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Title details for The Darwin Affair by Tim Mason - Available

The Darwin Affair

A Novel

by Tim Mason
Derek Perkins
Audiobook
4 of 4 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
4 of 4 copies available
London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later-and only a block away-Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that these crimes are connected to an even more sinister plot. Was Victoria really the assassin's target? Are those closest to the Crown hiding something? And who is this shadowy figure witnesses describe as having lifeless, coal-black eyes? Soon, Field's investigation exposes a shocking conspiracy in which the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species sets off a string of murders, arson, kidnapping, and the pursuit of a diabolical madman named the Chorister. As the investigation takes Field from the dangerous alleyways of London to the hallowed halls of Oxford, the list of possible conspirators grows as the body count escalates. And as he edges closer to the Chorister, he uncovers dark secrets that were meant to remain forever hidden. With ingenuity, intelligence, and wit, debut novelist Tim Mason has created a powerfully entertaining thriller. For fans of Caleb Carr and Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Darwin Affair is a rousing tale that both Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would relish and envy.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 11, 2019

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781684571734
      • File size: 330727 KB
      • Duration: 11:29:00

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 22, 2019
      Mason, author of the YA novel The Last Synapsid, makes his adult debut with an audacious historical thriller. In 1860, Chief Det. Insp. Charles Field, the inspiration for Inspector Bucket in Dickens’s Bleak House, is part of the added security force for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert after several assassination attempts. One day, Field is guarding the route the royal couple’s carriage is taking through London when he spots 18-year-old pickpocket Stevie Patchen, who appears to be holding a weapon. Field tackles Patchen, only to realize that the youth was a decoy. The actual gunman, Philip Rendell, a former bookkeeper, is able to fire only a few stray shots at the carriage before he’s apprehended. In the ensuing confusion, someone cuts Patchen’s throat and removes one ear, leading Field to suspect a conspiracy. The intelligent plot features prominent figures of the time, including Karl Marx, who may have a link to Rendell, and Charles Darwin, whose heretical theory of evolution has unsettled some very powerful men. Wry prose and vivid period detail help make Mason’s speculations feel plausible. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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