A Bespoke Murder
By (Author) Edward Marston
Allison & Busby
Allison & Busby
18th October 2012
22nd October 2012
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
823.914
Paperback
352
Width 129mm, Height 198mm
May 1915. With thousands of Britons fighting in the trenches, a severely depleted police force remains behind to keep the Home Front safe and continue the fight against crime, espionage, and military desertion. In London, Scotland Yard is already overstretched when the sinking of the Lusitania sparks an unprecedented wave of anti-German riots and arson attacks across the city. Among the victims are the immigrant tailor Jacob Stein, found dead in his burnt-out shop.
Initially Jacob's killing appears to be the tragic excess of wartime hysteria - but when it transpires that Jacob had been stabbed amidst the flames, his safe ransacked, and his daughter Ruth raped, the possibility that these assaults were long-premeditated crimes becomes unavoidable.
Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy must take on this case of cover-ups and contradictions and track down Jacob's killer and Ruth's assailants. As their hunt carries them from the crime-ridden streets of wartime London across the Channel to the chaos of the front line, the horrors of crime and policing at a time of total war are brought vividly to life.
'Cleverly plotted, well written and invoking the atmosphere of the time, I heartily recommend this book as an excellent read. I am delighted to see that this is the first in a new series and I look forward to the next one.' Lizzie Hayes, Mystery Women
Edward Marston was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre, and is a former chairman of the Crime Writers' Association.