The Devil in the Marshalsea

"Tom Hawkins is one of the best protagonists to come along in years. Magnificent!" – Jeffery Deaver

"A terrific historical thriller." – Missourian

"As good as her stellar debut… Pitch-perfect suspense." – Publishers Weekly, starred review

London, 1728. Tom Hawkins is headed to the gallows, accused of murder. Gentlemen don't hang and Tom's damned if he'll be the first – he is innocent, after all. It's hard to say when Tom's troubles began. He was happily living in sin with his beloved – though their neighbors weren't happy about that. He probably shouldn't have told London's great criminal mastermind that he was in need of adventure. Nor should he have joined the king's mistress in her fight against her vindictive husband. And he definitely shouldn't have trusted the calculating Queen Caroline. She's promised him a royal pardon if he holds his tongue, but there's nothing more silent than a hanged man. Now Tom's scrambling to save his life and protect those he loves. But as the noose tightens, his time is running out.

The new twisting mystery from CWA Historical Dagger 2014 winner Antonia Hodgson.

Late spring, 1728, and Thomas Hawkins has left London for the wild beauty of Yorkshire – forced on a mission he can't refuse. John Aislabie, one of the wealthiest men in England, has been threatened with murder. Blackmailed into investigating, Tom must hunt down those responsible – or lose the woman he loves forever.

Arriving at the grand estate of Studley Royal, Tom realises that the threats to Aislabie and his family must be connected to someone in the house itself. Could one of the servants be responsible? And what of the mysterious Mrs Fairwood, the young widow who claims to be Aislabie's lost daughter?

Far from the ragged comforts of home, Tom and his ward, Sam Fleet, enter a world of elegant surfaces and hidden danger. Someone is determined to punish John Aislabie – and anyone who stands in the way. As the violence escalates and shocking truths are revealed, Tom is dragged inexorably towards the darkest night of his life.

Inspired by real characters, events and settings, A Death at Fountains Abbey is a gripping stand-alone historical thriller. It also continues the story that began with the award-winning The Devil in the Marshalsea and The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins.