Matthew Corbett

The Carolinas, 1699. The citizens of Fount Royal believe a witch has cursed their town with inexplicable tragedies, demanding that beautiful widow Rachel Howarth be tried and executed. Presiding over the trial is magistrate Isaac Woodward, aided by his astute young clerk Matthew Corbett. Believing in Rachel's innocence, Matthew begins his own investigation. Piecing together the truth, he has no choice but to confront a force more malevolent than witchcraft — to save the woman he has come to care for and free Fount Royal from the evil claiming innocent lives.

Investigating New York City's first serial killer in 1702, Matthew Corbett contemplates working with an elderly asylum resident who may hold the key to the killer's identity — in a case further complicated by the murderer's dark designs for the city.

New York City, 1702. Matthew Corbett, now an apprentice 'problem solver' for the Herrald Agency, accepts a hazardous commission: escorting the notorious mass murderer Tyranthus Slaughter from an asylum near Philadelphia to the docks of New York. Along the way, Slaughter makes his captors a surprising — and extremely tempting — offer. A portrait of an archetypal serial killer set against an exquisitely detailed early American landscape.

Winter, 1703. Still haunted by his encounter with Tyranthus Slaughter, Matthew Corbett finds himself drawn back into danger when a series of unexplained explosions rocks his Manhattan neighborhood. Someone is trying, very hard, to get his attention — and that someone is the elusive Dr. Fell, who has a problem requiring Matthew's exclusive services. The ensuing adventure moves swiftly from New York to Pendulum Island in the remote Bermudas.

Charles Town, 1703. Matthew Corbett accepts an unusual commission: escorting a beautiful woman to a fancy dress ball. The assignment takes a darker turn when he becomes involved in a murder investigation — a sixteen-year-old girl stabbed to death on a local plantation. Determined to see justice done, Matthew joins the hunt for the suspected killer into the nearby swamp, embarking on a treacherous journey up the Solstice River. He soon discovers that something born of the swamp has joined the hunt — and is stalking the hunters with more than murder in mind.

The year is 1703, and Matthew Corbett is missing. His comrade Hudson Greathouse retraces Matthew's steps only to find him presumed dead, then accused of murdering a young woman and apparently en route to London with a devious Prussian count. When Matthew arrives in Londontown, he is shackled and charged with murder, soon locked in the infamous Newgate prison — where he draws the interest of a mysterious mask-wearing vigilante accused of several gruesome killings. Greathouse and Berry Grigsby race across the ocean to save him, but time is running out.

December 1703. Berry Grigsby has fallen victim to Professor Fell's involuntary drug experiments, her mind deteriorating rapidly. The only cure is a potion book stolen by a mysterious madman calling himself Cardinal Black. Matthew Corbett volunteers to travel with Julian Devane, a self-described 'fool and bad man' in Fell's employ, to track down the book in London — where it will be sold at a secret underground auction. To secure a seat, they must masquerade as feared criminal operatives.

January 1704. Matthew Corbett continues his mission to Italy, seeking Brazio Valeriani and his father's mirror — rumored to have the power to summon demons from beyond. When their ship is disabled by a pod of whales, the group takes refuge on a secluded island. The islanders welcome them with a feast, but all is not as it seems. As the island pulls the castaways deeper into its influence, Matthew must keep his wits about him and solve the mystery shrouding the other side of the island, where an active volcano looms and a secretive creature lurks.

The ninth volume in the Matthew Corbett series features a wide range of adventures — from murder plots that aren't what they seem, to creepy forests with possible supernatural evils, to a remote manor whose occupants are in the clutches of a ruthless master. An intriguing blend of everything that has drawn readers to the series, this penultimate volume sets the stage for Matthew's final adventure.

August 1704. Matthew Corbett and his companions have narrowly escaped the island of Golgotha and are recuperating on the northwestern coast of Sardinia. Their respite is short-lived when Spanish authorities learn of their abandoned quest for the mirror of sorcerer Ciro — rumored to summon demons — and assign a professional witch-hunter and soldiers to accompany them as they resume the search. Their only lead takes them to Venice, where members of an established crime family also seek the mirror — and a betrayal from within Matthew's own group puts the entire mission at risk.