The Dark Palace

A police inspector investigates a grisly murder at a movie premiere in this dark historical mystery set in pre–World War I London.

London, April 1914. Against his better judgement, Detective Inspector Silas Quinn is attending the premiere of the new motion picture by notorious American film-maker Konrad Waechter.

But the glamorous event is interrupted by the piercing screams of a young woman in the street outside. She has been viciously mutilated in a horrific accident which eerily echoes a macabre act of violence in Waechter’s film.

As he questions those who attended the premiere, Quinn’s jaundiced view of the fledgling film industry as a business based on pretense, where no one is what they seem, appears to be justified. But soon the investigation takes a disturbing twist that has him questioning everything he thought he knew . . .

An excellent choice for fans of C. J. Sansom, Rory Clements and S. G. MacLean.

Praise for The Dark Palace

“Stellar. . . . [Quinn’s] most bizarre case yet. . . . Ruth Rendell fans open to stories set a century ago will be well satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A lively cast of supporting characters . . . adds Dickensian zest. Quinn’s third case . . . benefits greatly from Morris’ colorful period-flavor prose.” —Kirkus Reviews