Ruler of the Night

Starred review from September 5, 2016
Set in 1855, Edgar-finalist Morrell’s spectacular third and final whodunit featuring opium addict and author Thomas De Quincey (after 2015’s Inspector of the Dead) finds De Quincey and Emily, his 22-year-old daughter and partner in detection, traveling by train from London to the Lake District, where he hopes to stop a landlord to whom he owes money from auctioning his beloved books. When lawyer Daniel Harcourt, who’s also a passenger on the train, is strangled, the De Quinceys become involved in the subsequent investigation. With railway travel relatively new, the first murder ever on an English train causes an uproar and makes a speedy solution essential to restoring public trust. The powers that be, many of whom utilized the dead man’s
services, limit access to Harcourt’s client files in a determined effort to cover something up. The narrative builds to a powerful but bittersweet ending that will leave readers hoping that Morrell eventually chooses to resurrect this superb series. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

November 1, 2016
Along with series lead Thomas De Quincey, a self-confessed opium-eater who is also one of Victorian London's finest private-inquiry agents, the other characters in this cleverly plotted mystery all possess a shady side to offset their worldly talents. Famous doctors, and quite possibly the prime minister, have shadowy dealings, and Lord Cavendale's heir may be illegitimate. Morrell plays with our assumptions on many levels and uses connections between characters to cast doubt on others' culpability. Murder and violence ride rails and roads, converging with drug-addled De Quincey; his redoubtable daughter, Emily; and two police detectives who love her, at Sedwick Hill. Here, a countryside sanitarium houses possible perpetrators, potential victims, and a good number of England's peerage taking the cure. In short, this is a complex, top-notch mystery, with a large cast of characters and multiple, interwoven plotlines. You don't have to read this series in order, but you'll want to read every volume. Philosophical, uncannily perceptive De Quincey competes well with Sherlock Holmes for brilliance despite drug use, and his Holmes-like cynicism and intelligence suggest Cyrus Barker in Will Thomas' Barker and Llewelyn series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

June 15, 2016

In this conclusion to the 1850s London-set trilogy starring the Opium-Eater (e.g., the manifestly brilliant Thomas De Quincey) and his sprightly daughter, Emily, Morrell brings back Scotland Yard detectives Ryan and Becker to investigate an actual case: the first murder on an English train. ITW Thriller Master Morrell will receive a 2016 Anthony Lifetime Achievement Award; with a 35,000-copy first printing.

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