Dark Asylum

'Evocative...brilliant plotting' REBECCA GRIFFITHS

'Vivid, pungent and perilous' CHRIS BROOKMYRE

A chilling and atmospheric thriller perfect for fans of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, The Silent Companions and The Strangers Diaries.

1851, Angel Meadow Asylum. Dr Rutherford, principal physician to the insane, is found dead, his head bashed in, his ears cut off, his lips and eyes stitched closed. The police direct their attention towards Angel Meadow's inmates, but to Jem Flockhart and Will Quartermain the crime is an act of calculated retribution, rather than of madness.

To discover the truth Jem and Will must pursue the story through the darkest corners of the city - from the depths of a notorious rookery, to the sordid rooms of London's brothels, the gallows, the graveyard, the convict fleet and then back to the asylum. In a world where guilt and innocence, crime and atonement, madness and reason, are bounded by hypocrisy, ambition and betrayal, Jem and Will soon find themselves caught up in a web of dark secrets and hidden identities.

Praise for E.S. Thomson:

'It's rare that a book is Gothic enough for me, but Beloved Poison is killing it. The blood, the bones...' LAURA PURCELL

'Complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable' DAILY EXPRESS

'Marvellous, vivid . . . breathtakingly dark' JANET ELLIS

'Jem Flockhart books are the best I've read in years' KIRSTY LOGAN

'A marvel . . . thoroughly engrossing' MARY PAULSON ELLIS

'A tale of Victorian London to freeze your blood on a cold winter's night' EVENING TELEGRAPH

Long-listed for CWA daggers: Endeavour Historical Dagger 2017 (UK)

“From the first page to the last, I enjoyed every brilliantly written, and often hideous, detail ... A splendid read”

Beloved Poison is a marvellous, vivid book with a thoughtful, engaging protagonist at its centre - and a fascinating story to tell. It's immaculately researched and breathtakingly dark. Elaine Thomson's descriptive powers are so great that that I was surprised to see twenty-first century London rather than grimy, smelly St Saviour's around me when I - eventually - looked up from its pages

Following on from the events of acclaimed debut Beloved Poison, Dark Asylum vividly portrays the Gothic horror and questionable science of Victorian mental asylums in chilling detail. Meticulously researched and masterfully plotted, E.S. Thomson has written a complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable tale - Daily Express

Dark Asylum positively oozes gothic menace, and the author's evocation of the city at that time is visceral and engagingly morbid . . . A first class piece of historical crime writing - Big Issue

Here's a tale of Victorian London to freeze your blood on a cold winter's night - Evening Telegraph on Beloved Poison

You can almost feel the evil miasma rising from the page - Kirkus Reviews on Beloved Poison

This outstanding debut historical enthrals with its meticulously researched details - Library Journal on Beloved Poison

• Cambridge Magazine on Beloved Poison

A historical novel to be savoured - The National on Beloved Poison

E. S. Thomson's work has been longlisted for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger, and shortlisted for the Saltire Prize, the Scottish Arts Council First Book Award and the William McIlvanney Crime Book of the Year Award. She has a PhD in the social history of medicine, and tries to fit as much medical history into her books as possible. She works as a university lecturer by day, and writes by night. Elaine lives in Edinburgh with her two sons.

The lips had been darned closed with six long, black, stitches. Clumsily executed, they gave the face a crude deaths-head appearance, like a child's drawing scrawled upon a wall... 1851, Angel Meadow Asylum. Dr Rutherford, principal physician to the insane, is found dead, his head bashed in, his ears cut off, his lips and eyes stitched closed. The police direct their attention towards Angel Meadow's inmates, but to Jem Flockhart and Will Quartermain the crime is an act of calculated retribution, rather than of madness. To discover the truth Jem and Will must pursue the story through the darkest corners of the city - from the depths of a notorious rookery, to the sordid rooms of London's brothels, the gallows, the graveyard, the convict fleet and then back to the asylum. In a world where guilt and innocence, crime and atonement, madness and reason, are bounded by hypocrisy, ambition and betrayal, Jem and Will soon find themselves caught up in a web of dark secrets and hidden identities. 'Following on from the events of acclaimed debut Beloved Poison, Dark Asylum vividly portrays the Gothic horror and questionable science of Victorian mental asylums in chilling detail. Meticulously researched and masterfully plotted, E.S. Thomson has written a complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable tale' Daily Express

'Evocative...brilliant plotting' REBECCA GRIFFITHS 'Vivid, pungent and perilous' CHRIS BROOKMYRE A chilling and atmospheric thriller perfect for fans of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle , The Silent Companions and The Strangers Diaries . 1851, Angel Meadow Asylum. Dr Rutherford, principal physician to the insane, is found dead, his head bashed in, his ears cut off, his lips and eyes stitched closed. The police direct their attention towards Angel Meadow's inmates, but to Jem Flockhart and Will Quartermain the crime is an act of calculated retribution, rather than of madness. To discover the truth Jem and Will must pursue the story through the darkest corners of the city - from the depths of a notorious rookery, to the sordid rooms of London's brothels, the gallows, the graveyard, the convict fleet and then back to the asylum. In a world where guilt and innocence, crime and atonement, madness and reason, are bounded by hypocrisy, ambition and betrayal, Jem and Will soon find themselves caught up in a web of dark secrets and hidden identities. Praise for E.S. Thomson: 'It's rare that a book is Gothic enough for me, but Beloved Poison is killing it. The blood, the bones...' LAURA PURCELL 'Complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable' DAILY EXPRESS 'Marvellous, vivid . . . breathtakingly dark' JANET ELLIS 'Jem Flockhart books are the best I've read in years' KIRSTY LOGAN 'A marvel . . . thoroughly engrossing' MARY PAULSON ELLIS 'A tale of Victorian London to freeze your blood on a cold winter's night' EVENING TELEGRAPH

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