As the second installment of the Dunston Burnett Trilogy, we see the return of the amateur detective, and retired Inspector Line as they embark on a new case, and try to untangle the truth behind an impossible disappearance in the Darwin family.
Faced with conflicting facts, potential scandals and threats to Charles Darwin and his newly published theory of evolution, the journey twists into dark depths. Meanwhile a young mother goes to extreme lengths to find and protect her son, and becomes entangled in a seedy world that prays on the unfortunate.
The story delves into grim themes and devastating tragedies, as the villain's elaborate plot comes to fruition.
It shows harrowing truths of Victorian society, including the vulnerability of women, miscarriages of justice, and corruption.
I enjoyed how both books had intricate layers to the mystery and crime solving, and nefarious twists.