Dead Centre — Joan Lock

It is 1887, the year of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, and London is in turmoil - particularly at the dead centre, Trafalgar Square. Here,the angry unemployed gather daily to protest and nightly to sleep.

The police are worn out by endless duty and bitter about the accusations of brutality from the protesters and blame from others for not doing more to prevent the disorder.

Adding fuel to the fire, a prominent member of one of the new socialist organisations leading the protests is found dead at the foot of Nelson's column and Detective Inspector Earnest Best catches a fleeting glimpse of Stark a man he knows was guilty of a dreadful crime in Whitechapel.

Tension builds. Something terrible is about to happen.

"The author obviously knows Victorian London well and I learned a lot as I read." - Historical Novel Review