by Alex Grecian
First published 2012
Walter Day joins Scotland Yard's Murder Squad at the worst possible time. Victorian London drowns in blood, with only twelve detectives to handle the city's endless killings. The public despises them after their failure to catch Jack the Ripper. Then someone murders one of the twelve detectives. Day gets assigned to solve the case of his dead colleague. He partners with Dr. Bernard Kingsley, the Yard's first forensic pathologist. Together they hunt a killer who targets the Murder Squad itself. The murderer has more victims planned, but his motives remain hidden. Day must solve the case before the killer strikes again, all while working within a police force that has lost the trust of London's citizens. The investigation forces Day to navigate both the dangerous streets of the city and the politics of a failing institution.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, enemies-to-lovers, partner-dynamics
Setting: London, Scotland Yard, Victorian London
Period: 19th-century
432 pages · Hardcover · Putnam Books
Content warnings: death, murder, violence