The Skeleton Army
By (Author) Alis Hawkins
Canelo
Canelo Crime
31st December 2024
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Crime and mystery: private investigator / amateur detectives
Crime and mystery: hard-boiled crime, noir fiction
Crime and mystery: women sleuths
Thriller: serial killers
Psychological thriller
Historical fiction
Narrative theme: Health and illness
Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss
Narrative theme: Politics
Paperback
432
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 25mm
Why should the devil have all the best tunes
The Salvation Army has come prancing and singing from the slums of London to the poorest quarters of Oxford, but along with its red hot gospel preaching and music hall songs it brings a prohibition message which sparks immediate opposition and violence.
An Army soldier an ex-drunk is brutally killed and a note suggests that the Salvation Armys shadowy enemy, the Skeleton Army, is responsible.
With the police unwilling to come between the two forces, Non Vaughan, aspiring journalist and great hope of the Oxford womens college movement, and Basil Rice, Jesus College fellow and union-sanctioned guardian of the dead mans family, are compelled to investigate.
But as the threats from both sides escalate, resulting in a second death, Non and Basil realise that they must stop the fighting before it results in an outright war. For with the Universitys annual commemoration week fast approaching, the entire city could be engulfed in fire and blood
An utterly compelling historical mystery, and a fascinating portrait of Victorian Oxford, perfect for fans of Andrew Taylor, C. J. Sansom and Antonia Hodgson.
A former speech and language therapist and current freelance writer and editor, Alis Hawkins is a founding member of Welsh crime writers collective, Crime Cymru, and chair of Waless only crime fiction festival, Gyl CRIME CYMRU Festival. She has twice been shortlisted for the CWA's Historical Dagger.