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The notorious Opium-Eater returns in the sensational climax to David Morrell’s acclaimed Victorian mystery trilogy.
Ruler of the Night blends fact and fiction to an exceptional degree, this time focusing on an actual Victorian murder so startling that it changed the culture – in this case, the first murder on an English train, its brutality stoking fears that the newly invented railway would, as one newspaper predicted, ‘annihilate time and space.’
As they track the killer through the harrowing fogbound streets of 1855 London Thomas De Quincey and his irrepressible daughter, Emily, confront their most ruthless enemy. The stakes couldn’t be greater: both the heart of Victorian society and De Quincey’s tormented soul.
The fast-paced narrative matches the speed with which the railway changed Victorian life as master storyteller David Morrell transports readers back in time, away from the modern world and into the dangerous shadows of the past.
Ruler of the Night blends fact and fiction to an exceptional degree, this time focusing on an actual Victorian murder so startling that it changed the culture – in this case, the first murder on an English train, its brutality stoking fears that the newly invented railway would, as one newspaper predicted, ‘annihilate time and space.’
As they track the killer through the harrowing fogbound streets of 1855 London Thomas De Quincey and his irrepressible daughter, Emily, confront their most ruthless enemy. The stakes couldn’t be greater: both the heart of Victorian society and De Quincey’s tormented soul.
The fast-paced narrative matches the speed with which the railway changed Victorian life as master storyteller David Morrell transports readers back in time, away from the modern world and into the dangerous shadows of the past.
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Reviews
A gaslit gallop through Victorian London
Riveting! With this mesmerizing series, David Morrell doesn't just delve into the world of Victorian England - he delves into the heart of evil, pitting one man's opium-skewed brilliance against a society where appearances are everything...and the most vicious killers lurk closer than anyone thinks.
Praise for David Morrell
The finest thriller writer living today, bar none.
A master of suspense....If you're reading Morrell, you're sitting on the edge of your seat.
An absolute master of the thriller
Nobody does this better than David Morrell
A titan among thriller writers.
The father of the modern action novel
Master storyteller David Morrell . . . thrills us with heart-pounding suspense while tugging at our emotions.
A terrific read. As one would expect of Morrell, it is compulsive and thrilling, but its use of de Quincey also allows for discursions that are both funny and touching - de Quincey and his daughter are great additions to the detective stage, and I hope we will have a lot more of them to come.
David Morrell fans - and they are Legion - can look forward to celebrating Murder As a Fine Art as one of their favorite author's strongest and boldest books in years.
[An] exceptional historical mystery...page-flipping action, taut atmosphere, and multifaceted characters
Shockingly real...Morrell's thorough and erudite research of the people and culture of the British Empire's heyday informs every page. A literary thriller that pushes the envelope of fear
Masterful...brilliantly plotted....evokes 1854 London with such finesse that you'll hear the hooves clattering on cobblestones
Brilliant. Everything works - the horrifying depiction of the murders, the asides explaining the impact of train travel on English society, nail-biting action sequences - making this book an epitome of the intelligent page-turner.
Morrell expertly captures in prose the economic and political divisions of Victorian society, but he leavens his social commentary with moments of high adventure.
A feat of brilliant storytelling
Murder as a Fine Art was fantastic, and Inspector of the Dead is even better...Morrell is darkly inventive with the murders and cleverly mines very real history...The author brings each character back to life, and they spring fully formed from the page...I dare you to put this down once you've picked it up!
Spectacular...The narrative builds to a powerful but bittersweet ending that will leave readers hoping that Morrell eventually chooses to resurrect this superb series.
A complex, top-notch mystery, with a large cast of characters and multiple, interwoven plotlines...Philosophical, uncannily perceptive De Quincey competes well with Sherlock Holmes for brilliance despite drug use
A cracking yarn, irresistible as an emergency bottle of laudanum secreted in a shabby coat pocket. Richly detailed and engrossing; Morrell animates the Victorian era and delivers genre thrills with rare style and panache
Stellar writing and storytelling...Real historical figures mix with the heroes, and the thriller elements are both terrifying and grotesque. Morrell's impeccable research shines