I had destroyed the letter but those words could never be erased: ‘Just as surely as he murdered your mother.’
Sidney Grice lowered his newspaper.
‘Is everything all right?’ he said.
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M.R.C. Kasasian
The Gower Street Detective
An invitation from the publisher
About this Book
125 Gower Street, 1882:
Sidney Grice once had a reputation as London’s most perspicacious personal detective. But since his last case led an innocent man to the gallows, business has been light. Listless and depressed, Grice has taken to lying in the bath for hours, emerging in the evenings for a little dry toast and a lot of tea. Usually a voracious reader, he will pick up neither book nor newspaper. He has not even gathered the strength to re-insert his glass eye. His ward, March Middleton, has been left to dine alone.
Then an eccentric member of a Final Death Society has the temerity to die on his study floor. Finally Sidney and March have an investigation to mount – an investigation that will draw them to an eerie house in Kew, and the mysterious Baroness Foskett…
Sparkling, original and sharp as March Middleton’s tongue, The Curse of the House of Foskett is the second brilliant crime novel in the Gower Street Detective series.
Reviews
‘One of the most delightful and original new novels of the year. Painted with great verve and sparky dialogue, Grice and Middleton promise to become a positive treat. Catch them now.’
Daily Mail
“Kasasian’s sparkling debut introduces a memorable new detective duo.”
Publishers Weekly
“Funny, fresh and sharply plotted... starring a detective duo to rival Holmes and Watson.”
Goodreads
About this Series
London, 1882
Sidney Grice, London’s most famous personal detective, has an encyclopaedic mind and – according to him – no emotions save his twin love of possessions and the truth.
March Middleton is Sidney Grice’s ward and she is new to London. With her sharp tongue and even sharper mind, March is sure she could help her guardian solve his cases – if only he did not think women too feeble for detective work.
But even Grice must admit some puzzles are too great for even him to solve alone…
Set between the refined buildings of Victorian Bloomsbury and the stinking streets of London’s East End, The Gower Street Detective is for those who like their crime original, atmospheric, and very, very funny.
1. The Mangle Street Murders
Queen Victoria may sit on the throne and Robert Peel’s bobbies walk the streets but this is a London still haunted by the spectre of Spring-heeled Jack. The demons of vice and poverty rule the capital: ruffian gangs, forgers, pickpockets, counterfeiters, fences, prostitutes, card-sharps and vagrants clog the city with their iniquity…
But in one particular Gower Street residence –the parlour of the famous personal investigator Sidney Grice – order presides. Until, that is, the arrival of March Middleton and of course, the vicious Whitechapel murder that follows hard on her heels…
The Mangle Street Murders is available here.
2. The Curse of the House of Foskett
Sidney Grice, of 125 Gower Street, is London’s premier personal detective. But since his last case led an innocent man to the gallows, business has been light. Listless and depressed, Grice has taken to lying in the bath for hours. Once a voracious reader, he will pick up neither book nor newspaper. His ward, March Middleton, has been left to dine alone.
Then an eccentric member of a Final Death Society has the temerity to die on his study floor. Finally Sidney Grice and March Middleton have an investigation to mount – an investigation that will draw them to an eerie house in Kew, and the mysterious Baroness Foskett…
About the Author
M.R.C. KASASIAN was raised in Lancashire. He has had careers as varied as a factory hand, wine waiter, veterinary assistant, fairground worker and dentist. He lives with his wife, in Suffolk in the summer and in Malta in the winter.
Contact him via Twitter: @MRCKASASIAN
A Letter from the Publisher
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HeadofZeusBooks
The story starts here.
First published in the UK in 2014 by Head of Zeus Ltd.
