Reggie da Costa Mystery

Death is just a close shave away. It is February 1918. Somewhere in the bayside suburbs of Melbourne, the Death Mask Murderer is lurking, engaged in a ritualistic killing spree, shaving the heads of young women, strangling them and creating a gruesome memento of each in the form of a death mask. As a wild storm batters Brighton, Emma Hart, an aspiring artist, and Max Rushforth, a shell-shocked ex-soldier, take refuge in the cellar of a derelict mansion, the killer's lair and home to his sinister collection of plaster casts. With Max under the spotlight of the police investigation, Emma calls on the expertise of crime reporter, Reggie da Costa, and Dr. Silas Bacon, an expert in death masks, to prove his innocence, unaware that she, too, is in the killer's sights. Set in the dying days of the Great War, 'The Death Mask Murders' examines the treatment of soldiers suffering from 'shell shock' and grapples with the age-old question: Can a person be born evil?

It is October 1923. What looks like a routine report, on the heavy rains battering Melbourne, becomes another case of murder for The Argus's celebrated crime reporter, Reggie da Costa, devotee of fashionable suits and flamboyant automobiles. A flooded basement hides a ghastly secret: the decomposing remains of Cornelius Stout, a wealthy widower, who has been missing for over two years. With an unlikely partner in straitlaced Dotty Wright, Reggie pursues a cold-blooded, manipulative killer with deadly intentions. Deadly Intent is the second in the Reggie da Costa Mysteries.

A secret life exposed Melbourne, 1925. Reggie da Costa, The Argus's celebrated crime reporter, takes a break from investigating gangland crime to assist Ruby Rhodes, whose identical twin sister has died in mysterious circumstances. Together, they investigate how Katherine could afford a house, motorcar, expensive jewellery and a wardrobe of the latest fashions on the wages of a museum assistant. With Reggie's assistance and protection, Ruby assumes her sister's identity and infiltrates the illegal gambling dens and risqué social clubs of 1920s Melbourne to uncover the truth. A Deadly Game is the third in the Reggie da Costa Mysteries.

Lies + Deception = Murder Melbourne 1925. Jasper Fitzalan Howard is found stabbed to death in his room at The Hotel Windsor. In a bizarre twist, he is clutching a tarot card, the Ten of Swords, in his right hand. Initially, the police identify him as a wealthy investor and a cousin of the Duke of Norfolk. However, while investigating the murder, Reggie da Costa, The Argus's celebrated crime reporter, uncovers a web of lies and deception surrounding Howard's carefully constructed façade. It seems that Howard has engaged in swindling wealthy businessmen whilst blackmailing their wives, giving Reggie a host of suspects for the murder. Lies and Deception is the fourth in the Reggie da Costa Mysteries.

The blood-stained quill: murder and the poison pen Melbourne 1927. When the Poison Pen column in The Truth newspaper shames five members of the public, exposing their hypocrisy and lies, it barely raises a ripple of interest. But when three of them end up dead, each clutching a white feather, The Argus's senior crime reporter, Reggie da Costa, feels compelled to investigate. What is the connection between the anonymous Poison Pen and the people he ridicules: the president of the Melbourne Woman's Christian Temperance Union, a nurse, a politician, a doctor, and a priest? What is the significance of the white feather? Can Reggie unmask the Poison Pen and bring a murderer to justice? The White Feather Murders is the fifth in the Reggie da Costa Mysteries.