Charles Dickens & Superintendent Sam Jones

A brutal murder in Victorian London forces a famous writer to solve the mystery . . . London, 1849 Charles Dickens has set up Urania Cottage as a sanctuary for fallen women. But he is shocked when the matron's assistant-Patience Brooke-is found hanging outside the property, covered in blood. Desperate to protect the reputation of the Home and to stop a scandal from spreading, Dickens takes the investigation into his own hands. With the help of his good friend, Superintendent Sam Jones of Bow Street, and a description of the suspect as 'a man with a crooked face', Dickens's search takes him deep into the filthy slums of Victorian London. Can Dickens save his reputation? Will he find out the secrets of Patience Brooke's troubled past? Or will the killer strike again . . . ?

Boys are going missing from London's slums . . . London, 1849 When a boy is found drowned in the River Thames at Hungerford Stairs, novelist Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones of Bow Street are mystified to discover that the child is not the missing youngster for whom they have been searching. As Dickens and Jones delve deeper into London's poverty-stricken backstreets, they stumble across two more bodies. A serial killer is on the loose. And Charles is terrified that someone close to him may be one of the victims. With a strange image of a mask sketched next to the corpses, could the murderer be leaving a trail for the detectives to follow . . . ? Or will the Death at Hungerford Stairs remain unsolved . . . ?

Dickens has gone from private investigator to prime suspect . . . London, 1850 Charles Dickens is in Manchester, performing at the Queen's Theatre with his acting group. But his career on the stage is cut short when a man is shot dead-on set. With Dickens himself caught with the gun in his hands, he is immediately arrested. Along with the help of his good friend Superintendent Sam Jones, Dickens must do all he can to find the real killer, before he is locked up for a crime he didn't commit. Can Dickens convince the authorities of his innocence? Will he unmask the true assassin? Or will there be another Murder by Ghostlight . . . ?