder, violence