The English Monster - Lloyd Shepherd

Was the right person convicted for the appalling atrocities that went down in history as the Ratcliffe Highway Murders? Lloyd Shepherd weaves his own story of piracy and ancient curses around one of the most infamous crimes to take place in London. We move back and forth across time and characters to gradually discover the monster at the heart of the novel. We meet policemen who are keen to explore the revolutionary idea of 'detecting' as opposed to simply listening to hearsay and drawing the obvious conclusion.

It's hard not to spoil the story by giving too much away, but it covers the genres of crime, historical fiction and fantasy so should have a wide appeal. So many questions fill your head at the start, but gradually the answers unfold as you get deeper into the book.

And thankfully Harriott and Horton, who succeed in their quest to investigate what really happened, return in Shepherd's latest book 'The Poisoned Island' released at the end of this month!