Best Selling Books by Lyndsay Faye

A librarian is tormented by a lethal volume of black magic. When A. Davenport Lomax’s young daughter asks him whether spirits and faeries are real, the Edwardian librarian just pats the little darling on the head. But when a desperate man emerges from the winding passages of the library muttering about demonology, he gets Lomax’s attention. Theodore Grange is a member of the Brotherhood of Solomon, a secret society dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of black magic, and he believes he has found a book written by the Queen of Sheba herself. Said to hold the answers to one thousand demonic mysteries, the tome will poison any man who dares read it. The next time Lomax sees him, Grange is at death’s door. To uncover the truth about The Gospel of Sheba, Lomax agrees to accompany Grange to a meeting of the brotherhood, where he will encounter darkness that threatens his life, his family, and his soul. The Bibliomysteries are a series of short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors.

The reimagining of Jane Eyre as a gutsy, heroic serial killer that The New York Times Book Review calls “wonderfully entertaining” and USA Today describes as “sheer mayhem meets Victorian propriety”—nominated for the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Novel. “Reader, I murdered him.” A sensitive orphan, Jane Steele suffers first at the hands of her spiteful aunt and predatory cousin, then at a grim school where she fights for her very life until escaping to London, leaving the corpses of her tormentors behind her. After years of hiding from the law while penning macabre “last confessions” of the recently hanged, Jane thrills at discovering an advertisement. Her aunt has died and her childhood home has a new master: Mr. Charles Thornfield, who seeks a governess. Burning to know whether she is in fact the rightful heir, Jane takes the position incognito and learns that Highgate House is full of marvelously strange new residents—the fascinating but caustic Mr. Thornfield, an army doctor returned from the Sikh Wars, and the gracious Sikh butler Mr. Sardar Singh, whose history with Mr. Thornfield appears far deeper and darker than they pretend. As Jane catches ominous glimpses of the pair’s violent history and falls in love with the gruffly tragic Mr. Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: Can she possess him—body, soul, and secrets—without revealing her own murderous past? “A thrill ride of a novel. A must read for lovers of Jane Eyre, dark humor, and mystery.”—PopSugar.com

One of Publishers Weekly''s Top Ten Mystery/Thrillers of the Year One of Kirkus Reviews'' Ten Best Crime Novels of the Year One of Gillian Flynn''s "Recommendations for the Season" on Today Edgar(R) Award Nominee for Best Novel ALA Reading List Award for Best Mystery 1845: New York City forms its first police force. The great potato famine hits Ireland. These two events will change New York City forever…. Timothy Wilde tends bar, saving every dollar in hopes of winning the girl of his dreams. But when his dreams are destroyed by a fire that devastates downtown Manhattan, he is left with little choice but to accept a job in the newly minted New York City Police Department. Returning exhausted from his rounds one night, Tim collides with a girl no more than ten years old… covered in blood. She claims that dozens of bodies are buried in the forest north of Twenty-Third Street. Timothy isn’t sure whether to believe her, but as the image of a brutal killer is slowly revealed and anti-Irish rage infects the city, the reluctant copper star is engaged in a battle that may cost him everything…

Reluctantly embroiled in a 1840s dispute between a corrupt Tammany Hall leader and an arsonist with an agenda, Copper Star Timothy Wilde finds his investigation challenged by his brother''s decision to run for public office.

This collection of short mysteries by the international-bestselling author of Dust and Shadow “belongs on the top shelf with the very best of Doyle’s” (Nicholas Meyer, author of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution). Inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, Edgar Award–finalist Lyndsay Faye has masterfully woven these quintessential characters into her own works of fiction—from her acclaimed debut novel, Dust and Shadow, to a series of short stories for the Strand Magazine, whose predecessor published the first Sherlock Holmes story in 1892. The best of Faye’s Sherlockian tales, including two new works, are brought together in a collection that spans the character’s career, from self-taught upstart to lauded detective, both before and after he faked his own death over a Swiss waterfall in 1894. In “The Lowther Park Mystery,” the unsociable Holmes is forced to attend a garden party at the request of his politician brother and improvises a bit of theater to foil a conspiracy against the government. “The Adventure of the Thames Tunnel” brings Holmes’s attention to the murder of a jewel thief in the middle of an underground railway passage. With Holmes and Watson encountering all manner of ungrateful relatives, phony psychologists, wronged wives, outright villains, and even a peculiar species of deadly red leech, The Whole Art of Detection is a must-read for any fan of historical crime fiction. “If Lyndsay Faye’s byline weren’t on the cover, readers might deduce that the Sherlock Holmes mysteries in The Whole Art of Detection actually came from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.” —David Martindale, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

