The Shadow of the Serpent: An Inspector McLevy Mystery (Inspector Mclevy Mysteries) - Softcover

'David Ashton's writing is excellent, his characters thoroughly convincing, and his narrative grabs you ... and doesn't let you go' THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SOCIETY OF LONDON 'McLevy is a sort of Victorian Morse with a heart ... Ashton impeccably evokes Edinburgh so vividly that you can feel the cold in your bones and the menace of the Old Town s steep cobbles and dark corners' FINANCIAL TIMES

Election fever is gripping the city, yet Inspector James McLevy watches the electoral frenzy with a jaundiced eye. He believes in justice, and justice and politics rarely go hand in hand. A series of unsavoury events begins to unfold; a prostitute is murdered, her rib-cage split open with a single blow, bringing back unpleasant memories of a similar series of murders thirty years previously. Dangerously compelled to pursue the killer, McLevy becomes embroiled in the dark underbelly of Victorian Edinburgh. Why would a leading political figure become embroiled in sex scandal and murder? Where has McLevy's mysterious female informant come from? And who exactly is the dark figure of the Serpent...? A tale of politics, perversion, deception and mystery, "Shadow of the Serpent" leads the reader down a tangled Victorian labyrinth of Edinburgh wynds and will thrill contemporary nerve-ends.