A mysterious woman’s murder leads Sebastian and Gemma to risk everything to find a remorseless killer.



Inspector Sebastian Bell arrives at Paddington station through thick Victorian mist, hoping to reconcile with his estranged brother. Instead, he discovers a young woman’s body in an abandoned trunk, stabbed with a peculiar bone-handled knife. But with no clues to her identity and his new boss dismissing the case, Sebastian’s investigation seems doomed.



Nurse Gemma Tate is at work when the nameless woman is brought in for an autopsy. Realizing how desperate Sebastian is for a lead, she risks a forbidden examination and makes two tragic discoveries: the woman recently gave birth, and she wears a wedding ring with the inscription “G loves H”. Has this brutal act of violence shattered not just one life, but an entire family?



Determined to get justice, Sebastian and Gemma pursue answers to the woman’s wretched fate. But when the trail of clues leads them uncomfortably close to home, Sebastian realizes too late the danger they are in. By ignoring his superior to follow this case, has he fatally doomed the woman he loves…?



Gemma and Sebastian confront their most heartbreaking case yet in this atmospheric, gripping and romantic mystery perfect for fans of the Lady Sherlock, Veronica Speedwell, and Lady Darby mysteries.



Readers love the Tate and Bell mysteries:



“So good I could hardly put the book down… Once you start, you may as well forget everything else.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐



“Highly recommend this for anyone interested in historical mystery… and for fans of Deanna Raybourn, Andrea Penrose, and Anna Lee Huber.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