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Fiction Historical

A Gentleman's Murder

by (author) Christopher Huang

Publisher
Inkshares
Initial publish date
Jul 2018
Category
Historical, Suspense, Amateur Sleuth
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781942645955
    Publish Date
    Jul 2018
    List Price
    $19.99
  • CD-Audio

    ISBN
    9781721355334
    Publish Date
    Oct 2018
    List Price
    $21.99

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Description

Named a 2018 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist

Now in development for television with Endeavor Content

"Huang's impressive debut will delight fans of golden age detective fiction." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Dorothy Sayers is alive and well and writing under the name of Christopher Huang." —Rhys Bowen, New York Times-bestselling author of The Tuscan Child

"A must read for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry." —Daryl Maxwell, Los Angeles Public Library

"Will please fans of both Agatha Christie and Gillian Flynn." —Sarah Nivala, Book Soup

The year is 1924. The cobblestoned streets of St. James ring with jazz as Britain races forward into an age of peace and prosperity. London's back alleys, however, are filled with broken soldiers and still enshadowed by the lingering horrors of the Great War.

Only a few years removed from the trenches of Flanders himself, Lieutenant Eric Peterkin has just been granted membership in the most prestigious soldiers-only club in London: The Britannia. But when a gentleman's wager ends with a member stabbed to death, the victim's last words echo in the Lieutenant’s head: that he would "soon right a great wrong from the past."

Eric is certain that one of his fellow members is the murderer: but who? Captain Mortimer Wolfe, the soldier’s soldier thrice escaped from German custody? Second Lieutenant Oliver Saxon, the brilliant codebreaker? Or Captain Edward Aldershott, the steely club president whose Savile Row suits hide a frightening collision of mustard gas scars?

Eric's investigation will draw him far from the marbled halls of the Britannia, to the shadowy remains of a dilapidated war hospital and the heroin dens of Limehouse. And as the facade of gentlemenhood cracks, Eric faces a Matryoshka doll of murder, vice, and secrets pointing not only to the officers of his own club but the very investigator assigned by Scotland Yard.

About the author

Christopher Huang grew up in Singapore, an only child in a family tree that expands dramatically sideways at his parents’ generation. He moved to Canada after his National Service, studied architecture at McGill, and settled down in Montreal, apparently for good. His first novel, A Gentleman’s Murder, was named a 2018 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year and is in development for television. Unnatural Ends is his second novel.

Christopher Huang's profile page

Editorial Reviews

"Huang's impressive debut will delight fans of golden age detective fiction... plotting, characters, and atmosphere are all top-notch." Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Huang surrounds his engaging lead character with a meaty supporting cast, many of whom quickly become suspects with tantalizing motives. The mystery itself is clever and should keep even the most experienced whodunit finders guessings. We hope [this] will be only the first of many Eric Peterkin adventures." —Booklist

"A mystery that recalls the best of Golden Age detective fiction. With fresh characters and unique twists, Huang has created a whodunit with just the right mix of old and new." —Andy Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter

"With a steady hand and a sharp eye, Christopher Huang brings a lost world gloriously back to life, skewers it, and uses it to spin an irresistible tale. A Gentleman's Murder offers a rare treat for modern fans of the Golden Age." —Catriona McPherson, Agatha, Anthony, Macavity and Lefty winning author of the Dandy Gilver series

"Dorothy Sayers is alive and well and writing under the name of Christopher Huang. A Gentleman's Murder echoes the traditional mysteries in the best sense: no car chases or explosions, just great characters and a feel for time and place." —Rhys Bowen, New York Times-bestselling author of The Tuscan Child and two-time winner of the Agatha Award

"Settings and atmosphere captured perfectly from nearly a century ago, complex characters, and a compelling mystery—Christopher Huang's A Gentleman's Murder is a must read for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry." —Daryl Maxwell, Los Angeles Public Library

"A dazzlingly atmospheric debut that transports you to 1920s London. A Gentleman's Murder is a meticulous mystery that will keep you guessing until the end and please fans of both Agatha Christie and Gillian Flynn." —Sarah Nivala, Book Soup

"A locked room traditional mystery that does justice to its inspirations, even as it aids in the genres continuing evolution." —CrimeReads

"In A Gentleman’s Murder, we have gentlemen murdering gentleman in a war-exhausted England trying to rebuild itself into something new." —Carolyn Haley, New York Journal of Books

"For fans of mysteries who would like an updated Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers." —Liberty Hardy, Book Riot

"Christopher Huang's debut novel, A Gentleman's Murder, is set in post-First World War England, but incorporates themes—race, the psychic toll of war—seldom acknowledged in classic mysteries of that era." —Ian McGillis, The Montreal Gazette