The Man in Black: A compelling, twisty historical crime novel Lynn Shepherd 9781804360286

'A grisly period detective story.' The Times

London, 1850: The Dickensian streets grow darker by the day.

Private investigator Charles Maddox is surprised when he is approached by Edward Tulkinghorn for help. The feared and shadowy attorney offers Charles a handsome price he can't refuse to do some sleuthing for a client. Charles learns that Sir Julius Cremorne has been receiving threatening letters, and now Tulkinghorn wants him to find and stop whoever is responsible.

But what starts as a simple, open-and-shut case swiftly escalates into something bigger and much darker. As he cascades toward a collision with powerful forces, Charles will need all the assistance he can get...

The Man in Black takes a classic Charles Dickens novel and plummets readers into a newly reimagined and mysterious world. Fans of The Confessions of Frannie Langton and Stacey Halls will love this.

Previously published as The Solitary House.

Readers are loving The Man in Black:

'An intelligent and gripping post-modern crime novel. Beautifully written and cleverly plotted.' Lancashire Post

'You'll be guaranteed to enjoy.' Guardian

'This is a wonderful mystery... It has a dark Victorian tone, and is a gripping story. If you like literary historical mysteries, this is for you.' Reader Review

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Lynn Shepherd writes 'literary mysteries' - in other words, one part literary fiction to one part mystery, each time inspired either by a classic book or classic literary figures. The Mansfield Park Murder and The Man in Black, based on Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and Charles Dickens' Bleak House are publishing June 2022, with two more titles inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula coming in September 2022. After studying English at university she decided to combine her two greatest literary loves: classic English novels and a good detective fiction, and hasn't put down her pen since.