The House on Half Moon Street: A Richard and Judy Book Club 2019 pick (A Leo Stanhope Case) - Softcover

Reeve, Alex

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408892715 ISBN 13: 9781408892718

Publisher: Raven Books, 2018

Synopsis

'Enthralling, exciting, extraordinary and utterly convincing. Everything a great book should be' Sarah Hilary

'Wonderfully atmospheric, each page carries the whiff of sulphur and gaslight'
Red

Everyone has a secret... Only some lead to murder. Introducing Leo Stanhope: a Victorian transgender coroner's assistant who must uncover a killer without risking his own future

When the body of a young woman is wheeled into the hospital where Leo Stanhope works, his life is thrown into chaos. Maria, the woman he loves, has been murdered and it is not long before the finger of suspicion is turned on him, threatening to expose his lifelong secret.

For Leo Stanhope was born Charlotte, the daughter of a respectable reverend. Knowing he was meant to be a man - despite the evidence of his body - and unable to cope with living a lie any longer, he fled his family home at just fifteen and has been living as Leo ever since: his secret known to only a few trusted people.

Desperate to find Maria's killer and thrown into gaol, he stands to lose not just his freedom, but ultimately his life.

About this title

Review:

Wonderfully atmospheric, each page carries the whiff of sulphur and gaslight (Red)

From the first page of Reeve's masterful debut, we are plunged into murky Victorian London. This is a brilliantly gripping, unsettling Gothic tale of murder, identity and desire (Diva)

Highly original (Guardian)

Reeve has not only crafted a brilliant crime novel, but has created a character who has made me see the world with new eyes. I await Leo's - and Reeve's - return eagerly. (The i)

Creating a genuinely original protagonist in historical crime fiction is difficult, but Alex Reeve has succeeded ... An intriguing murder mystery and a complex portrait of a man isolated by his awareness of who he truly is (Sunday Times)

An ingenious, pacey mystery with a sympathetic hero (Irish Times)

An entertaining and ingenious psychological drama of gender identity enfolded within a dexterously plotted and deeply satisfying Victorian murder thriller. Leo Stanhope is an impulsive, infuriating and ardently honourable accidental detective driven by his passions - a vibrant, intense character for whom the ultimate mystery is himself (Rachel Holmes)

A masterful Gothic mystery full of unsettling twists, riveting turns and characters that would make Dickens jealous (Kaite Welsh, author of The Wages of Sin)

The House on Half Moon Street is everything you want from a novel - a wonderfully evoked setting, a fascinating cast of characters, a plot that turns the pages for you and beautiful, intricate writing. I loved it (William Ryan)

A wonderfully fast moving drama with a wealth of captivating characters.And yet, below the decadent charm, historical issues of women's rights are threaded so well into the plot - as is the writer's sense of tenderness when describing the desperate loneliness of feeling 'other' in one's physical body (Essie Fox, author of The Last Days of Leda Grey)

Book Description:

Everyone has a secret... Only some lead to murder. Introducing Leo Stanhope: a Victorian transgender coroner's assistant who must uncover a killer without risking his own future

About this edition

• Publisher: Raven Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1408892715
• ISBN 13: 9781408892718
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384