Knives Out meets Sherlock in the must-read historical murder mystery from the Times bestselling author of The Murder at World's End, for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Tom Hindle and Janice Hallett.

London, 1911. Coronation fever. Suffragette unrest. A city crackling with tension.

When a policeman is found brutally murdered on the streets of Kensington, blame falls on the three women seen fleeing the scene.

Their sole witness? Stephen Pike: ex-borstal boy, under-butler extraordinaire and assistant to the most unconventional detective in London, Miss Decima Stockingham. Sharp-tongued, fearless and bored of behaving herself, she’s the only one able to see that this case is not what it seems.

Aided by an invisible network of maids – their eyes and ears in every house in London – this unlikely duo must catch the killer before time runs out. But in a city dazzled by ceremony and divided by change, you never know what might be lurking in the shadows…

'I can't wait for the next book in this stunning new series' Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal

'This is going to be a great series. Do yourself a favour - get in on the ground floor' Abir Mukherjee, bestselling author of the Wyndham & Banerjee series

'A slice of undiluted joy. I'm agog for book 2!' Alex Hay, author of The Housekeepers

'This series promises to be a lot of fun' Guardian

© Ross Montgomery 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026