Rough Justice

Who killed Lisa Rainer? The answer lies buried beneath lies, passion, and blood. When the beautiful Lisa is found murdered, detective John Thorne must navigate a labyrinth of secrets: a former lover who sailed to Africa and returned with another woman's name on his lips, family inheritances that may have inspired murder, and the rigid class conventions that both enable and punish transgressive desire. Braddon weaves a detective story with the seductive knowingness of sensation fiction, exposing the dark impulses that fester beneath Victorian propriety. This is a novel about what happens when desire and greed collide with the unforgiving machinery of class and gender expectations. Inspired by a true story, it pulses with the same energy that made Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret a scandalous sensation. It is addictive, transgressive, and sharp as a blade.