‘So evocative of Victorian London that you’ll be brushing Tom Wasp’s soot from your shoulders’ - Debbie Young, bestselling author of the Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries.

‘Tom Wasp is one of the most engaging characters I’ve encountered in years’ - Ellen Keith, Historical Novels Review.

Tom Wasp scrapes a living as a chimney sweep, aided by his young assistant, Ned. While the gap between rich and poor is unmistakable in Victorian London, Tom carves out a happy enough life and has plenty of friends, including Clara, the comely landlady of Dolly’s Chop House.

So when one of Clara’s patrons is found murdered on her premises, Tom is quick to help, calling on his connections in the police force. Soon it becomes clear that Mr Harcourt’s murder is not merely due to his philandering ways, but is part of something much more literary…

Who are the Tarton Ordinaries and how are they linked to the death at Dolly’s? Who really owns the mystery manuscript? And why are Tom’s friend Phineas and Clara’s beautiful daughter Hetty involved?

It is up to Tom to find out what links an obscure Elizabethan actor with a slew of nineteenth century deaths in this absorbing and whimsical whodunit.

Amy Myers has been a full-time writer since 1988, and has written a wide range of novels from historical sagas and contemporary romance to crime. Amy is also the author of the popular cozy mystery series featuring father and daugher detective team, Peter and Georgia Marsh.