Description

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Award-winning author Laura Joh Rowland is back with the seventh in her critically acclaimed Victorian mystery series in which Sarah Bain Barrett is pitted against a true-crime serial killer who may have ties to Jack the Ripper.

London, April 1891. When the severed torso of a woman washes up on the bank of the river Thames, London believes a serial killer from the past has struck again. Crime photographer and investigator Sarah Bain Barrett is on the scene with her friends Mick O’Reilly and Lord Hugh Staunton. This is their chance to solve a grisly cold case and deliver a monster to belated justice, with help from Sarah’s husband Detective Sergeant Thomas Barrett; her sister Sally Albert, an intrepid newspaper reporter; and Hugh’s psychologist, Dr. Joshua Lewes, who’s a pioneer in the new science of criminal profiling. But the opportunity brings troubles galore: Sarah and her husband can’t agree on what direction their inquiries should take. Barrett favors concentrating on two shady characters he knows from his days a a patrol constable in Whitechapel, while Sarah suspects the charismatic leader of a polygamous religious sect from which at least one woman has gone missing. Their discord threatens not only the investigation but their marriage.
 
To complicate matters, Sarah’s bitter enemy, Inspector Reid, is leading the police’s hunt for the killer they’re calling the Torso Murderer. Obsessed with the Ripper case and his own failure to solve it, he thinks the Ripper and the Torso Murderer are one and the same person—a notion that could steer the police investigation disastrously off course. Hot in pursuit of the killer, Reid is also hell-bent on discovering what Sarah and company have been hiding about the Ripper.
 
The Torso Murder case threatens to expose a dangerous truth, tear apart Sarah’s close-knit band of comrades, and send them to the gallows before they can put the killer out of action.

About the Author

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Laura Joh Rowland is the award-winning author of the samurai detective Sano Ichiro mystery series set in 17th century Japan, as well as a historical suspense series starring Charlotte Bronte. Her work has been published in 21 countries; nominated for the Anthony Award, the Hammett Prize, and the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award; won RT Magazine's Reader's Choice Award; and been included in the Wall Street Journal's list of the five best historical mystery novels. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan. She is a former aerospace scientist, a painter, and a cartoonist. She lives in New York City with her husband Marty.

Praise For…

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Praise for River of Fallen Angels:
“Rich characters, a you-are-there sense of realism, [and] a captivating story . . . A must-read for both the author’s fans and all lovers of Victorian mysteries.”
—Booklist, starred review
 
“A brisk, atmospheric whodunit.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Rowland excels at evoking the bleak atmosphere of late Victorian London.”
—Historical Novel Society

“A solid mystery . . . Fans of the series will not be disappointed.”
—Red Carpet Crash

Praise for the Victorian mysteries:
“Gritty, imaginative, and full of nail-biting suspense."
—Tasha Alexander, New York Times bestselling author

"Laura Joh Rowland was able to bring Victorian England into such vivid life, and a story we all know into new relief. This is a fantastic read."
—Charles Finch, bestselling author of The Inheritance

“A dark, seductive peek into the dangerous underbelly of Victorian London.”
—C.S. Harris, bestselling author of the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries

“Tense, pacy and compelling."
—Stephen Gallagher, critically acclaimed author of The Kingdom of Bones and The Bedlam Detective

"Rowland knows just how to [put] a new twist on old tropes with her witty sleuth, while never sacrificing historical integrity."
—Library Journal starred review
 
“The characters are beautifully drawn; the dialogue sparkles; the setting is vividly rendered."
—Booklist starred review

“Rowland’s Victorian London is fascinating and her team of irregulars unmatched."
—Kirkus Reviews

“Well-crafted...Rowland blends acute psychological observation and meticulous historical research to explore the conflicts faced by an independent woman in Victorian society.”
—Publishers Weekly