The Scent of Murder (36 page)
Read The Scent of Murder Online
Authors: Felicity Young
‘Such a shame you could not stay longer, Dody. I hope you’ll return soon. The Chief Inspector is quite welcome to stay at the Hall too next time, if he wishes.’ Was that flicker of an eyelash actually a wink? Dody asked herself. Surely not!
Pike flushed to the roots of his hair.
Lady Airlie put a hand on Pike’s arm as they turned to leave.
‘Rest assured, Chief Inspector, I know you played no part in my husband’s death,’ she said.
Was that what had been worrying him these past few weeks? Dody wondered, the reason for Pike’s withdrawn behaviour becoming clearer at last.
He nodded at Lady Fitzgibbon and forced a smile.
The butler showed them out of the Hall and into the misty afternoon. The heavy front door closed behind them.
‘You thought Sir Desmond’s death was your fault? Why did you not confide in me?’ Dody quietly asked.
Pike did not answer her question, but gazed at her, perplexed. ‘How on earth did she know that? That her husband’s death was worrying me?’ he asked.
Dody shrugged as they headed for the trap. ‘Intuition?’ she suggested, linking her arm in his.
The ‘ancient bones’ discovered at Piltdown in 1912 were not proved to be fakes until 1953. The instigator of the hoax, however, remains a mystery to this day. See www.talkorigins.org/faqs/piltdown.html for further reading.
Thanks to all the usual suspects: my writers’ group, Sisyphus (named for obvious reasons); Chris Nagel; all the gang at HarperCollins, especially Anna Valdinger and my wonderful editor Amanda O’Connell. To my agent Sheila Drummond who has stood by me for years now, and last but by no means least to my family and friends for putting up with the vague looks, the forgetfulness and the complete lack of interest in anything to do with the kitchen.
Dr Dody McCleland’s previous forensic adventures,
A Dissection of Murder
and
Antidote to Murder
, are also published by HarperCollins and available through all good bookshops, and as ebooks.
‘The elegant writing, pacing and characterisation … reflect the period, [with] some chilling and graphic moments ’
West Australian
‘Cannily blending the forensic thriller with historical crime … [plus an] endearingly eccentric heroine … More please, Ms Young, and soon’
Sunday Age
‘This satisfying blend of history, forensics and crime … a compelling new series’
Woman’s Day
A Dissection of Murder
A woman. A doctor. A beastly science.
At the turn of the twentieth century, London’s political climate is in turmoil as women fight for the right to vote. Dody McCleland has her own battles to fight. As England’s first female autopsy surgeon, she must prove herself as she also proves that murder treats everyone equally … After a heated women’s rights rally turns violent, an innocent suffragette is found murdered. When she examines the body, Dody is shocked to realise that the victim was a friend of her sister — fuelling her determination to uncover the cause of the protester’s suspicious death. For Dody, gathering clues from a body is often easier than handling the living — especially Chief Detective Inspector Matthew Pike. Pike is looking to get to the bottom of the case but has a hard time trusting anyone — including Dody. Determined to earn Pike’s trust and to find the killer, Dody will have to sort through real and imagined secrets. But if she’s not careful, she may end up on her own examination table …
Antidote to Murder
When an act of compassion misfires, autopsy surgeon Dr Dody McCleland must fight not only for her career, but also for her life.
The body of a scullery maid is discovered in a blood-soaked room. When it emerges that she had recently begged Dody to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, the coroner recommends Dody be tried for criminal abortion causing death. The one man who might be able to help her, Chief Inspector Matthew Pike, is nowhere to be found. After another woman’s body is found bearing all the hallmarks of the same crime, Dody suspects that a rogue doctor is on the loose.
Amid the turbulence of Edwardian London with its mix of strikes, suffragettes, German spies, exotic dancers and an illicit drug trade, Dody must unmask the killer before more girls are butchered and her own life ends on the gallows.
Felicity Young was born in Germany and educated in the United Kingdom. She trained as a nurse in Perth, married young and, having always been a passionate lover of history and English literature, completed an arts degree at the University of Western Australia while her three children were growing up. In 1990 the family moved from the city and established a Suffolk sheep stud in Gidgegannup, Western Australia. Here she studied music, reared orphan kangaroos, joined the volunteer bushfire brigade and started writing.
The Scent of Murder
is the third in Felicity’s historical mystery series featuring Dody McCleland.
