Book description
Drury Lane, 1844. A robbery has been committed at a pawnbroker's,
leaving three people dead. The man called in to investigate is Pyke,
head of the Metropolitan Police's newly formed Detective Branch at
Scotland Yard. Pyke must find the culprit and quickly, especially as the
identity of one of the victims threatens to expose his own criminal
past. A valuable religious artefact appears to have motivated the
robbery but when the main suspect commits suicide in police custody, the
investigation falters. Then the rector of a wealthy parish is brutally
murdered and Pyke spots a connection. His suspicions lead him to a
dissolute former Catholic priest, rumours of devil worship, and an old
case that no one wants him to investigate.
With time running out and the murderer threatening to kill again, Pyke
must face up to forces within the police and the church who would prefer
the secrets of the past to remain buried for ever... Andrew Pepper is
a lecturer in American Writing and Contemporary Crime Fiction at Queen's
University, Belfast. His first novel, THE LAST DAYS OF NEWGATE, was
shortlisted for the CWA NEW BLOOD AWARD. He lives in Belfast with his
wife and children.
