Cruel murder, dangerous lies and a poisonous truth: a fast-paced historical thriller in the bestselling tradition of CJ Sansom and Matthew Pearl

Death at the Carnival: riddle, ritual and murder

Shrove Tuesday, 1783. While the nobility dance at a masked ball, beautiful Lady Martesen is murdered. Daniel Clode is found by her body, his wrists slit and his memories nightmarish. What has he done? Harriet Westerman and Gabriel Crowther race to the Duchy of Maulberg to save Daniel from the executioner's axe. There they find a capricious Duke on the point of marriage, a court consumed by luxury and intrigue, and a bitter enemy from the past. After another cruel death, they must discover the truth, no matter how horrific it is. Does the answer lie with the alchemist seeking the elixir of life? With the automata makers in the Duke's fake rural idyll? Or in the poisonous lies oozing around the court as the elite strive for power?

"'Imogen Robertson mixes the crime and historical genres into an intriguing book that will keep you entertained from the first page to the last. She is certainly a name to be watched'" - Yorkshire Gazette and Herald

"'Matchless storytelling, gripping and moving in equal measure. Addictive'" - Nicci French

"'Chillingly memorable...an extraordinary thriller'" - Tess Gerritsen

"This series, launched after Robertson won a Telegraph writing competition, continues to excel'" - Daily Telegraph