The Empress Murders
By (Author) Toby Schmitz
Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin
29th April 2025
Australia
General
Fiction
Historical fiction
Paperback
384
Width 153mm, Height 234mm
444g
Everyone is in peril. Everyone is a suspect.
It's 1925 and the Empress of Australia is making her regular Atlantic crossing, New York-bound, with a full manifest of passengers.
When a dead body is uncovered onboard, it is up to Inspector Archie Daniels to find the killer. But solving one murder quickly turns into solving two, then three, and it becomes clear that Daniels must act fast to avoid an all-souls-lost-level calamity. No one, from the horrendously wealthy and entitled first-class passengers to what they would consider the dregs of empire below deck, is safe. And no one can get off . . .
The Empress Murders is a razor-sharp, mind-bendingly clever novel that is both a witty, bloodthirsty whodunnit and an excoriating look at the excesses of the British Empire, just as the sun begins to set on it.
Toby Schmitz is a writer, director and actor. He was most recently seen on television in Boy Swallows Universe and on stage in Gaslight. He has received nominations for his performances in The Seagull, Thyestes, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, Ruben Guthrie and The Great. His television credits include The Twelve and Black Sails. He is also a celebrated playwright. His plays include Degenerate Art, I Want to Sleep With Tom Stoppard and Capture the Flag. He was awarded the Patrick White Award for his play Lucky.