Books

The Sally Lockhart quartet

Historical thrillers, that's what these books are. Old-fashioned Victorian blood-and-thunder. Actually, I wrote each one with a genuine cliché of melodrama right at the heart of it, on purpose: the priceless jewel with a curse on it – the madman with a weapon that could destroy the world – the situation of being trapped in a cellar with the water rising – the little illiterate servant girl from the slums of London who becomes a princess … And I set the stories up so that each of those stock situations, when they arose, would do so naturally and with the most convincing realism I could manage.

There are many more such hackneyed situations awaiting my attention.

The Ruby in the Smoke

'Have you ever heard the phrase The Seven Blessings?'
That question causes a man to die of shock, and propels Sally Lockhart into a desperate adventure that will expose the deepest secrets of the corrupt and murderous opium trade. (more...)

The Shadow in the North

In this book, Sally is up against a power that seems to involve the mysteries of life and death. (more...)

The Tiger in the Well

As I grew to know Sally better, and as she grew up, I realised that she'd naturally become interested in social questions of every kind. (more...)

The Tin Princess

The little girl who disappears at the end of The Ruby in the Smoke turns up again, and in the unlikeliest setting I could think of. (more...)