When the disgraced Lord Byron is associated with the deaths of women in Venice, he turns detective to unveil the killer and clear his name. A dazzling, riveting historical mystery by the author of the Sunday Times bestseller, The Fascination.

`Brooding and brilliant´ A.J. West `As mesmerising and charismatic as Byron himself can ever have been … a magnificent gothic tale of scandal, secrets and murder´ Janice Hallett `A plot as labyrinthine as the Venice backstreets, told in dazzling prose; suspenseful, seductive stuff´ Erin Kelly `Evokes all the grimy charisma of eighteenth-century Venice … a mystery as sinuous as the city's alleys and canals. I was enthralled´ Elizabeth Fremantle `A dark treat … splendidly gothic and impressively researched´ Andrew Taylor –––––––

When fiction is fatal… Living in exile in Venice, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city But when he is associated with the deaths of local women, found with wounds to their throats, and then a novel called The Vampyre is published under his name, rumours begin to spread that Byron may be the murderer… As events escalate and tensions rise – and his own life is endangered, as well as those he holds most dear – Byron is forced to play detective, to discover who is really behind these heinous crimes. Meanwhile, the scandals of his own infamous past come back to haunt him… Rich in gothic atmosphere and drawing on real events and characters from Byron's life, Dangerous is a riveting, dazzling historical thriller, as decadent, dark and seductive as the poet himself… _________

`Brilliant, daring writing … a darkly delicious Venetian tale of murder and mystery´ Anna Mazzola `Essie Fox expertly weaves fact and fiction in this gloriously gothic thriller, in which Venice becomes the atmospheric backdrop to Byron’s daring attempt to catch a killer and clear his name´ Anita Frank `Sumptuous, entertaining, and glorious´ C.S.Green `Fox is the queen of darkly glittering gothic fiction … an electrifying mystery inspired by Lord Byron's life – a tale so compelling I devoured it in one sitting´ Louisa Treger `Many writers have tried and failed to capture the Byronic quintessence, but the brilliant Essie Fox has succeeded admirably. She proves that the poet and rake remains fascinating because he is, indeed, mad, bad and Dangerous´ Alex Larman `A heady and intoxicating brew … scandalously scintillating´ Kate Griffin `A gorgeously clever thriller´ Amanda Craig `A ravishing tale of murder, lust and thwarted ambition. Essie Fox’s reimagining of Byron’s turbulent months in c19th Venice is a sumptuous, decadent delight´ Emma Carroll `A deliciously gothic and beautifully written historical thriller starring the ultimate bad boy hero, Lord Byron´ Frances Quinn `An incredibly evocative and atmospheric book that captures the Byronic soul in all its beauty and madness´ Victoria Dowd `Deliciously dark and everything I hoped it would be … seductive gothic thriller where the scandalous poet is both chief suspect and amateur detective´ Paul Burston `An engaging historical mystery tale in which the dissolute poet turns sleuth to clear his own name´ Julie Anderson, Time & Leisure Magazine `A delicious dish of decadence … fastidiously researched, richly imagined, full of wonderful descriptions of Venice´ Michael Stewart `Exceptional storytelling´ Nydia Hetherington `This romp through Venice in the company of the peerless peer has a rare swagger and panache to it that suits its charismatic, dastardly poetic anti-hero down to the ground´ Alex Larman

Format:Hardback 300 pages

Publisher:Orenda Books

Imprint:Orenda Books

ISBN:9781916788442

Published:24 Apr 2025

Classifications:Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Historical mysteries, Historical fiction, Fiction: special features