Unseemly Science: The Second Book in the Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire - Softcover

'Rod Duncan's The Bullet Catcher's Daughter is a magic box pulsating with energy. Compulsive reading from the get-go, the blend of steampunk alternate history wrapped in the enigma of a chase makes for first-rate entertainment in this finely crafted novel.' --Graham Joyce, author of Year of the Ladybird

'Steeped in illusion and grounded in an alternative history of the Luddite Rebellion, Duncan's strong supernatural mystery serves ably as both a standalone adventure and the start to a series...Strategically placed steampunk tropes inform but do not overwhelm Elizabeth's headlong quest to find a missing aristocrat sought by the Patent Office, which is fixated on both achieving perfection and eliminating 'unseemly science.' A hazardous border crossing into the permissively corrupt Kingdom of England and Southern Wales provides ample excitement, and a glossary at the novel's conclusion hints enticingly at a much more involved story to come.' --Publishers Weekly

'It's all steampunk and circus wonder as we follow the adventures of Elizabeth Barnabas. The double crosses along the way keep the plot tight and fun, and the conclusion sets us up nicely for book two.' --The Washington Post, Best New Science Fiction and Steampunk

In the divided land of England, Elizabeth Barnabus has been living a double life - as both herself and as her brother, the private detective. Witnessing the hanging of Alice Carter, the false duchess, Elizabeth resolves to throw the Bullet Catcher's Handbook into the fire, and forget her past. If only it were that easy! There is a new charitable organisation in town, run by some highly respectable women. But something doesn't feel right to Elizabeth. Perhaps it is time for her fictional brother to come out of retirement for one last case - ? Her unstoppable curiosity leads her to a dark world of body-snatching, unseemly experimentation, politics and scandal. Never was it harder for a woman in a man's world -