The Detective and the Devil — Lloyd Shepherd

'What impresses me most is Lloyd's ability to bring big themes into the weave of the story and yet keep to the underlying threads of an astonishingly good detective novel. Such a magnificent writer' Manda Scott 'This is historical crime fiction at its very best' Shots From the author of the acclaimed historical thriller Savage Magic comes The Detective and the Devil, a riveting tale of villainy, alchemy and murder. London, 1815: Constable Charles Horton of the River Police Office is called to investigate the brutal murder of a clerk and his family in London's East End. Horton's investigation draws him into the secretive world of the East India Company, which will stop at nothing to protect the secrets of its vast empire. What is the Company hiding, and why are its employees disappearing - particularly those linked to the small island of St Helena? The trail takes Horton and his wife Abigail from the steps of John Dee's house in Mortlake to the lonely South Atlantic, on the trail of a killer who seems to be the very Devil. 'An ingenious mix of historical fact and lively invention' Sunday Times