Shadow of the Serpent (An Inspector McLevy Mystery Series)

McLevy is one of the great psychological creations and Ashton is the direct heir to Robert Louis Stevenson' - Brian Cox, star of the BBC Radio 4 McLevy play

'David Ashton's writing is excellent, his characters thoroughly convincing, and his narrative grabs you . . . and doesn't let you go' - The Sherlock Holmes Society of London

'An intriguing Victorian detective story . . . elegant and convincing' - The Times

Known as the father of forensics and a likely influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, real-life police inspector James McLevy is here reinvented by David Ashton in a thrilling mystery, Shadow of the Serpent.

1880, Edinburgh, Election fever grips the city. But while the rich and educated argue about politics, in the dank wynds of the docks it's a struggle just to stay alive. When a prostitute is brutally murdered, disturbing memories from thirty years ago are stirred in McLevy who is soon lured into a murky world of politics, perversion and deception - and the shadow of the serpent.