Lizzie Hardwicke

London's streets are sinister. But what if the real danger lies closer to home? London, June 1759. When a charmless civil servant takes his own life, few are interested in his death. But Lizzie Hardwicke, who plies her trade in the brothels of London whilst also working as an undercover sleuth for the magistrate, can see no reason why a man who had everything to look forward to would wish to end his life. Lizzie's search for answers takes her from the smoke-filled rooms of fashionable gambling houses, where politicians mix ambition with pleasure, to the violent streets of Soho, ready to erupt with riots in the sultry summer heat. All the while, she is navigating her complicated feelings for the magistrate's trusted assistant, Will Davenport, and a disturbing situation at home. Then a gambling house owner is brutally murdered, and Lizzie finds herself tangled in a chaos that she cannot control. The darkest of secrets threatens to turn Davenport against her forever; its exposure will send her to the gallows. The third instalment of the gripping and vividly imagined historical mystery series set in 18th century London.

Blood may be thicker than water, but is family more important than the truth? London, August 1759. Lizzie Hardwicke, society harlot and occasional investigator for the magistrate, is shaken by an encounter with her estranged brother during a riotous evening hosted by the notorious Devil's Brotherhood. Beyond the opulence of this Mayfair party, a streetwalker is found strangled on the doorstep of a well-known moral campaigner, her cheek branded with the letter V. When more girls are discovered dead and similarly marked, Lizzie fears that someone stalks the streets with a violent hatred of women, and as the evidence begins to point to her own brother, any remaining family loyalty she has is severely tested. Her past catches up with her and her future becomes increasingly dangerous, yet Lizzie is still unaware of darker plots being hatched in the shadows by those who wish to silence her for good. This time, the consequences of her investigations will lead her to a place where even Will Davenport, the one man she trusts, won't be able to find her.