One of The Wall Street Journal’s Ten Best Mysteries of the Year “Amazing...This is a series for the ages, it’s so spectacular.”—Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl 1846: In New York City, slave catching isn’t just legal—it’s law enforcement. Six months after the formation of the NYPD, its most reluctant and talented officer, Timothy Wilde, learns of the gruesome underworld of lies and corruption ruled by the “blackbirders,” who snatch free Northerners of color from their homes, masquerade them as slaves, and sell them South to toil as plantation property. When the beautiful and terrified Lucy Adams staggers into Timothy’s office to report a robbery and is asked what was stolen, her reply is, “My family.” Their search for her mixed-race sister and son will plunge Timothy and his feral brother, Valentine, into a world where police are complicit and politics savage, and where corpses appear in the most shocking of places…

A free preview of SEVEN FOR A SECRET by Lyndsay Faye including a special essy by the author. From Edgar-nominated author Lyndsay Faye comes the next book in what Gillian Flynn calls “a brilliant new mystery series.” Six months after the formation of the NYPD, its most reluctant and talented officer, Timothy Wilde, thinks himself well versed in his city’s dark practices—until he learns of the gruesome underworld of lies and corruption ruled by the “blackbirders,” who snatch free Northerners of color from their homes, masquerade them as slaves, and sell them South to toil as plantation property. The abolitionist Timothy is horrified by these traders in human flesh. But in 1846, slave catching isn’t just legal—it’s law enforcement. When the beautiful and terrified Lucy Adams staggers into Timothy’s office to report a robbery and is asked what was stolen, her reply is, “My family.” Their search for her mixed-race sister and son will plunge Timothy and his feral brother, Valentine, into a world where police are complicit and politics savage, and corpses appear in the most shocking of places. Timothy finds himself caught between power and principles, desperate to protect his only brother and to unravel the puzzle before all he cares for is lost.

A gun moll with a knack for disappearing flees from Prohibition-era Harlem to Portland''s Paragon Hotel. The year is 1921, and "Nobody" Alice James has just arrived in Oregon with a bullet wound, a lifetime''s experience battling the New York Mafia, and fifty thousand dollars in illicit cash. She befriends Max, a black Pullman porter who reminds her achingly of home and who saves Alice by leading her to the Paragon Hotel. But her unlikely sanctuary turns out to be an all-black hotel in a Jim Crow city, and its lodgers seem unduly terrified of a white woman on the premises. As she meets the churlish Dr. Pendleton, the stately Mavereen, and the club chanteuse Blossom Fontaine, she understands their dread. The Ku Klux Klan has arrived in Portland in fearful numbers--burning crosses, electing officials, infiltrating newspapers, and brutalizing blacks. And only Alice and her new Paragon "family" are searching for a missing mulatto child who has mysteriously vanished into the woods. To untangle the web of lies and misdeeds around her, Alice will have to answer for her own past, too. A richly imagined novel starring two indomitable heroines, The Paragon Hotel at once plumbs the darkest parts of America''s past and the most redemptive facets of humanity. From international-bestselling, multi-award-nominated writer Lyndsay Faye, it''s a masterwork of historical suspense.

From the gritty streets of nineteenth century London, the loyal and courageous Dr. Watson offers a tale unearthed after generations of lore: the harrowing story of Sherlock Holmes’s attempt to hunt down Jack the Ripper. As England’s greatest specialist in criminal detection, Sherlock Holmes is unwavering in his quest to capture the killer responsible for terrifying London’s East End. He hires an “unfortunate” known as Mary Ann Monk, the friend of a fellow streetwalker who was one of the Ripper’s earliest victims; and he relies heavily on the steadfast and devoted Dr. John H. Watson. When Holmes himself is wounded in Whitechapel during an attempt to catch the savage monster, the popular press launches an investigation of its own, questioning the great detective’s role in the very crimes he is so fervently struggling to prevent. Stripped of his credibility, Holmes is left with no choice but to break every rule in the desperate race to find the madman known as “the Knife” before it is too late. A masterly re-creation of history’s most diabolical villain, Lyndsay Faye’s debut brings unparalleled authenticity to the atmosphere of Whitechapel and London in the fledgling days of tabloid journalism and recalls the ideals evinced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most beloved and world-renowned characters. Jack the Ripper’s identity, still hotly debated around the world more than a century after his crimes were committed, remains a mystery ripe for speculation. Dust and Shadow explores the terrifying prospect of tracking a serial killer without the advantage of modern forensics, and the result is a lightning-paced novel brimming with historical detail that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

