A gripping 1920s-set whodunnit, this debut features a queer sleuth who must solve a murder in a mansion on London's Hampstead Heath without revealing his sexuality, lest he be arrested as a criminal. The first of the Selby Bigge mysteries, it will leave readers eager for the next installment. Perfect for fans of Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey novels.
London, 1929.
Selby Bigge is a bank clerk by day and a denizen of the capital's queer underworld by night, but he yearns for a life that will take him away from his ledgers, loveless trysts and dreary bedsit in in which his every move is scrutinised by a nosy landlady. So when he meets Patrick, son of knight of the realm and banking millionaire Sir Lionel Duker, he is delighted to find himself catapulted into a world of dinners at The Ritz and birthday parties at his new friend's family mansion on Hampstead Heath.
But money, it seems, can't buy happiness. Sir Lionel is being slandered in the press, his new young wife Lucinda is being harassed by an embittered journalist and Patrick is worried he'll lose his inheritance to his gold-digging stepmother. And when someone is found strangled on the billiards room floor after a party it doesn't take long for Selby to realise everyone has a motive for murder.
Can Selby uncover the truth while keeping his own secrets buried? Robert Holtom is an award-winning playwright, based in London. Their play 'Dumbledore Is So Gay' won a VAULT Festival Origins Award for new work and an Offies Commendation in 2020. It played on The Pleasance main stage in 2021, received five stars from the Daily Express, Broadway World and Theatre Weekly, and a new production had a successful run at the Southwark Playhouse in 2023. Twitter/X: @Robert_Holtom
