The Scent of Death

From the No. 1 bestselling author of THE AMERICAN BOY comes a brilliant new historical thriller set during the American War of Independence.

Manhattan, 1778. A city of secrets, profiteers, loyalists and double agents.

As the last part of America under British rule, New York is home to a swelling tide of refugees seeking justice from the British crown.

Edward Savill is sent from London to investigate the claims of dispossessed loyalists. No sooner does he land than he becomes embroiled in the case of a gentleman murdered in the city’s notorious Canvas Town. An escaped slave hangs for the crime, but Savill is convinced they have executed the wrong man.

Lodging with the respected Wintour family, Savill senses the mystery deepening. Judge Wintour’s beautiful daughter-in-law, Arabella, hides a tragedy in her past, while his son plans a dangerous mission into enemy territory. And what of Mr Noak, the enigmatic clerk seemingly bent on a dubious course of his own?

One thing is clear – the killing in Canvas Town was just the start of a trail of murder, and it’s leading directly to Savill…

Andrew Taylor is the multiple award-winning author of The American Boy, his No. 1 bestselling historical novel which was a 2005 Richard & Judy Book Club choice. He has won many awards, including the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger, an Edgar Scroll from the Mystery Writers of America, the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award (the only author to win it twice) and the CWA’s prestigious Diamond Dagger, awarded for sustained excellence in crime writing.

He is also the author of the Dougal and Lydmouth crime series, the historical thrillers Bleeding Heart Square and The Anatomy of Ghosts, and the ground-breaking Roth Trilogy, which was adapted into the acclaimed drama Fallen Angel. He also writes for the Spectator. He lives with his wife Caroline in the Forest of Dean.