A corpse in a corset. A dangerous gambling den. A perilous path between safety and evil.
London, 1905. Leading milliner Emily Gatesβ illegal shortcut through a private park in the rain brought her straight to a scantily clothed corpse. Then her route took her straight into the hands of indefatigable Lady Kaldaire, who recognized the body as a relative of her longtime friend, the Duchess of Wallingford. Lady Kaldaire blackmailed Emily before to find Lord Kaldaireβs killer. Why not this murderer, too?
Emily has plenty of reasons why not, but finding links between her fatherβs nefarious family of crooks and conmen and the debauchery of the secretive Marlowe Club involves her in the investigation led by the handsome Inspector Russell of Scotland Yard. Emily discovers more than she expects about the licentious world of the corpse through her aristocratic customers, including Georgia, heroine of the Victorian Bookshop Mysteries, now the Duchess of Blackford.
Are the scandal rags correct, or has the victim been maligned by a mastermind whoβll stop at nothing to gain everything?