It is a beautiful piece, written with great lucidity and respect for the reader, and with immaculate restraint. A classic, to my mind, of the finest documentary writing

John le Carre

I can't think of another book which takes you so fast into the smells, tastes and atmosphere of that time

Doris Lessing

A pacy analysis of a true British murder case from 1860, the unravelling of which involved one of the earliest Scotland Yard detectives and inspired sensation novelists such as Dickens and Wilkie Collins ... Absolutely riveting

Sarah Waters, Guardian

Summerscale has constructed nothing less than a masterpiece ... My shelves are stacked with books about crime, but none more satisfying than this

Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday

Gripping, unputdownable

Sunday Telegraph

A terrific read in the Wilkie Collins tradition

Susan Hill