In this lush, magical, queer, and feminist take on Hamlet in modern-day New York City, a neuro-atypical philosopher, along with his best friend Horatio and artist ex-fiancé Lia, are caught up in the otherworldly events surrounding the death of his father. Meet Ben Dane: brilliant, devastating, devoted, honest to a fault (truly, a fault). His Broadway theater baron father is dead--but by purpose or accident? The question rips him apart. Unable to face alone his mother''s ghastly remarriage to his uncle, Ben turns to his dearest friend, Horatio Patel, whom he hasn''t seen since their relationship changed forever from platonic to something...other. Loyal to a fault (truly, a fault), Horatio is on the first flight to NYC when he finds himself next to a sly tailor who portends inevitable disaster. And who seems ominously like an architect of mayhem himself. Meanwhile, Ben''s ex-fiancé Lia, sundered her from her loved ones thanks to her addiction recovery and torn from her art, has been drawn into the fold of three florists from New Orleans--seemingly ageless sisters who teach her the language of flowers, and whose magical bouquets hold both curses and cures. For a price. On one explosive night these kinetic forces will collide, and the only possible outcome is death. But in the masterful hands of Lyndsay Faye, the story we all know has abundant surprises in store. Impish, captivating, and achingly romantic, this is Hamlet as you''ve never seen it before.

Da de første børnegrave åbnes, og nye grusomt tilredte børnelig dukker op, bryder helvede løs i Gotham.

Cloaked in gothic shadows, soaked in blood, darkness descends on the world of Sherlock Holmes. “I have heard, Mr. Holmes, that you can see deeply into the manifold wickedness of the human heart.” Vengeance from beyond, forbidden passions and sadistic cruelty draw the great detective and his faithful companions into storms of madness and otherworldly violence which threaten to cloud the clarity of logic. Facing the eldritch reach of ancient talismans and arcane science, from the streets of London and Paris to the loneliest of manor houses, the great detective battles the weird and uncanny. Can steadfast reason hold against unspeakable terror when Sherlock Holmes can no longer eliminate the impossible? Follow the great detective through ten new tales of terror as he doggedly pursues investigations leading him to the edge of reason and beyond! With contributions by: David Stuart Davies, Lyndsay Faye, Nancy Holder, Mark A. Latham, James Lovegrove, Mark Morris, Charles Prepolec, Josh Reynolds, Angela Slatter, Kevin P. Thornton, and Stephen Volk. About the Series: - Book 1: Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes - Book 2: Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes - Book 3: Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes - Book 4: Gaslight Gothic: Strange Tales of Sherlock Holmes These anthologies have received critical acclaim from prominent reviewers such as National Post, Library Journal, Booklist, Globe & Mail, etc.

Été 1845. Après des années de débats politiques, New York crée son département de police. Timothy Wilde intègre malgré lui ce fameux NYPD. Ancien barman, il a tout perdu dans un récent incendie : son bar, ses économies et une partie de son visage. La nuit du 21 août, pendant une ronde, Timothy est bousculé par une petite fille terrifiée. Elle porte une chemise de nuit couverte de sang. Au milieu d''un tissu de mensonges, elle finit par lui révéler qu''elle fuit un homme au capuchon noir qui découpe les enfants en morceaux. Le lendemain matin, le corps d''un petit Irlandais est retrouvé dans une poubelle, une large incision sur le thorax, les organes à nu. La fillette disait vrai, un fou s''en prend aux enfants, mais pas n''importe lesquels, les plus démunis, les immigrés. Timothy se lance dans une traque effrénée pour démasquer cet assassin et éviter que ses sinistres desseins ne mettent la ville de New York à feu et à sang...

A new collection of Sherlock Holmes tales that shows the Great Detective and his partner, Dr Watson, as their acquaintances saw them.

Lyndsay Faye slog igenom med New Yorks gudar, en tät och rafflande kriminalhistoria från mitten av 1800-talet, som hyllades för sin inlevelsefulla och välresearchade skildring av miljonstaden. I Tiga är guld återvänder hon till den irländske polismannen Timothy Wilde och hans kamp för överlevnad i ett New York präglat av fattigdom och konflikter mellan olika invandrargrupper. Med två årtionden kvar till att slaveriet avskaffas blomstrar människohandeln. När en grupp slavhandlare kidnappar Lucy Adams familj dras Wilde och hans bror Valentine in i ett nät av intriger där människor satt i system att tjäna pengar på andras lidande.

