The legend of Beowulf recounted.
As for Audra, she could be found any day in the Cook County Asylum—seen daily by Gabby Tewes, and from time to time, Gabby’s father, Dr. J. P. Tewes, whose phrenological exams, Audra looked forward to, although she could not voice this or any other fact. Another and final victim of the Leather Apron gang? Or Chapman and Kohler’s inquisition?
As in all things he touched, no matter the twisted outcome, Alastair Ransom had landed on his feet. Most beat cops, firemen, and even most of the petty criminals and burglars and pickpockets had only more respect and greater fear of the Bear. But one man, Nathan Kohler, uneasy with all that Alastair knew of his true nature, lived now to destroy Inspector Ransom at all costs.
About the Author
ROBERT W. WALKER, a graduate of Northwestern University, is the author of thirty-six novels, including the acclaimed PSI Blue featuring FBI Psychic Rae Hiyakawa, the Instinct Series with FBI Medical Examiner Dr. Jessica Coran, and the Edge Series featuring Texas Cherokee Detective Lucas Stonecoat and psychiatrist Meredyth Sanger. He has also recently published the serialized thriller set in India entitled Fleshwar on Amazon.comshorts. Robert was born in Corinth, Mississippi; grew up in Chicago, Illinois; and currently resides in Chicago and Charleston, West Virginia. In between teaching, lecturing, and book touring, Rob is busy tackling his next two novels, City of the Absent and Deja Blue.
You can visit him at www.robertwwalkerbooks.com or www.robertwwalker.blogspot.com.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Resounding praise for
ROBERT W. WALKER
and his first novel featuring
Inspector Alastair Ransom
CITY FOR RANSOM
“Robert W. Walker has enjoyed a solid reputation for his unique concoctions of twisted crimes, colorful characters, dark humor, and solid plotting. The Walker brew is as bubbly as ever in City For Ransom.…I can’t wait for the second Ransom book—I’m hooked!”
Raymond Benson
“Lovers of historical thrillers will be shocked, stunned, beaten to hell, and, most importantly, riveted to this page-turner of peerless quality. Robert Walker is a master craftsman and this is the series he was born to create.”
Jay Bonansinga, author of Frozen
“Vivid and passionate.”
Barbara D’Amato
“City For Ransom is crime-noir at its finest…. In an era of high-tech crime-fighting, this novel is an old-fashioned but fresh surprise.”
David W. Ellis, author of In the Company of Liars
“Walker writes…entertaining stories filled with surprises, clever twists, and wonderfully drawn characters.”
Daytona Beach News-Journal
“This is historical mystery with teeth, and Ransom is the best new hero in period fiction. I can’t wait to be Ransomed again.”
J.A. Konrath
“Walker’s taken on Caleb Carr’s territory, with a superb haunted protagonist with a graveyard on his back. Ransom your soul for this one; it’s that mesmerizing.”
Ken Bruen, Macavity Award winner for The Killing of the Tinkers
“Walker’s characters are razor sharp in intensity, while his plot unrolls seamlessly as he captures the politics and atmosphere of late nineteenth-century Chicago and its police force. Inspector Alastair Ransom is a fascinating study in the dynamics of human behavior. If the book only offered one such intriguing character, it would fail. Walker offers a solid contingent whose interactions fuel the plot and their own personal agendas. This captivating book rises above its peers.”
Jana Oliver, author of Sojourn and Circle of the Swan
“Fans of Erik Larson’s highly successful and in many ways similar The Devil in the White City will recognize Chicago’s grittiness…complex and multifaceted, [this series] challenges the reader…. The novel succeeds both as a mystery and an interesting read. It is an intelligent, absorbing, satisfying novel.”
The Historical Novels Review
“City for Ransom explores the darkest corners of the White City, merging history with bone-chilling suspense. Robert W. Walker takes readers on an engrossing journey through Chicago by gaslight, uncovering corruption, deception, and unspeakable evil in the city’s smoldering past. Rich with period detail, complex heroes, and remarkable twists and turns, Walker is at his masterful best.”
Brian Pinkerton, author of Abducted and Vengeance
“City for Ransom is a superb, dark, skillful, hypnotic work. Calling it a mystery, or crime noir, or thriller, or work of suspense or horror would be short-changing this masterful creation. Yes, it’s a gripping dark suspense-filled story but always, always, it’s Chicago that marches proudly through these pages, breathing life into them as only a master like Robert W. Walker can accomplish.”
Pat Mullan, author of Blood Red Square
“Walker has upped the bar for solid historical mysteries. With twists and turns galore, this is one story that earns its keep in the genre. Ransom is a character as smooth as Doyle’s Holmes, as bold as Stout’s Wolfe, and as vivid as Hammett’s Charles. City for Ransom puts the reader right where they should be, in the thick of things. Outstanding!”
Alexis Hart, editor, publisher, and author of Child of Hope
“Key elements make the who-done-it intriguing but what comes alive from these components are insights into a bygone era such as the early days of the science of criminology, and the role of women during an investigation…with a strong cast, especially Ransom and J. Phineas Tewes. Robert W. Walker is at his lofty best with this terrific historical mystery.”
The Midwest Review of Books
“Inspector Alastair Ransom’s Chicago is brutal and violent, cloaking mysteries and intrigues in a façade of propriety as spectral and illusory as the grand and gleaming buildings of the vanished ‘White City.’”
Richard Lindberg, author of Chicago by Gaslight: A History of Chicago’s Netherworld, 1880–1920
Books by
Robert W. Walker
SHADOWS IN THE WHITE CITY
CITY FOR RANSOM
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SHADOWS IN THE WHITE CITY. Copyright © 2007 by Robert W. Walker. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition NOVEMBER 2008 ISBN: 9780061979507
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