Dead Beside The Thames

<p><em>#1 NYT-bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns with a confounding case that sees her favorite sleuths acting to save a friend wrongly accused of murder.</em></p><p><em>When a detested viscount is found murdered by the banks of the Thames and Charlie Hastings becomes the prime suspect Barnaby and Penelope Adair join forces with Stokes to discover the real story behind the unexpected killing.</em></p><p><br></p><p>Charlie Hastings is astonished to find himself accused of murdering Viscount Sedbury. Admittedly Charlie had two heated altercations with Sedbury in the hours preceding the man's death but as Charlie is quick to point out to Stokes - and to Barnaby and Penelope - there are a multitude of others in the ton who will be delighted to learn of Sedbury's demise.</p><p>As Penelope Barnaby and Stokes start assembling a suspect list Charlie's prediction proves only too accurate. Yet the most puzzling aspect is who on earth managed to kill Sedbury. The man was a hulking brute large very strong and known as a vicious brawler. Who managed to subdue him enough to strangle him?</p><p>As the number of suspects steadily increases the investigators are forced to ask if perhaps one of their suspects hired a killer capable of taking Sedbury down. With that possibility thrown into the calculations narrowing their suspect list becomes a futile exercise.</p><p>Their pursuit of the truth leads them to investigate the many shady avenues of Sedbury's life much to the consternation of Sedbury's father the Marquess of Rattenby. Rattenby does not want Sedbury's distasteful proclivities exposed for all the world to see further harming the other family members who Sedbury has taken great delight in tormenting for most of his life.</p><p>In the end the resolution of the crime lies in old-fashioned policing coupled with the fresh twists Barnaby and Penelope bring to Scotland Yard's efforts.</p><p>And when the truth is finally revealed it raises questions that strike to the very heart of justice and what with such a victim and such a murderer true justice actually means.</p><p><br></p><p><em>A historical novel of 62500 words interweaving mystery and murder with a touch of romance.</em></p>