Draught of Death (Constable Crime) Book

The 16th Victorian mystery to feature Sergeant Bragg and Constable Morton of the City of London police is set around University College, London and a City Brewery. A distinguished professor has been found dead in a vat of beer while carrying out his research and although it seems to be nothing more than an accident, the pathologist has other ideas. Ray Harrison's imagery draws a supremely lifelike picture of Victorian London while his character portrayals and story line combine all manner of remarkably modern issues. You can almost hear hansom cabs clattering along cobbled streets and smell the smoke from a million belching City chimneys, as academic rivalries and boardroom feuds jostle with adultery (both male and female) and, inevitably, murder most foul. For goodness sake, there's even a career girl who wants to continue her work as a reporter after marriage into the aristocracy--these 1890s could just as easily be our 1990s. Yet Harrison¹s tale is convincing--and surprising. His gruff, working-class Sergeant Bragg is a likely foil to the distinctly upper-class Morton whose off-duty life is spent playing cricket, for England no less. Here's hoping the pair continue to find themselves working together on many more intriguing cases. --Carey GreenRead More