The Immorality Engine
A thrilling new steampunk mystery from a unique voice in an increasingly popular subgenre
On the surface, life is going well for Victorian special agent Sir Maurice Newbury, who has brilliantly solved several nigh-impossible cases for Queen Victoria with his indomitable assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes by his side. But these facts haven’t stopped Newbury from succumbing increasingly frequently to his dire flirtation with the lure of opium. His addiction is fueled in part by his ill-gotten knowledge of Veronica’s secret relationship with the queen, which Newbury fears must be some kind of betrayal. Veronica, consumed by worry and care for her prophetic but physically fragile sister Amelia, has no idea that she is a catalyst for Newbury’s steadily worsening condition.
Veronica and Newbury’s dear friend Bainbridge, the Chief Investigator at Scotland Yard, tries to cover for him as much as possible, but when the body of a well known criminal turns up, Bainbridge and Veronica track Newbury down in an opium den and drag him out to help them with the case. The body is clearly, irrefutably, that of the man in question, but shortly after his body is brought to the morgue, a crime is discovered that bears all the dead man’s hallmarks. Bainbridge and Veronica fear someone is committing copycat crimes, but Newbury is not sure. Somehow, the details are too perfect for it to be the work of a copycat. But how can a dead man commit a crime?Readers also enjoyed
George Mann
George Mann is a Sunday Times bestselling novelist and scriptwriter. He’s the creator of the supernatural crime series Wychwood, as well as the popular Newbury & Hobbes and Tales of the Ghost series, two of which are in development as television shows. He’s written new adventures for landmark properties such as Star Wars, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, Judge Dredd, Warhammer 40,000 and Dark Souls.
George lives near Grantham with his wife, family and two noisy dogs. He loves mythology and folklore, Kate Bush and chocolate. He is constantly surrounded by tottering piles of books.
Newbury & Hobbes
Newbury & Hobbes consists of six primary books, and includes one additional book that complement the series but is not considered mandatory reads — considered a complete series. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
