Publisher's Synopsis
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 CWA SAPERE BOOKS HISTORICAL DAGGER SHORTLISTED FOR THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE 'Enthralling, exciting, extraordinary and utterly convincing. Everything a great book should be' Sarah Hilary 'Wonderfully atmospheric, each page carries the whiff of sulphur and gaslight' Red Everyone has a secret... Only some lead to murder. Introducing Leo Stanhope: a Victorian transgender coroner's assistant who must uncover a killer without risking his own future When the body of a young woman is wheeled into the hospital where Leo Stanhope works, his life is thrown into chaos. Maria, the woman he loves, has been murdered and it is not long before the finger of suspicion is turned on him, threatening to expose his lifelong secret. For Leo Stanhope was born Charlotte, the daughter of a respectable reverend. Knowing he was meant to be a man - despite the evidence of his body - and unable to cope with living a lie any longer, he fled his family home at just fifteen and has been living as Leo ever since: his secret known to only a few trusted people. Desperate to find Maria's killer and thrown into gaol, he stands to lose not just his freedom, but ultimately his life. ____________________ The latest Leo Stanhope case, The Blood Flower, is available to pre-order now - out July 2022! ____________________
