1840. Liberty Lane is in Cheltenham, where she’s been hired by a local magistrate to establish the guilt or innocence of young Jack Picton, who stands accused of killing governess Mary Marsh. Liberty believes the wrong man is in the dock. But how can she help Picton when he refuses to reveal his whereabouts on the night of the murder?

Private investigator Liberty Lane’s latest case takes her to rural Gloucestershire to uncover the truth of a brutal murder

July, 1840. Liberty Lane has left London for Cheltenham, where she’s been hired by a local magistrate to establish the guilt or innocence of young Jack Picton, who stands accused of killing governess Mary Marsh. Picton is a known rebel and political agitator. But is he a murderer?

Liberty shares the magistrate’s doubts as to whether the right man is in the dock. But how can she help Picton when he refuses to reveal his whereabouts on the night of the murder? He’s certainly hiding something. But what?

As Liberty is about to discover, behind Cheltenham’s genteel façade lies a hotbed of vice including gambling, drunkenness and illicit love affairs. A place where the poor are driven to desperate lengths to escape the horror of the workhouse. A place which is harbouring a ruthless killer. Can Liberty uncover the truth in time?

Caro Peacock, who has written five previous Liberty Lane novels, is a pseudonym of Gillian Linscott the award-winning author of numerous crime novels, including the Nell Bray series. She lives near the Welsh borders.