Author:Brian Thompson
Bella Wallis is a respectable society woman with a secret identity: in an office buried deep within the seedy backstreets of London, she writes sensationalist novels exposing the scoundrels that litter high society under the pen name Henry Ellis Margam.
So when a crested cigar case is found near the body of a murdered prostitute, Bella and her friends are determined to trace the murderer and write a mystery that will avenge the poor girl's untimely death. But the owner of the cigar case is a dangerous - and rich - man who has already destroyed the lives of others who have crossed him. Will Bella see justice done, or will she meet the same fate as so many of her characters...?
The Widow's Secret is the first in the Bella Wallis series of mysteries and takes us from London to Paris, from the highest of society to the lowest of the low. It is an entertaining, effervescent romp and a wonderful introduction to this most charismatic of heroines.
The Widow's Secret drops us headfirst into the realm of 19th-century sensation fiction - the lurid stuff of Wilkie Collins and old-fashioned penny dreadfuls. Although Brian Thompson is best known for his recent memoirs he's equally convincing on murder, mystery and the Victorians. As the curtain-raiser for a new detective series, this novel is a bold beginning. Thompson is clearly having the time of his life here. He revels in the vigilante justice, ribald talk and Dickensian grotesques at his disposal
—— Sunday TelegraphA neo-Victorian yarn that rattles on merrily and rings true. We are told that more instalments of Bella's exploits are on the way. Let them come, say I
—— John Sutherland , Financial TimesThompson specialises in sharp, elliptical dialogue and brisk little glances into the murk that rises beyond Bella's window
—— D. J. Taylor , GuardianBrian Thompson writes well and there's a rich vein of humour
—— Daily MailEntertaining, indeed dazzling. Dickensian in its humour, its vivid evocation of a criminal underworld, and the poverty and filth of the Victorian city
—— Times Literary SupplementA glorious heroine
—— John HarveyBrennan is a winner, and so is Reichs
—— Daily NewsA truly impressive writer
—— We Love This BookAlex Cross is a legend.
—— HARLAN COBENPatterson boils a scene down to the single, telling detail, the element that defines a character or moves a plot along. It's what fires off the movie projector in the reader's mind.
—— MICHAEL CONNELLYPatterson knows where our deepest fears are Patterson knows where our deepest fears are buried... there's no stopping his imagination.buried... there's no stopping his imagination.
—— NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEWPatterson is in a class by himself.
—— VANITY FAIRSharp, sassy and guaranteed to send shivers down your spine, this is a tense thriller
—— WOMANCross is one of the best and most likeable characters in the modern thriller.
—— SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINERI love Kate's writing...a fantastic detective mystery
—— MirrorThe opening chapter of Kate Atkinson's latest book is one of the finest pieces of suspense literature you will read this year . . . addictive . . . Atkinson is back at her best
—— London Life
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