A killer takes refuge in the blacked-out streets of wartime London, upending the world of one of Britainβs greatest painters in this chilling and captivating reimagining of the life of Francis Bacon**
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Francis Bacon walks the streets of World War II London, employed as a warden for the ARP to keep watch for activities that might tip off the Axis powers. Before the war, Bacon had travelled to Berlin and Paris picking up snatches of culture from a succession of middle-aged men charmed by his young face. Known for his flamboyant personal life and expensive taste, Bacon has returned home to live with his former nannyβwhoβs also his biggest collectorβin a cramped bohemian apartment.
But one night, death intrudes on his after-hours paradise. When a young man is found dead in the park, his head smashed in, Bacon and the rest of Londonβs demimonde realize that they have much more to fear than the faraway scream of war.
Review
βLaw does a bangup job of recreating London during the Blitz and portraying real-life artist Francis Bacon as an unlikely sleuth.β β Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Janice Law (b. 1941) is an acclaimed author of mystery fiction. The Watergate scandal inspired her to write her first novel, The Big Payoff (1977), which introduced Anna Peters, a street-smart young woman who blackmails her boss, a corrupt oil executive. The novel was a success, winning an Edgar nomination, and Law went on to write eight more in the series, including Death Under Par (1980) and Cross-Check (1997).
After Death Under Par , Law set aside the character for several years to write historical mysteries The Countess(1989) and All the Kingβs Ladies (1986). After concluding the Peters series, she wrote three stand-alone suspense novels: The Night Bus (2000), The Lost Diaries of Iris Weed (2002), and Voices (2003). Since then, Law has focused on writing short stories, many of which appear in Ellery Queenβs Mystery Magazine. Prisoner of the Riviera (2013) is her most recent novel. She lives and writes in Connecticut.