On 6 December 1886, Arthur Foster leaves the Queen’s Theatre, Manchester with a pocket full of gold and a lady bedecked with diamonds on his arm. He hails a hansom cab unaware that a detective has been trailing him as he crisscrossed the streets of the city. As the cab pulls away, the detective slips inside and arrests the infamous ‘Birmingham Forger.’

The detective is Jerome Caminada, legendary policeman and Victorian super-sleuth. A master of disguise with a keen eye for detail and ingenious methods of detection, Caminada is at the top of his game, tracking notorious criminals through the seedy streets of Manchester’s underworld. Relentless in his pursuit, he stalks pickpockets and poisoners, unscrupulous con artists and cold blooded murderers. His groundbreaking detective work leads to the unravelling of classic crime cases such as the Manchester Cab Mystery in 1889, secret government missions and a deadly confrontation with his arch-rival, a ruthless and violent thief.

Caminada’s compelling story bears all the hallmarks of Arthur Conan Doyle and establishes this indefatigable investigator as one of the most formidable detectives of the Victorian era and a real-life Sherlock Holmes.