Crowther and Westerman

In the year 1780, Harriet Westerman, the willful mistress of a country manor in Sussex, finds a dead man on her grounds with a ring bearing the crest of Thornleigh Hall in his pocket. Not one to be bound by convention or to shy away from adventure, she recruits a reclusive local anatomist named Gabriel Crowther to help her find the murderer, and historical suspense's newest investigative duo is born.

Award-winning author Imogen Robertson continues the acclaimed series she began with Instruments of Darkness. Set in London during the Revolutionary War, Anatomy of Murder follows unlikely forensic investigator Mrs. Harriet Westerman and reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther as they try to solve the mysterious death of a man dragged from the murky depths of the Thames River.

England, 1783: In Island of Bones, Crowther’s haunting past is at last revealed. For years he has pursued his forensic studies - and the occasional murder investigation - far from his family estate. But an ancient tomb there will reveal a wealth of secrets. When laborers discover an extra body inside, the lure of the mystery brings Crowther home at last. Fans of both historical fiction à la Anne Perry and the intricate forensics of Tess Gerritsen will be delighted by Robertson’s latest.

Death at the Carnival: Riddle, ritual, and murder. Shrove Tuesday, 1784: While the nobility dance at a masked ball, beautiful Lady Martesen is murdered. Daniel Clode is found by her body, his wrists slit and his memories nightmarish. What has he done? Harriet Westerman and Gabriel Crowther race to the Duchy of Maulberg to save Daniel from the executioner's axe. There they find a capricious Duke on the point of marriage, a court consumed by luxury and intrigue, and a bitter enemy from the past. After another cruel death, they must discover the truth, no matter how horrific it is.

London, 1785: When the body of a former West Indies planter is found staked out by St Paul's Cathedral, suspicion falls at once on a runaway slave. But the answer is not that simple. The planter's death brings tragedy for Francis Glass, a freed slave working as a bookseller, and a painful reminder of the past for William Geddings, senior footman in the household of unconventional widow Harriet Westerman. Harriet is reluctant to confront the powerful world of the slave trade but she and her friend, anatomist Gabriel Crowther, must face its shameful truths....