“A lively, entertaining blend of murder mystery and supernatural adventure . . . Arthur Conan Doyle would have approved.”—George R. R. Martin

Should you find yourself in need of a discreet investigation into any sort of mystery, crime or puzzling circumstances, think of Jesperson and Lane . . .

Jesperson and Lane have just solved their first major case when a man bangs violently on their door - and almost immediately drops dead. The police rule death by natural causes, but the detectives are determined to find out what really happened . . . Mr Manning was screaming about witches before his death.

The case takes them to Mr Manning’s Norfolk home, a land of mysterious Shrieking Pits and ancient knowledge. Mr Manning was himself a member of the enigmatic School of Ancient British Wisdom, and not the first to suffer a similar fate. Local gossip suggests that he was secretly engaged to one of the three lovely sisters who reside at Wayside Cross - but which one? Are they really witches, as the gossips also claim? And what does all this have to do with the mysterious Shrieking Pits and a mother desperate to find her missing baby? Jesperson and Lane, at your service.

The sequel to The Curious Affair of the Somnambulist and the Psychic Thief, this terribly witty Victorian series of adventures is perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Philip Pullman’s Sally Lockhart novels and Penny Dreadful.