The Blood Card
Elizabeth II's coronation is looming, but the murder of their wartime commander, Colonel Cartwright, spoils the happy mood for DI Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto. A playbill featuring another deceased comrade is found in Colonel Cartwright's possession, and a playing card, the ace of hearts: the blood card. The wartime connection and the suggestion of magic are enough for him to put Stephens and Mephisto on the case.
Edgar's investigation into the death of Brighton fortune-teller Madame Zabini is put on hold. Max is busy rehearsing for a spectacular Coronation Day variety show - and his television debut - so it's Edgar who is sent to New York, a land of plenty worlds away from still-rationed England. He's on the trail of a small-town mesmerist who may provide the key, but someone else silences him first. It's Sergeant Emma Holmes who finds the clue, buried in the files of the Zabini case, that leads them to an anarchist group intent on providing an explosive finale to Coronation Day.
Now it's up to Edgar, Max and Emma to foil the plot, and find out who it is who's been dealing the cards . . .
Elly Griffiths
Thank you for visiting my Amazon author page! I'm the author of the Dr Ruth Galloway books, the Brighton Mysteries and four standalone titles featuring DI Harbinder Kaur. I've also written a middle grade mystery series, A Girl Called Justice. My new series, about time-travelling detective Ali Dawson, started in 2025 with The Frozen People.
I was born in London but moved to Brighton when I was five. I always wanted to be an author and wrote my first detective story, The Hair of the Dog, when I was 11. I studied English at King's College London and worked in a library before joining HarperCollins as a publicity assistant, eventually becoming editorial director for children's fiction. I wrote my first published novel, The Italian Quarter, whilst on maternity leave expecting my twins. Three other books followed, all written under my real name, Domenica de Rosa. When I wrote my first crime novel, The Crossing Places, I was advised to get a 'crime name'. I chose Elly Griffiths, after my grandmother, and have now published 32 books under that name..
Brighton Mysteries
Brighton Mysteries consists of seven books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
