City of Darkness (City of Mystery) (51 page)

“You think this will help you in
forensic research, to be able to tell the French women they have lovely hair?”

It was not terribly witty banter, and
yet they both laughed, and in the laughter certain things began to shift
between them.  Emma said something in French and Trevor tried to repeat it,
failing so badly that they both continued to chuckle.  Gage was about to go out
the front door on his way to the market but there was something in the tone of
their conversation that made him freeze in his tracks.   He stood very still
for a moment… eavesdropping, smiling.  Then he walked through the kitchen and
went out another way.

Historical Note

Several of the characters in City of
Darkness are based upon real historical figures. The six murders in the book
are fictionalized accounts of slayings credited to Jack the Ripper, including
the names, dates, and crime scene details. Although Jack the Ripper was never
caught, the villain of City of Darkness was an actual man and is considered by
Ripperologists – as Jack devotees are known– as one of the most likely
suspects. The methodologies used by Scotland Yard, as well as their
limitations, are reflective of the late Victorian period.

All members of the Scotland Yard
forensics team are entirely fictional, as are the members of the Bainbridge
family. Victoria, of course, is real and did indeed take a surprising amount of
interest in police matters during her reign, including the specifics of the
Ripper case. Although I imagined the conversation between the Queen and Trevor,
the suggestions she makes to him in that scene are based on a letter Victoria
sent to Scotland Yard in 1888.

Other Stories in the “City of
Mystery” Series

City of Light follows Rayley Abrams
to Paris, a city swept up in excitement over the Exposition Universelle, the
World’s Fair which debuted Edison’s phonograph, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show,
and the Eiffel Tower. But when bodies begin to wash up on the shores on the
Seine and a socialite goes missing, members of the newly formed Scotland Yard
forensics unit find themselves thrust in the middle of their first international
mystery.

City of Silence, the third
installment in the City of Mystery series, is set in St. Petersburg at Christmastime.
The Queen’s beloved granddaughter Alexandra is determined to marry the young tsarevich
Nicholas, but Victoria has doubts about how well her sheltered and naïve
“Alecy” will fare in the venomous court of Imperial Russia. When a young
dancing instructor with ties to the royal family is found murdered in a most
bizarre fashion, Trevor and the Scotland Yard forensics unit will travel to the
Czar’s Winter Palace to investigate.

The fourth book, City of Bells, will
be available in late August 2013 and will follow the group to Bombay.  When
Geraldine’s former lover is arrested for poisoning his wife, she insists that
Trevor help her find the true killer and thus exonerate the only man she has
ever loved.  But the clues lead the forensics team back to a bone-chilling
crime which occurred decades earlier – providing that revenge is not only a
dish best served cold, but that it can be especially spicy in India.

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How You Can Help

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let other readers know what you think!

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To review City of Silence, go to
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