Moonshine and Mercury — Harriet Smart

In summer of 1842, the spa town of Stanegate is booming, thanks to the vision of Captain Carrington, the enterprising proprietor of the Hydropathic Institute.

Fashionable visitors can take the latest cures, luxuriate in the opulent Roman Baths and buy all the newest frivolities from the glamorous shops in the Parade before an evening's entertainment at the newly built Opera House.

But when the remains of a man are discovered in an animal cage at Askham's Menagerie, the darkness under the glittering surface of the town is exposed. It is the task of Major Giles Vernon and Felix Carswell to determine who he is and how he came to such a terrible end.

Was he killed by Moonshine and Mercury, a pair of beautiful and celebrated leopards, or is there something far more sinister at work in the resort? When a disaffected French chef commits suicide in the arms of his employer, Madame Jacquot -- the alluring manager of The White Hart Hotel -- it seems so.

As they hunt for the killer, Giles and Felix must cut through a dangerous tangle of bewildering clues, encountering old friends and new enemies, before the truth is finally laid bare.

Moonshine and Mercury is the ninth compelling Northminster Mystery by Harriet Smart.