Lorsque Sherlock Holmes et John H. Watson mènent leur enquête sur les meurtres de Jack l''Éventreur... Londres, automne 1888. Les atrocités commises sur deux prostituées assassinées dans le quartier de Whitechapel vont convaincre l''inspecteur Lestrade de solliciter le célèbre spécialiste des affaires criminelles. Qui mieux que Sherlock Holmes, aidé du Dr Watson, saurait traquer l''homme qui sème désormais la terreur parmi la population de l''East End ? Mais le grand détective ne sortira pas indemne de cette enquête. Pour démasquer son insaisissable adversaire, dont le nom, Jack l''Éventreur, restera longtemps gravé dans les mémoires, il devra enfreindre bien des règles, briser les codes, et tenter de sauver sa vie autant que sa réputation.

New York, 1845. Een uitslaande brand verwoest een groot deel van de stad en laat velen dakloos achter. Tegelijkertijd gaat de aardappeloogst in Ierland verloren. Twee schijnbaar ongerelateerde historische feiten tot de Ierse migranten de schuld krijgen van de honger in Manhattan. Timothy Wilde is door zijn invloedrijke broer Valentine geronseld voor de kersverse politiemacht in New York. Hij krijgt de slechtste wijk van New York toegewezen en door de dagelijkse confrontatie met de misère daar overweegt hij zijn baan op te geven. Maar dan botst hij op een nacht tegen een jong meisje op. Bird is blootsvoets en gekleed in een met bloed doordrenkt nachthemd, maar weigert te vertellen wat haar is overkomen. In een opwelling besluit Timothy haar onder zijn hoede te nemen. Wanneer hij Bird eindelijk aan het praten krijgt, vertelt ze hem over een plek waar tientallen lichamen van Ierse kinderen zijn begraven. Timothy moet op zoek naar een brute seriemoordenaar die erop uit lijkt de anti-Ierse sentimenten nog eens aan te wakkeren. De strijd die losbarst zou hem wel eens zijn broer, zijn grote liefde en zijn leven kunnen kosten.

« Il dio di Gotham è un libro fantastico. Lyndsay Faye dimostra una padronanza dei materiali storici e una conoscenza della mente umana davvero ammirevoli. Mi sono immerso nel suo mondo già dalle prime pagine, e non ho piú potuto allontanarmene fino all''ultimo capitolo». Michael Connelly *** Un thriller storico che svela un passato ormai sepolto, e ha il sapore di un''autentica rivelazione. E cambia per sempre il nostro modo di pensare alla città di New York.

