Tis the season of goodwill, and Dickens extends the hand of friendship to a stranded stranger and his nephews for Christmas, with deadly consequences . . .
"The ingenious solution to the mystery makes this the series' best entry yet. Victorian whodunit fans are in for a treat" Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Wilkie Collins is looking forward to spending Christmas at Gads Hill, Charles Dickens' Kentish country home, but the festivities are cut short when a body is found on the snowy marshland. Timmy O'Connor was invited to the gathering with his four nephews after a chance encounter with Dickens, but is now dead.
Dickens is convinced the murderer is one of the convicts from a nearby prison ship, but Collins is not so sure. Who was this mysterious and unpleasant stranger from Cork who turned Christmas cheer to fear? With the convicts, guests and even Timmy's nephews under suspicion, there is no shortage of suspects for such a violent act, but which one of them is a cold-blooded killer?
Industry Reviews
The ingenious solution to the mystery makes this the series' best entry yet. Victorian whodunit fans are in for a treat * Publishers Weekly Starred Review *
Entertaining, atmospheric . . . [A] dark tale of cruelty, greed, and revenge * Booklist *
Victorian whodunits don't get much better than this * Publishers Weekly Starred Review of Spring of Hope *
A period mystery bolstered by an exciting mix of imagination and historical truth * Kirkus Reviews on Spring of Hope *
Cleverly plotted, deftly written, with vivid characters, rich period ambience, and gentle humor, Harrison's latest is sure to please fans of historical mysteries * Booklist on Spring of Hope *
Subtle humor, period ambience, skulduggery, larger-than-life characters, a clever plot, and a satisfying ending * Booklist on Summer of Secrets *
An inspired premise and compelling characters make the third in this series the best to date * Kirkus Reviews on Summer of Secrets *
Superior plotting and characterization ... Fans of Harrison's Burren mysteries will be pleased * Publishers Weekly Starred Review of Winter of Despair *
A surprising conclusion, coupled with vivid characters, authentic period details, and a constantly zigzagging plot, makes this a good choice for fans of historical murder mysteries * Booklist on Season of Darkness *
The Victorian atmosphere is thick enough to cut with a knife. The real triumph is Harrison's Dickens: sublimely conceited, short-tempered, self-dramatizing, often bombastic * Kirkus Reviews on Season of Darkness *