Until now Andrew Martin has been better known for his pleasant if traditional Jim Stringer series of novels, about a railway detective in North East Edwardian England, and his non fiction, but this new book stretches his boundaries and moves him up a notch or so in the crime stakes pantheon. In York in 1799, an artist well-known for his characteristic paintings of shades and silhouettes is found brutally murdered, stabbed by a pair of scissors. When it becomes evident that the killer could only have been one of the last persons to be portrayed by the artist, his son calls on Fletcher Rigge, who is in prison for debt, to be released for a month to solve the crime. A race against time begins in earnest as failing in the task might entail a life sentence. In possession of the mysterious silhouettes, Fletcher enters a veritable world of shadows. Traditional historical crime with an atmospheric feel, and some truly innovative touches and elements. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
'An enticing and clever book, inside and out' Book Of The Month - The Times York, 1799.
In August, an artist is found murdered in his home - stabbed with a pair of scissors. Matthew Harvey's death is much discussed in the city. The scissors are among the tools of his trade - for Harvey is a renowned cutter and painter of shades, or silhouettes, the latest fashion in portraiture. It soon becomes clear that the murderer must be one of the artist's last sitters, and the people depicted in the final six shades made by him become the key suspects. But who are they? And where are they to be found?
Later, in November, a clever but impoverished young gentleman called Fletcher Rigge languishes in the debtor's prison, until a letter arrives containing a bizarre proposition from the son of the murdered man. Rigge is to be released for one month, but in that time, he must find the killer. If he fails, he will be incarcerated again, possibly for life.
And so, with everything at stake, and equipped only with copies of the distinctive silhouettes, Fletcher Rigge begins his search across the snow-covered city, and enters a world of shadows...
Andrew Martin is a journalist and novelist. His critically praised 'Jim Stringer' series began with The Necropolis Railway in 2002. The following titles in the series, Murder at Deviation Junction and Death on a Branch Line, were shortlisted for the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award and, in 2008, Andrew Martin was shortlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. The Somme Stations won the 2011 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award.