一八八八年，倫敦之秋 史上最恐怖、最黑暗的謎團，至今仍令人戰慄不已的連續謀殺案 全世界最偉大的偵探——福爾摩斯與史上最惡名昭彰的連續殺人犯——開膛手傑克的終極對決 華生醫師塵封至今、絕密記錄一次完整公開—— 刺激又生動得可怕——柯南道爾遺產管理有限公司/強力推薦 補上福爾摩斯正典中缺一角的英倫罪案拼圖——呂仁(推理作家)/專文導讀 做為一部仿作，《福爾摩斯與開膛手傑克》逼真地重現了華生筆下的福爾摩斯探案；做為一部研究報告，《福爾摩斯與開膛手傑克》給了開膛手傑克為何犯案、如何犯案、是誰犯案的解釋；做為福爾摩斯正典中缺一角的英倫罪案拼圖，《福爾摩斯與開膛手傑克》同時解決了「為何華生醫師沒有記載福爾摩斯辦理開膛手傑克一案？」與「為何開膛手傑克在犯下眾多罪案後銷聲匿跡？」兩個問題。一部作品同時完成上述諸多目的，著實精采。 ——摘自呂仁專文導讀 英國最偉大的偵探顧問，夏洛克．福爾摩斯參與了追捕肆虐倫敦東區的那位殺人犯。 他與華生醫師不但親身涉險，深入白教堂區的貧民窟， 並雇用了一位機敏聰慧的風塵女子，瑪麗．安．夢克小姐—— 她一位同樣在街頭討生活的朋友，悲慘地命喪開膛手刀下。 在一次企圖逮住那個凶殘怪物的行動中，福爾摩斯受了重傷。 沉潛休養的日子，開膛手也隱匿蹤跡， 對此新聞界開始發動調查，甚至質疑起這位偉大偵探在他全力阻止的罪行之中，到底扮演了什麼樣的角色? 信用與名譽遭遇空前挑戰的福爾摩斯別無選擇，只能打破所有既定規矩—— 在為時已晚以前，拚命爭取時間找到那位人稱「刀客」的瘋狂殺手…… 《福爾摩斯與開膛手傑克》是一個刺激又生動得可怕的故事。 ——柯南道爾遺產管理有限公司(Canan Doyle Estate) 經過漫長的等待，終於出現一位才華難得一見的作者，狂熱且完整的把福爾摩斯正典知識，結合到深刻又嚴謹的開膛手命案史實研究之中。 ——克萊．卡爾(Caleb Carr)，《沉默的天使》作者 琳西．斐以維多利亞時期為背景，描述開膛手傑克與福爾摩斯這對大敵的衝突，讀來真是讓人很興奮。參加這一趟時空之旅吧！回到一八八〇年代煤氣燈下的倫敦，追尋白教堂殺手的蹤跡。來吧，有大事發生了！ ——史都華．P．伊文斯(Stewart P. Evans)，《開膛手傑克：地獄來鴻》共同作者 精力旺盛，魅力十足，氣氛的掌握，恰如其分……以關鍵角色華生醫師的角度切入，更是精準的選擇。 ——提姆．羅騰(Tim Rutten)，《洛杉磯時報》 《福爾摩斯與開膛手傑克》讀來真實又極具況味——彷彿作者就在現場目擊一般——不管對福爾摩斯粉絲或是開膛手傑克迷來說，都是一個值得回味再三的好故事。 ——馬修．珀爾(Matthew Pearl)，《但丁俱樂部》作者 琳西．斐這本書堪稱罕世珍寶，一個聞所未聞的福爾摩斯探案故事，卻真實性十足。整個描述毫無瑕疵，作者的研究功夫，無懈可擊——總而言之，全世界最偉大的偵探，搭配他的完美助手，追緝開膛手傑克驚心動魄的過程，都能讓粉絲大啖一場驚呼連連的無上饗宴。 ——雷絲莉．柯林傑(Leslie S. Klinger)，《新注釋本福爾摩斯探案》編輯 琳西運用幾可亂真的華生口吻，呈現出福爾摩斯原著中的原汁原味……福爾摩斯迷會非常期待琳西能帶給大家更多如此高品質的仿作。 ——《出版人周刊》 本書作者對謀殺知識及場景的掌握力超強，對十九世紀末倫敦下層階級的活力和慘況亦有極其敏稅的觀察與描述……推理小說迷，特別是對開膛手這個主題有興趣的讀者，肯定會覺得這本書值得一讀再讀。 ——《書單》雜誌 琳西．斐首部小說就成功捕抓了那個時代的氛圍……她最大的成就在於，以開膛手的案子出發，展現了福爾摩斯和他的世界更複雜更幽微的一面。 ——《科克斯書評》雜誌

Traditional Chinese edition of The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes

1845: Der erste Fall für die Polizei von New York Im New York des Jahres 1845 läuft dem jungen Polizisten Timothy Wilde auf der Straße ein völlig verstörtes kleines Mädchen in die Arme. Es trägt ein blutdurchtränktes Nachthemd und will oder kann nicht sagen, wer es ist – und was ihm zugestoßen ist. Kurz darauf findet Timothy auf einem entlegenen Gelände 19 vergrabene Kinderleichen. Es ist ein heikler Fall für die gerade gegründete Polizei: In der Stadt kursieren die wildesten Gerüchte und die politische Situation ist zum Zerreißen angespannt.

El Nueva York de Timothy Wilde, miembro del recién creado cuerpo de Policía, es una ciudad en plena ebullición. Un mundo violento donde corrupción, política, mafia y racismo forman un cóctel explosivo y letal. Un lugar en el que la vida no vale un centavo y donde, según el color de la piel, las personas se pueden comprar... o robar. A la joven y hermosa Lucy Adams le han robado lo que más quiere en el mundo: su familia. Para Tim Wilde, uno de los primeros policías de Nueva York, el caso le enfrenta a una lacra habitual de su época: el secuestro de negros libres en el Norte para venderlos en el Sur como si fueran esclavos fugados. Poco después, un cadáver aparece en casa de Val, el hermano de Tim y su mentor enla Policía. Amboshan de unir fuerzas para sobrevivir. Han agitado un avispero de intereses oscuros en el que están implicados criminales, políticos y la propia Policía. Los muertos se multiplican, y Tim tiene muchos enemigos y muy pocos aliados. El valor, la intuición y la integridad moral son sus únicas armas

