Instruments of Darkness

Thornleigh Hall, seat of the Earl of Sussex, dominates its surroundings. Its heir is missing, and the once vigorous family is reduced to a cripple, his whore and his alcoholic second son, but its power endures.

Impulsive Harriet Westerman has felt the Hall s menace long before she happens upon a dead man bearing the Thornleigh arms. The grim discovery cries out for justice, and she persuades reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther to her cause, much against his better judgement; he knows a dark path lies before those who stray from society s expectations. That same day, Alexander Adams is killed in a London music shop, leaving his young children orphaned. His death will lead back to Sussex, and an explosive secret that has already destroyed one family and threatens many others.

“'A charmingly intriguing murder mystery set in 18th century England...Robertson breathes life into her chosen period as authentically as did Georgette Heyer'-- Daily Mail”

[An] extremely impressive debut...told by Robertson with great panache - The Times

Satisfyingly complex... Robertson's greatest achievement is the creation of characters who are vivid and believable and so engaging that one hopes Crowther and Westerman find more murders to solve in the future - Guardian

Poetic, enchanting, and chillingly memorable. Imogen Robertson is an exquisite writer, and this is an extraordinary novel - Tess Gerritsen

A charmingly intriguing murder mystery set in 18th century England...Robertson breathes life into her chosen period as authentically as did Georgette Heyer - Daily Mail

Thundering - Financial Times

A large country estate; an ancient and powerful aristocratic family; a dangerous hidden secret; a mysterious anatomist; a feisty amateur female detective and the brutal murder of a stranger. Really, what more could you want from a novel? Well, how about a link to the American revolutionary war and London in riotous meltdown? It's all here in glorious abundance in this rich and lustrous historical crime novel, Instruments of Darkness, the debut work of the ludicrously talented Imogen Robertson - Material Witness

[An] extraordinary, high quality historical thriller - Eurocrime

An atmospheric and twisting novel...an engaging heroine, loony-tune aristos, a cracking plot that fizzes along and a dangerous hidden secret. The follow-up is just as good - Material Witness

Imogen Robertson is a TV, film and radio director. She studied Russian and German at Cambridge, and now lives in London. She directs the hit Cbeebies show Numberjacks for TV and radio, for which she won an RTS award in 2006. She also writes and reviews poetry and was commended in The National Poetry Competition 2005. She won the Telegraph s First thousand words of a novel competition in 2007 with the opening of Instruments of Darkness.

Thornleigh Hall, seat of the Earl of Sussex, dominates its surroundings. Its heir is missing, and the once vigorous family is reduced to a cripple, his whore and his alcoholic second son, but its power endures. Impulsive Harriet Westerman has felt the Hall s menace long before she happens upon a dead man bearing the Thornleigh arms. The grim discovery cries out for justice, and she persuades reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther to her cause, much against his better judgement; he knows a dark path lies before those who stray from society s expectations. That same day, Alexander Adams is killed in a London music shop, leaving his young children orphaned. His death will lead back to Sussex, and an explosive secret that has already destroyed one family and threatens many others.

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