The Fatal Engine

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The Fatal Engine

As a harsh winter settles on Northminster, a reclusive inventor is found lying dead in his workshop in circumstances which suggest foul play, and Felix Carswell and Major Giles Vernon have a new investigation on their hands. They uncover a cut-throat world of technological rivalry, while the threat of industrial unrest hangs over the city, fuelled by bitter memories of a miscarriage of justice. Twenty years ago, followers of the radical agitator Crimson Mary were wrongfully hanged for machine breaking and now it seems that the mysterious Mary may soon return to take her revenge.

Celebrated author Oliver Truro has arrived in Northminster to research his new book, and he is soon beguiled into organising Twelfth Night theatricals for the beautiful young Mrs Carswell at Hawksby. But Truro has secrets and enemies, and his presence has unwelcome consequences for all around him, not least for Felix, who is forced into a terrible dilemma when matters come to a tragic head. Meanwhile, unexpected guests force themselves on Giles and Emma, in the form of her half-sister and her children, an event which brings not only tension between them but profound changes in their marriage.

In time, a dangerous enemy is revealed, and Carswell and Vernon face a race against time to avert a blood-stained Christmas.