First published 2016
Jeremiah Blake and William Avery have returned to London from India, but Victorian England feels foreign after their jungle adventures. The bond between them has frayed with time and distance. When newspaper publishers start turning up dead across London, the police show little interest in solving the crimes. Blake and Avery find themselves drawn back together to investigate the killings themselves. The victims all worked in London's gutter press, and strange connections surface between the murdered men and the growing movement demanding voting rights for all citizens. Their search leads them through the criminal underworld of Drury Lane, where they encounter prostitutes, pornographers, thieves, and missionaries. As more bodies pile up, Blake and Avery realize they must identify the killer quickly before he strikes again. But their investigation suggests the murderer may have protection from powerful figures in government who want these particular deaths to remain unsolved.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Drury Lane, India, London
Period: Victorian Era
417 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons
Content warnings: death, murder