M.J. Trow's first three novels which recount the early adventures of Sholto Lestrade, Inspector of the Yard, the butt of the great Sherlock Holmes's disdain and the object of Dr Watson's mockery, yet, nevertheless, 'the intelligent, the intuitive bright light of law and order in a wicked Victorian world' (Punch):

It is 1891 and London is still reeling from the horror of the unsolved Ripper murders when Inspector Lestrade is sent to the Isle of Wight to investigate a strange corpse found walled-up in Shanklin Chine, the first in a series of killings so bizarre and, apparently, so random, that only a warped genius - and a master of disguise -- could be responsible. 'Splendidly shaken cocktail of Victorian fact and fiction ... Witty, literate and great fun.' Marcel Berlins, The Times

There is a new broom at Scotland Yard: Nimrod Frost. His first 'little job' for Lestrade is to investigate the reported appearance of a lion in Cornwall, a supposed savager of sheep and frightener of men. Having solved that case to his own satisfaction, Lestrade returns to London and to two more suspicious deaths, all old men who should have died quietly in their sleep. Is there a connection? Is there a mass murderer at work? 'Barrowloads of nineteenth-century history ... If you like your humour chirpy, you'll find this sings.'

H..F. Keating, Daily Telegraph

Queen Victoria is dead, the Boer War rages on, and Inspector Lestrade is called upon to investigate the brutal death of Ralph Childers, MP. Is someone trying to destroy the government? It would seem so, particularly when a bomb is found in the Palace of Westminster. 'It's full of contemporary catch-phrase jokes, but there is no levity over the plot, which is an authentic whodunnit with a surprising twist at the end -- you kick yourself for not guessing sooner.' Punch