Bow Street Rivals Books
In this first instalment of the Bow Street Rivals series a riot breaks out in Dartmoor prison, enabling some American inmates to escape. The twin detectives Peter and Paul Skillen catch wind of a projected assassination but the target is unknown. Trouble ensues when a woman from the Home Office vanishes; a mysterious lady turns up at the archery shooting gallery; and Paul’s gambling addiction worsens . . .
A scurrilous newspaper has built up a large following by publishing details of political and sexual scandals. It is remarkably well-informed and has therefore created a whole host of enemies. When the editor is killed and the printing press smashed to bits, the Invisible Detectives are hired by the man who financed the production of the paper. He wants the killer brought to justice and the scandal sheet revived. Peter and Paul Skillen find themselves in great danger as they unearth an enormous amount of scandal and corruption before the villains are brought to book.
1817. Dawn breaks on a summer’s day in Chalk Farm, London, and the scene is set for a duel between a lady’s two ardent admirers. Paul Skillen has been teaching Mark Bowerman how to shoot properly and, although he is not sanguine of his chances, stands as his second. Although the duel is broken up, the passions behind the duel seem to spill out into the full light of day when Bowerman is stabbed to death in a stranger’s garden. Paul and his twin Peter are determined to see justice done and are soon enmeshed in threads of inheritance, treachery and fraud.
1817. Clemency van Emden receives an anonymous terse message informing her that her estranged father is dead and buried. A chance encounter on a busy London street leads her to twin detectives Peter and Paul Skillen, who agree to help her unravel the mystery of her father’s last days. However, Paul’s attention is diverted away from London to Bath, as he seeks to thwart a daring band of highwaymen, one of whom appears to have more than just jewels on his mind. When the body of Clemency’s father is discovered to be missing from its casket, the twins embark on a chase of graverobbers, funerary agents and Good Samaritans to unearth the truth.
London, 1817. Outside the Covent Garden Theatre, a crowd is desperate for a glimpse of actress Hannah Granville after her latest performance - including the Prince Regent himself. But before she emerges a gunshot sounds, and a man lies dead amidst the ensuing chaos. It proves to be Sir Roger Mellanby MP, whose political leanings towards social reform had made him many enemies not just at Westminster but within his own family. After a curt dismissal from the Bow Street Runners, Mellanby's friend Seth Hooper engages twin detectives Paul and Peter Skillen to investigate the MP's killing. Elsewhere, the assassin's own problems are just beginning ...