Summer, 1840.   Edgar Allan Poe arrives in London to meet his friend C. Auguste Dupin, in the hope that the great detective will help him solve a family mystery. Poe has inherited a mahogany box containing letters that implicate his grandparents in scandalous crimes committed by the so-called London Monster who from 1788 – 1790 terrorised the city’s streets, stalking attractive, well-to-do young women, slicing their clothing and derrières. Unable, or perhaps unwilling, to accept that his grandparents – actors who struggled to make a living on the London stage – led a clandestine double life, Poe sets out to prove the missives forgeries. But as he and Dupin delve deeper into the city’s secrets, they start to suspect that they too are being watched and preyed upon. And if they are, might their stalkers be connected to the London Monster?

A twisty tale based on true eighteenth century crimes, the first of a trilogy featuring sleuthing duo Poe and Dupin.