The Laughing Hangman

by Edward Marston

A laughing hangman turns the stage into the gallows... When Nicholas Bracewell finds himself once again in the parlour of his lost love, Anne Hendrik, he was not expecting her entreaties to embroil him in the murder of a beloved choir master. Between tales of cruelty, forgotten maps of London and a butcher determined to rescue his son, it is yet another mystery for the book keeper to untangle. But will his quest endanger Lord Westfield's Men? As their latest play, The Misfortunes of Marriage, threatens to break them apart beneath the playwright's own belligerent ribaldry, the threat of the hangman stalks ever closer. And with every step his laughter rings with the power to turn even the hallowed stage into the gallows.

'Marston's wit and vivid evocation of Elizabethan London's sights and smells provide a delightfully ribald backdrop for this clever series' Publishers Weekly 'Absorbing ... splendid work' Kirkus Reviews

Edward Marston has written over a hundred books, including some non fiction. He is best known for his hugely successful Railway Detective series. His other current series are the Home Front Detective, set in the Great War, and the Bow Street Rivals, featuring identical twin detectives during the Regency.