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Rivals across the river
A gasworker murdered. A boy accused. A detective out of his depth.
London, 1860. Ten-year-old workhouse escapee Tommy Jones is accused of murdering his only friend, a stoker at the gasworks. When the assigned City Police Inspector falls ill, shy, intellectual Sergeant Cuthbert Slaughter is put on the case.
As a second gasworks murder across the Thames is revealed, Slaughter must secretly collaborate with a rival detective to prevent a horrible injustice. Are the two deaths connected? If Tommy was not the killer, who wanted two stokers dead?
A mysterious cloaked man spying on the Bank of England, a poor clerk whose wife is under arrest for pilfering, the dumping of noxious substances into the river, all seem to be related. Hampered by his reticence, Slaughter must use all his wits to save the boy.
“A delightful escape to historic London with a lovable cast of characters who have a murder to solve. Immersive and well-researched.”
-Tanya E. Williams, author of the Hotel Hamilton Novels
“This is one of those rare pleasures where the author’s description doesn’t just sell the story—it is the story, precisely and honestly.”
–Irvin Rodhe, GoodReads
“Every character came alive on the page. All of them were very well fleshed out. And the scenery was so descriptive that I could lose myself and feel like I was actually there witnessing each scene and each place. ”
–Ruth McDaniel, GoodReads
“Where Slaughter brings experience and procedural rigor, Tommy offers intuition, empathy, and a child’s ability to see what others overlook. Together, they create a partnership that feels both improbable and entirely believable within the rigid yet porous social structures of the time.”
– The Historic Traveler
Murder at the Gasworks
Novel, 256 pages
Published 6 March 2026
Historical Mystery / Historical Fiction
ISBN: 979-8-9943652-1-2 (paperback) 979-8-9890337-6-8 (hardcover) 979-8-9943652-0-5 (e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2026900721
