A sinister figure stalks the gas-lit groves of Cremorne Gardens, the last pleasure - ground on the banks of the Thames. His weapon, a sharp pair of scissors. His victims, young women in the first bloom of youth. His crime - merely to remove a lock of their hair. Inspector Decimus Webb of Scotland Yard suspects a harmless lunatic is at large. But, when morbid obsession turns to murder, even Webb's loyal sergeant begins to doubt his judgement. As the press and his superiors clamour for answers, Webb's investigations lead him to Rose Perfitt, aspiring debutante and daughter of a respectable stock-broker. Will she fall prey to 'The Cutter' or does a worse fate beckon? One thing is certain - only Decimus Webb can save her. Lee Jackson's third Inspector Webb novel takes the reader into the forgotten world of the Victorian pleasure-garden, in a gripping mystery of garish gas-light and dark secrets.

Author Biography

LEE JACKSON lives in London with his partner Joanne. His first book, London Dust, was shortlisted for the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award. He is fascinated by the social history of Victorian London and spends much of his time on the ongoing development of his website www.victorianlondon.org