Inspector of the Dead: Thomas and Emily De Quincey 2 (Victorian De Quincey mysteries)

Master storyteller David Morrell . . . thrills us with heart-pounding suspense while tugging at our emotions. * Tess Gerritsen * A titan among thriller writers. * Joseph Finder * Nobody does this better than David Morrell * Lee Child * The father of the modern action novel * Vince Flynn * An absolute master of the thriller * Dean Koontz * A master of suspense....If you're reading Morrell, you're sitting on the edge of your seat. * Michael Connelly * The finest thriller writer living today, bar none. * Steve Berry * David Morrell fans - and they are Legion - can look forward to celebrating Murder As a Fine Art as one of their favorite author's strongest and boldest books in years. -- Dan Simmons, author of Drood Brilliant. Everything works - the horrifying depiction of the murders, the asides explaining the impact of train travel on English society, nail-biting action sequences - making this book an epitome of the intelligent page-turner. * Publishers Weekly * Masterful...brilliantly plotted....evokes 1854 London with such finesse that you'll hear the hooves clattering on cobblestones * Entertainment Weekly * Shockingly real...Morrell's thorough and erudite research of the people and culture of the British Empire's heyday informs every page. A literary thriller that pushes the envelope of fear * Associated Press * [An] exceptional historical mystery...page-flipping action, taut atmosphere, and multifaceted characters * Booklist * A terrific read. As one would expect of Morrell, it is compulsive and thrilling, but its use of de Quincey also allows for discursions that are both funny and touching - de Quincey and his daughter are great additions to the detective stage, and I hope we will have a lot more of them to come. -- Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder A gaslit gallop through Victorian London * Financial Times * Praise for David Morrell * . * Murder as a Fine Art was fantastic, and Inspector of the Dead is even better...Morrell is darkly inventive with the murders and cleverly mines very real history...The author brings each character back to life, and they spring fully formed from the page...I dare you to put this down once you've picked it up! * My Bookish Ways * A feat of brilliant storytelling * Huffington Post * Morrell expertly captures in prose the economic and political divisions of Victorian society, but he leavens his social commentary with moments of high adventure. * Kirkus Reviews * Riveting! With this mesmerizing series, David Morrell doesn't just delve into the world of Victorian England - he delves into the heart of evil, pitting one man's opium-skewed brilliance against a society where appearances are everything...and the most vicious killers lurk closer than anyone thinks. -- Lisa Gardner, author of Fear Nothing

The year is 1855. The Crimean war is raging. The British government has fallen. The Empire itself hangs in the balance. Into this crisis comes Thomas De Quincey, one of the most notorious personalities of Victorian England. Along with his irrepressible daughter Emily, and their Scotland Yard companions, Ryan and Becker, he finds himself confronted by an adversary who aims to strike at the heart of the nation. The murderer is targeting members of the elite, leaving with each corpse the name of someone who had attempted to kill Queen Victoria. De Quincey and his friends must race to protect their monarch, uncovering old conspiracies and the heartbreaking past of a man whose lust for revenge has destroyed his soul. All the while, panic in London grows... Brilliantly merging historical fact with fiction, Inspector of the Dead is based on actual attempts to assassinate the Queen.