Devoured - Softcover

'You'll devour this brilliant, classy Victorian crime novel in hours. It will stay with you a lot longer, though, thanks to the extraordinary atmosphere and detail, as the first days of forensics are brought to life. 5 stars!' DAILY MIRROR 'This is a literary thriller. A slow burner, it takes a while for the excitement to build, but once the plot takes off its a roller coaster ride to its shocking conclusion... I really enjoyed this book.' NEW BOOKS MAGAZINE 'Devoured steeps us in the danger of Victorian London and the discovery of modern forensics, combining classic storytelling with a finely executed historical moment. Meredith packs her debut with charm and wit enough to carry us into any adventures to come with these sparkling characters' Matthew Pearl, bestselling author of The Dante Club and The Last Dickens

London in 1856 is gripped by a frightening obsession. The specimen-collecting craze is growing, and discoveries in far-off jungles are reshaping the known world in terrible and unimaginable ways. When the glamorous Lady Bessingham is found murdered in her bedroom, surrounded by her vast collection of fossils and tribal masks, Professor Adolphus Hatton and his morgue assistant Albert Roumande are called in to examine the crime scene - and the body. In the new and suspicious world of forensics and autopsy examinations, Hatton and Roumande are the best. But the crime scene is not confined to one room. In their efforts to help the infamous Scotland Yard detective Inspector Adams track down the Lady's killer, Hatton and Roumande uncover a trail of murders connected to a packet of seditious letters that, if published, would change the face of society and religion irrevocably. D.E. Meredith's measured prose and eye for exquisite detail moves seamlessly from the filthy docks on the Isle of Dogs to the jungles of Borneo and the drawing rooms of London's upper class. Her slow-burning mystery builds to a shocking conclusion, consuming Victorian London - and victims - as it goes.