New York, 1846. Rechercheur Timothy Wilde weet door zijn werk als geen ander dat het kwaad nooit hetzelfde gezicht heeft. Of iemand nu zwart, Iers, Joods of blank is, iedereen die daartoe de noodzaak en de gelegenheid heeft, kan overgaan tot de criminaliteit. En wie op dat moment besluit op het rechte pad te blijven verdient de onvoorwaardelijke bescherming van zijn koperen ster.Timothy aarzelt daarom geen moment wanneer de prachtige mulattin Lucy Adams hem vraagt haar te helpen om drie vrije zwarten uit de klauwen van twee even meedogenloze als geslepen slavenhandelaars te redden. Hij ontdekt echter al snel dat hij zijn gekleurde medemens alleen kan helpen door zich ongewild aan de gevaarlijke andere zijde van de wet begeven – en de enige die hem daar de weg kan wijzen is zijn verslaafde broer Valentine, die hij al zijn hele leven veracht...Zeven is zwijgen is het spectaculaire vervolg op De goden van Gotham, vol charismatische personages en ingenieuze politieke intriges.

Před více než sto dvaceti lety zalehla londýnský Whitechapel noční můra. Zvěrstva, která páchá tajemný zabiják na prostitutkách, jsou neslýchaná a bezradný Scotland Yard hledá pomoc u Sherlocka Holmese. Jedině výstřední detektiv z Baker Street, chladnokrevný podivín s geniálním mozkem, se může postavit Jacku Rozparovači a rozluštit jeho tajemství. Ani v nejčernějším snu by ho však nenapadlo, že při svém pátrání bude muset bojovat s podezřením, že Jack Rozparovač je – on sám. Mrazivý příběh zaznamenaný z pohledu dr. Watsona není jen mimořádnou a věrnou poctou holmesovskému kánonu, ale především živoucím vyprávěním a atmosférickou detektivkou, odehrávající se ve stínu londýnských ulic a přísvitu plynových lamp. Lyndsay Faeyová dokonale propojila mýtus Velkého detektiva se skutečnými krvavými událostmi, k nimž kriminalistika dodnes hledá klíč.

Jetzt im Taschenbuch Ein neuer Fall für Timothy Wilde, den ersten Polizisten von New York: Dieses Mal geht es um die schöne Blumenverkäuferin Lucy Adams, deren Familie entführt wird, um politische Intrigen und um einen florierenden Sklaven- Schwarzhandel mitten im liberalen New York. Und um eine Leiche im Bett von Tims Bruder Valentine, seines Zeichens Polizei-Captain, Feuerwehrmann, korrupter Politiker, Frauenheld und noch einiges mehr. Um Valentine aus diesem Schlamassel herauszuziehen, begibt sich Tim auf eine riskante Gratwanderung zwischen Recht und Gesetz. Vom ›Wall Street Journal‹ zu einem der »zehn besten Kriminalromane des Jahres« gekürt.

New York, 1848. In een stad vol houten gebouwen bestaat er geen grotere vijand dan vuur. Als een pyromaan het ene na het andere gebouw afbrandt, beginnen rechercheur Timothy Wilde en zijn medeagenten dan ook aan een verwoede zoektocht naar de dader. Al snel blijkt dat alle afgebrande gebouwen eigendom waren van de rijke Robert Symmes. Alles wijst erop dat de brandstichter een van Symmes’ werkneemsters uit de Bowery is, waar fabrieksmeisjes onder mensonterende omstandigheden werken. De zaak wordt ineens persoonlijk als Timothy’s broer Valentine de race om het wethouderschap met Symmes aangaat. En ook de onverwachte terugkeer van een oude bekende geeft een nieuwe wending aan de zaak...

A. Davenport Lomax, a sublibrarian at the London Library, is married to an opera star who travels extensively with her troop while he remains in London with their daughter. Lomax''s skill at researching obscure topics brings him to an encounter with Mr. Theodore Grange, who is attempting to authenticate a very old manuscript which may be a copy of a book of incantations collected by the Queen of Sheba. Grange is a member of the Brotherhood of Solomon, a club dedicated to investigating the supernatural. He relates that the opening incantation warning away the impure of heart, is proof of the validity of the book for several members of the club have already sickened after investigating the manuscript.

New York, 1845. De ontmoeting van een van de eerste politieagenten van de stad met een 10-jarig kindhoertje vormt het begin van een zoektocht naar een seriemoordenaar van kinderen.