PRAISE FOR
A DISSECTION OF MURDER
‘Anyone familiar with Kerry Greenwood’s series of Phryne Fisher stories should fall for this’
Courier Mail
‘This satisfying blend of history, forensics and crime … a compelling new series’
Woman’s Day
‘Here is welcome news for local fans of the historical mystery … one of the best is by Felicity Young’
Sunday Age
‘Cannily blending the forensic thriller with historical crime … More please, Ms Young, and soon’
Sun Herald
‘Fans of Maureen Jennings’s
Murdoch
novels will welcome Australian author Young’s promising debut, inspired by an actual riot in 1910 London … she delivers a truly surprising reveal of the murderer’s identity’
Publishers Weekly
(US)
‘This wonderfully atmospheric novel’
Adelaide Advertiser
‘
A Dissection of Murder
should satisfy … with its wry humour, sexual tension, attention to historical detail and superb evocation of the beginnings of forensic science against a vast backdrop of political and social change in early 20th century England’
West Australian
‘With its combination of forensics and the deadly fascination of the city’s mortuary, set against a backdrop of Edwardian England,
A Dissection of Murder
is the first in a crime series that is sure to be addictive’
Launceston Examiner
‘Great atmosphere and a gripping read. In a word: compelling’
Gold Coast Bulletin
‘an enjoyable read, set in a fascinating period. This is excellent historical crime’
Toowoomba Chronicle
‘a great mystery … the characters are solid.
A Dissection of Murder
doesn’t just entertain … there are so many levels and twists that the ending will surprise even the most astute reader’
Gumshoe Review
(US)
‘a fantastically well-written historical mystery with a unique protagonist and rich period details … Each character is complex and interesting … I cannot wait for more installments’ Score: 5/5, Reviewer Top Pick,
Night Owl Reviews
(US)
PRAISE FOR
ANTIDOTE TO MURDER
‘
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Dr Dorothy (Dody)
McCleland is back in another intriguing read … A solid addition to an excellent crime series. The placement of such a strong female protagonist amid a turbulent period in history makes this series fascinating … There’s a lot to like about this book: careful plotting, unexpected twists, sexual tension and a thrilling ending that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next instalment’
Good Reading
‘A delicious whodunit
à la
Phryne Fisher’s murder mysteries’
Launceston Examiner
‘Tidy, well-knit read’
Australian Women’s Weekly
‘
Top pick
A lively read … Young has obviously done a power of research … Better still, she brings it all to life, creating a pulsing London of striking workers, feisty suffragettes, German spies and East End crims’
Illawarra Mercury
‘The second enthralling book in Felicity Young’s historical mystery series … fascinating balance of political and social commentary with crime and mystery … the execution of the plot and the way each element fits is quite brilliant …
Antidote to Murder
combines a fascinating setting with superb characterisation and an intriguing plot … this is a spectacular series’
Book’d Out
blog
‘Deftly handled … Young gives the crime story a red-hot go … Dody
lives
on the page’
Herald Sun
‘Young’s involvement of her strong, independent female character, during the age of the suffragette … gives the novel a strong social edge … a solid mystery’
Canberra Times
‘Well paced and gripping narrative … a highly entertaining read indeed’
Farm Weekly
‘As with her previous novel, Young deals with the timely — and controversial — issues of the day with nuance and thoughtfulness. The story’s brisk plot is punctuated with rich historical detail of early twentieth-century London and Young balances emotional entanglement with cool procedural process. The romantic subplot is enticing and the overarching mystery original and interesting. While an entertaining standalone novel, readers will get much pleasure by starting with [
A Dissection of Murder
] and following with this one. Both Dody and Pike evolve in their work and in their friendship and the results are deeply satisfying.’
Historical Novel Society
A Certain Malice
An Easeful Death
Harum Scarum
Take Out
Dody McCleland series
A Dissection of Murder
Antidote to Murder
HarperCollins
Publishers
First published in Australia in 2014
This edition published in 2014
by HarperCollins
Publishers
Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
Copyright © Felicity Young 2014
The right of Felicity Young to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000
.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968
, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
HarperCollins
Publishers
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
A 53, Sector 57, Noida, UP, India
77–85 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JB, United Kingdom
2 Bloor Street East, 20th floor, Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8, Canada
10 East 53rd Street, New York NY 10022, USA
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Young, Felicity.
The scent of murder / Felicity Young.
978 0 7322 9802 9 (pbk.)
978 1 4607 0094 5 (epub)
Murder — Investigation — Fiction.
Detective and mystery stories.
A823.4
Cover design by Michelle Payne, based on original design by Matt Stanton, HarperCollins Design Studio
Cover illustration by Alan Ayers; all other images by shutterstock.com
Author photograph by Tim Lim