Overview

""Brennan impresses with this atmospheric whodunit"" - Publishers Weekly ""A series of grisly murders disrupts Victorian London's covert gay scene in Brennan's historical thriller"" (Kirkus Reviews), stirring an obsessive hunt for clues and culprits in this ""rich, dark mystery"" (Kirkus Reviews) from the Lambda Literary Award-nominated author of LOOSE LIPS. The year is 1888, it's Ripper murders in the capital as the New World flaunts a Gilded Age. In London, best men seek solace in the gentlemen's clubs, away places catering to their every interest. Sizar's is a secret one, a new-club breed that lures athletic workhouse lads with the bait of a better life. But when a pledge gets dead-snagged under West Pier, a Scotland Yard detective hunts for clues. Scandals wash in, bodies mount, boys clash in jealous pursuit, death keeps things fresh and gone ones haunt as five men tell the tale of the curious case of the beautiful creature under the pier.

Full Product Details

9780645555363

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""Brennan has constructed an immersive puzzle, one that delights in shattering Victorian facades of class and propriety with sex and blood. ... a fascinating look into the strange, lost world [of] gentleman's clubs and the young men ensnared in their customs. A rich, dark mystery set in repressed 19th-century London."" - Kirkus Reviews"

""Brennan (Loose Lips) impresses with this atmospheric whodunit set against the backdrop of Jack the Ripper's killing spree in 1888 London. Rather than the mean streets of Whitechapel, however, Brennan focuses on ""the golden age of the gentleman's club,"" the most notorious of which is Sizar's, an establishment whose members are ""soilingly, ruinously ungentlemanly"" in their sexual proclivities. ... Brennan's reveals, when they come, are plenty shocking, but the narrative's main strength is its vivid portrayal of a segment of Victorian society rarely depicted in mysteries. This illuminates a dark corner of British history, with grimly satisfying results."" - Publishers Weekly ""Brennan has constructed an immersive puzzle, one that delights in shattering Victorian facades of class and propriety with sex and blood. ... a fascinating look into the strange, lost world [of] gentleman's clubs and the young men ensnared in their customs. A rich, dark mystery set in repressed 19th-century London."" - Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Joseph Brennan, PhD was a Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Romance and Erotica for his debut novel Loose Lips: A Gay Sea Odyssey. This is his second novel. Discover more at josephbrennan.com

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available