Today sees the return of Ann Granger’s popular Victorian crime-solver, Inspector Ben Ross, with THE DEAD WOMAN OF DEPTFORD published in paperback today by Headline. This is the sixth Inspector Ben Ross mystery set in Victorian London by much-loved crime writer Ann Granger.
‘Ann Granger is a crime writer of extraordinary versatility…Ann’s sense of time and places is as immaculate as ever, her central characters of Lizzie and her companion sleuth Inspector Benjamin Ross as credible and warmly human as you could wish them to be. Another winning pairing? I think so.’ – Val Javin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
On a cold November night in a Deptford yard, dock worker Harry Parker stumbles upon the body of a dead woman. Inspector Ben Ross is summoned from Scotland Yard to this insalubrious part of town, but no witness to the murder of this well-dressed, middle-aged woman can be found. Even Jeb Fisher, the local rag-and-bone man, swears he's seen nothing.
Meanwhile, Ben's wife Lizzie is trying to suppress a scandal: family friend Edgar Wellings has a gambling addiction and no means of repaying his debts. Reluctantly, Lizzie agrees to visit his debt collector's house in Deptford, but when she arrives she finds her husband is investigating the murder of the woman in question. Edgar was the last man to see Mrs Clifford alive and he has good reason to want her dead, but Ben and Lizzie both know that a case like this is rarely as simple as it appears...
You can read more about how Ann Granger came to write the book here.
Ann Granger is the author of the internationally acclaimed Meredith and Markby and Fran Varady detective series. The first novel in her Victorian crime series, A RARE INTEREST IN CORPSES was published by Headline in 2006.
Entering the top 5 of the German bestseller list with each novel, she has also contributed to several short story volumes, licensed internationally. Headline has published 29 of her crime novels.
She has worked in British embassies in France, Germany, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
Praise for Ann Granger:
'One of the most reliable practitioners of the crime fiction genre — her usual impeccable plotting is fully in place.' - Good Book Guide
'You can always count on Ann Granger.' - Kölner Express
‘Characterisation, as ever with Granger, is sharp and astringent’ - The Times
‘The plot is neat and ingenious, the characters rounded and touchingly credible ... a pleasure to read’ - Ham and High
‘The reader can expect a treat. Lively, different and fun’ - Yorkshire Post
‘She is on to another winner’ - Birmingham Post