Copyright © M.R.C. Kasasian, 2014
Cover illustration: Jim Tierney
The moral right of M.R.C. Kasasian to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 2 4 6 8
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (HB) 9781781853252
ISBN (TPB) 9781781853269
ISBN (E) 9781781853283
Head of Zeus Ltd
Clerkenwell House
45-47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.headofzeus.com
Contents
Cover
Welcome Page
Dedication
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Curse of the Fosketts
Chapter 2: The Dust and the Dream
Chapter 3: The Visitor and Party Tricks
Chapter 4: The Society of Fools
Chapter 5: The Dancing Skull
Chapter 6: The Crackpots of Wapping
Chapter 7: The Dentist and the Miller’s Daughter
Chapter 8: Chelsea Buns and the Soles of Men
Chapter 9: Eagle Beaks and Opium
Chapter 10: French Polish and the Second-best Teapot
Chapter 11: The Spike and the Corpulent King
Chapter 12: Cutteridge and the Key
Chapter 13: Aquinas and the Viper
Chapter 14: Whispers in the Dark
Chapter 15: The Doctor and the Berries
Chapter 16: Quicklime and Velvet
Chapter 17: The Man with No Arms
Chapter 18: The Blood of a Lion
Chapter 19: Blotting Paper and Goldfish
Chapter 20: The House of Beasts
Chapter 21: The Regiment of Cossacks
Chapter 22: The Hyena in the Room
Chapter 23: Kali and the Toothpick
Chapter 24: The Birthday Slaughter
Chapter 25: Dead Dogs and Dancing Mandarins
Chapter 26: Melton Mowbray and Lucinda
Chapter 27: Poison and Predators
Chapter 28: Two Nurses and the Marquess of Salisbury
Chapter 29: Weals, Flares and the Figure of Death
Chapter 30: Piggety’s Cats in Big White Letters
Chapter 31: The Curious Incident of the Cats in the Daytime
Chapter 32: Chorea and the Whale
Chapter 33: The Dead Either Side
Chapter 34: Half-melted Candles and Angels to Smite
Chapter 35: Blood and Water
Chapter 36: Courcy’s Cr
avat and Sucking Lice
Chapter 37: Great Naval Battles in the Snug
Chapter 38: Slapped Faces and Torn Remains
Chapter 39: Persian Slippers and Maudy Glass
Chapter 40: French Blood and Commodore Bracelet
Chapter 41: Pikestaffs and Telegrams
Chapter 42: Moss Velvet and Black Snow
Chapter 43: Mermaids and the Muffled Man
Chapter 44: The Ninth Sense
Chapter 45: Coal Dust, Fingerprints and Death Traps
Chapter 46: The Long Rows of Death
Chapter 47: Touching the Stars
Chapter 48: Parasites, Monsters and Fat Hens
Chapter 49: The Sleep of the Unjust
Chapter 50: Three-toed Sloths and Captain Dubois
Chapter 51: Flash Mobsmen and Royal Garden Parties
Chapter 52: The Eternal Scream
Chapter 53: Rabbits and the Marquis de Sade
Chapter 54: Beef Tea and the Hospital Ghost
Chapter 55: Chocolates and Seaweed
Chapter 56: The Fox and the Sparrow
Chapter 57: Pebbles and the Iceni Hordes
Chapter 58: Hunting Monkeys
Chapter 59: Rubber Boots and Kisses
Chapter 60: Word Games and Pickled Legs
Chapter 61: Macbeth and the Guinea Prize
Chapter 62: Stallions, Sticks and Sandwiches
Chapter 63: The Darkness
Chapter 64: The Web and the Cage
Chapter 65: Soggy Messages and the St Leger
Chapter 66: The Poker and the Cleaver
Chapter 67: The Poker and the Rope
Chapter 68: The Staking of Lives
Chapter 69: Salt and the Spiteful Son
Chapter 70: Playing in the Garden
Chapter 71: Gas Leaks and Crumbs
Chapter 72: Four Minutes and Forty-eight Seconds
Chapter 73: The Ashes of Mordent House
Chapter 74: Shellfish and the Foskett Thumb
Chapter 75: The Economics of Hope
Chapter 76: The Frequency of Unvoiced Wonderment
Chapter 77: Clocks and the Atoms of Decency
Chapter 78: The Trial
Chapter 79: The Corridors of Perdition
Chapter 80: Eight Minutes
Chapter 81: Witchcraft, Tea and Crumpets
Postscript
About this Book
Reviews
About this Series
About the Author
An Invitation from the Publisher
Copyright
The Curse of the House of Foskett Page 38
