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Victorian mystery fiction as you’ve never read it before
from well below stairs.
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The Belgravia Phantom
The Quill & Page Victorian Mysteries Book 1
by Ellis Blackwood
Genre: Historical Victorian Mystery
How do you prove you
didn’t scare Lady Pemberton to death with a phantom?
Such is Kate Quill’s quandary. The faked séance went horribly wrong, and now
Inspector Hartwell of Scotland Yard has her in his sights.
Kate’s poor. Seamstress poor. But what she lacks in the pocket, she makes up
for in allies.
There are her siblings. Daisy, the actress. Ned and Vi… There’s no way around
this – they’re petty thieves.
There’s Mrs McGinty, their formidable Irish landlady. There are Vi’s
Whitechapel Worthies, Little Till (adorable) and the Twins (quite odd).
And there is Frederick Page, former gentleman’s gentleman, chess aficionado,
lover of puzzles, and now reluctant partner in an unlikely Victorian detective
duo. Please, do not refer to him as Freddie, or he’ll be grasping for the
smelling salts.
Can this glorious rabble somehow band together to investigate all those lofty
lords and ladies who attended the séance?
And discover who really murdered Lady Dorothea Pemberton?
The Belgravia Phantom is the first in a series of irresistible Victorian murder
mysteries from the acclaimed author of the Samuel Pepys Mysteries. Expect
fiendish whodunits, singular characters and vivid history. Step into London’s
gaslit and swirling pea-soupers, and hear those click-clack footsteps
approach…
**New Release on July 31!**
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Ned and Vi belong to the evening, when the
naphtha lamps of the costermongers’ stalls hiss and flare, and all between is
subsumed in shadow. When the streets still throng with shoppers, and the trams
and cabs and omnibuses are lit by oil – white light, oncoming; red light,
receding – and Whitechapel Road feels interesting to know. When the cries of
the chestnut roasters, the fried-fish sellers and the pie-men create a
cacophony of distraction.
This is when they thrive.
They have their stomachs set on the hawker
of baked potatoes, with his lovingly polished can on four legs, its brass
plaque proclaiming: “Old Original Baked Potatoes”. The old man who ran the
stand for many a year lately died; his errant son has the business now, and
shows rather less aptitude for vigilance.
While Ned lurks in the background, Vi
sidles up. Her head tilts this way and that, apparently undecided. She plays
with an unseen coin in her hand. The bait.
Glowing charcoal lights the lad’s face
orange. He narrows eyes at her. Steam rises from his burner, and the earthy
aroma of the treasure within.
“What can I have for a ha’penny?” she asks.
It is all she could spare, but it should suffice if she plays it right.
He snorts. “On your way, missy. My prices
start at a penny and no less.”
She glances up and down the road, where the
sellers either side, of ham sandwiches, hot green peas and eels, have patrons
queueing.
He kicks a heel. It has not been easy,
taking over his father’s trade. The baker who roasts his hundredweights
recently upped his fee, and the locals whose custom the old man relied upon
have found new flavours elsewhere. Many deserted him for that other potato
hawker in Spitalfields.
As his gaze follows Vi’s, he licks his
lips. “S’pose I might be able to find a small one.”
He opens the wide half-lid, peers inside
debating, and picks out the smallest spud he can find.
“Butter and salt?” she asks innocently.
“For a ha’penny? Don’t push yer luck.”
As he hands over the plain fare, she
fumbles the coin. The tiniest flick of her thumb sends it skittering into a
gutter, his attention trapped on its progress. By the time he has retrieved it,
mumbling sourly, Ned has pounced and vanished, melting into the crowd. He moves
slickly for a big lad, even one cradling stolen potatoes in an untucked shirt.
“Sorry. Butterfingers.” Vi smiles,
savouring the spud’s warmth as she heads home.
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Ellis Blackwood writes very British historical mysteries:
fiendish whodunits packed with singular characters, vivid period detail and
plenty of wit. His completed nine-book Samuel Pepys Mysteries series is set in
17th century London. He is currently working on the Quill & Page Victorian
Mysteries, featuring a found family of East End misfits investigating the
crimes of the upper classes who cast them out.
A former journalist, Ellis wrote features for the UK’s most
popular national newspapers and magazines before escaping to Cornwall with his
wife, two daughters and Spike the dog. He holds an MA in Comedy Writing, which
explains a lot.
He grew up on The Hardy Boys and Three Investigators,
graduated to Sherlock Holmes, and has never quite recovered from Columbo. He
prefers writing female sleuths, with the odd chap thrown in, and is firmly
convinced that historical settings are simply more fascinating.
“Absolutely fabulous, reek of authenticity, full of
intrigue and fun” – Amazon review of the Samuel Pepys Mysteries
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