First published 2014
William Hare walks free from his Scottish prison cell on February 7th, 1829. The authorities dump him on a roadside near Carlisle, hoping he will disappear forever. His partner Burke already swings from the gallows for their crimes as body snatchers who supplied fresh corpses to Edinburgh surgeons. Hare escapes into the Northern English countryside with Hannah, a mute farm girl who becomes his traveling companion. They move from one desperate situation to the next as they cross into Ireland. Behind them comes Percy Speed, a retired London investigator originally hired by Lord Beckford to capture a life mask of Hare for his collection of curiosities. When his employer loses interest, Speed continues the hunt on his own. He becomes obsessed with tracking down his clever prey, no matter the cost or where the chase takes him. The pursuit becomes a deadly game of cat and mouse across two countries, with Hare fighting to outrun both his hunter and his blood-soaked past.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, enemies-to-lovers, fugitive
Setting: Carlisle, Edinburgh, Ireland, London, Northern England, Scotland
Period: 1829
312 pages · Paperback · The Clerkenwell Press
Content warnings: violence