A Victorian Murder Mystery.
Slaughter on the Serpentine . . .
London, 1890, and Thomas Pitt's promotion to Superintendent of Bow Street is as bad as he's feared. He must delegate to resentful colleagues as the most horrific killings since the Whitechapel Murders terrorise the city, beginning with the discovery of a headless body on the Serpentine. Is there a madman on the rampage?
Meanwhile, the Assistant Commissioner is rampaging around Pitt's office, demanding results, or else more heads will roll. Pitt's instincts tell him that there is more to it than a lunatic at large. Yet, despite his unmatchable detective skills, there is no evidence.
For once, Charlotte Pitt is too busy to help her husband. Her brother-in-law is standing for Parliament; her mother is unsuitably fond of a young actor; and, most important, the Pitts are to move house. But in the panic of packing, it is Charlotte who happens upon a startling solution . . .