Book description
It is 1835, and with the birth of the Industrial Revolution, railway
fever sweeps the country. Pyke is uneasy with the luxury his
aristocratic marriage has brought him, and when he is unofficially asked
to investigate a decapitation, he can not resist the chance to
resuscitate the old skills he learned on the streets.
But with the industrial world comes a new and faceless enemy: men who
have money and power, and who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of
both. For Pyke, with his young wife and child and an elevated place in
society to protect, the stakes have suddenly become alarmingly high.
From the sweat shops of the east end to the palace of the
Queen-in-waiting; from the elegant drawing rooms of the newly rich, to
the blood-spattered backrooms of London's taverns, Pyke's investigation
stirs up a hornets' nest of trouble. As the death toll rises, an
alluring woman from his past returns, and Pyke must draw on all of his
resources if he is to protect his family, and survive. 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.
