Description: November, 1853. Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins are summoned to examine a body found in an attic studio, surrounded by a lacerated painting titled A Winter of Despair. Wilkie recognizes the victim as a friend of his brother Charley. What secrets lie among the close-knit group of Pre-Raphaelite painters who were the victim's friends?
Brief description: Cora Harrison turned to writing historical fiction after she retired from teaching to live on a farm near the Burren in the west of Ireland. As well as the Gaslight mysteries, she is the author of the Reverend Mother mysteries and the 'Mara' series of Celtic mysteries, set in 16th-century Ireland.
Review Quotes: "Harrison is at the top of her game ... The fair-play puzzle is among her finest"-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review of Murder at the Queen's Old Castle"