The Dark Palace: A Silas Quinn Mystery

In Morris’s stellar third pre-WWI historical (after 2013’s The Mannequin House), Silas Quinn has managed to regain command of Scotland Yard’s Special Crimes Department, just in time to tackle his most bizarre case yet. Someone has broken into the morgue to remove the eyes of a victim from an earlier case. Baron Dunwich, a senior Admiralty official with a rampant libido, receives a package containing a cue ball painted to look like an eyeball. And a shocking new film by an Austrian director centers on a killer who takes his prey’s eyes as trophies. Quinn must sort all this out while struggling with his inner demons, as well as with the puzzle of his father’s suicide. Meanwhile, Quinn with his small squad has to keep watch for any suspicious activities among German nationals in London. Ruth Rendell fans open to stories set a century ago will be well satisfied. [em]Agent: Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson, Sinclair-Stevenson Literary Agency (U.K.). (May) [/em]