The Infidel Stain - promo

 

‘Fresh and original with many surprises in store… Avery is the guileless Watson of the partnership and Blake the opaque Sherlock’ - Evening Standard

 

THE INFIDEL STAIN

by

M.J.CARTER

Published by Fig Tree Books on 30thApril, Priced £14.99

 

The Infidel Stain is the second book in the Blake and Avery Mystery series, following on from CWA New Blood Dagger shortlisted and Bailey’s Women’s Prize long-listed The Strangler Vine

 

London, 1841. Returned from their adventures in India, Jeremiah Blake and William Avery have both had their difficulties adapting to life in Victorian England. Moreover, time and distance have weakened the close bond between them, forged in the jungles of India.

Then, a shocking series of murders in the world of London’s gutter press forces them back together. The police seem mysteriously unwilling to investigate, and as connections emerge between the murdered men and the growing and unpredictable movement demanding the right to vote for all, Blake and Avery must race against time to find the culprit before he kills again. But what if the murderer is being protected by some of the highest powers in the land?

 

M. J. Carter is a former journalist and the author of The Strangler Vine, the first book in the Blake and Avery series, and two acclaimed works of non-fiction: Anthony Blunt: His Lives and The Three Emperors: Three Cousins, Three Empiresand The Road to World War One. She is married with two sons and lives in London.

Praise for The Strangler Vine

 

 

“M.J. Carter has cooked up a spicy dish: a pinch of Moonstone, a dash of Sherlock and a soupçon of Fu Manchu added to a rich stew of John Masters. A splendid romp and just the job for a cold winter's evening in front of a blazing fire” - William Dalrymple

 

“This is a gripping story of conspiracy and betrayal set in an early Victorian India that is rendered with complete conviction” - Charles Palliser

 

'Excellent...a witty and entrancing historical thriller…An inspired mix of sensation novel and odd-couple road novel…It gives us the gilt and grubbiness, in the prose equivalent of HD' - John O'Connell, Guardian

 

'The best elements of an old-fashioned ripping yarn… Carter's twisting devious narrative is enhanced by the vigorous prose and her convincing delineation of her characters, whose further adventures, already announced, can be keenly anticipated' - Nick Rennison, Sunday Times

 

“A rattling good yarn” - A. N. Wilson, Financial Times

 

“The Strangler Vine is a considerable achievement, which left me waiting impatiently for a promised sequel” - The Times

 

“Intelligent, extensively researched and packed with period detail” – Metro