‘Makes you want to read every word … serpentine and satisfying’ Telegraph
A POWERFUL FAMILY
Thornleigh Hall, seat of the Earl of Sussex, dominates its surroundings. Its heir is missing, and the once vigorous family is reduced to a cripple, his whore and his alcoholic second son, but its power endures.
A DANGEROUS DISCOVERY
Impulsive Harriet Westerman has felt the Hall’s menace long before she happens upon a dead man bearing the Thornleigh arms. The grim find cries out for justice, and she persuades reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther to her cause, much against his better judgement.
A VENOMOUS SECRET
That same day, Alexander Adams is killed in a London music shop, leaving his young children orphaned. His death will lead back to Sussex, and an explosive secret that has already destroyed one family and now threatens many others.
‘Stylish, enigmatic and wonderfully atmospheric … a story of secrecy and shame, reason and passion, that resonates long after you reach the final page’ Francis Wheen