Inspector McLevy Series by David Ashton

Known as the father of forensics and a likely influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, real-life police inspector James McLevy is here reinvented by David Ashton in this the first thrilling Inspector McLevy Mystery, Shadow of the Serpent. 1880, Edinburgh, Election fever grips the city. But while the rich and educated argue about politics, in the dank wynds of the docks it's a struggle just to stay alive... moreKnown as the father of forensics and a likely influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, real-life police inspector James McLevy is here reinvented by David Ashton in this the first thrilling Inspector McLevy Mystery, Shadow of the Serpent. 1880, Edinburgh, Election fever grips the city. But while the rich and educated argue about politics, in the dank wynds of the docks it's a struggle just to stay alive. When a prostitute is brutally murdered, disturbing memories from thirty years ago are stirred in McLevy who is soon lured into a murky world of politics, perversion and deception—and the shadow of the serpent. less

Revolving around the Tay Bridge Disaster, this story begins with a break-in and murder at the Edinburgh home of Sir Thomas Bouch. Bouch is the egotistical builder of Tay Bridge. McLevy investigates, and finds the murderer, the dangerous Hercules Dunbar. But there is much, to unfold - murder, arson, sexual obsession and suicide.

The third in David Ashton's series of McLevy books, A Trick of the Light sees McLevy team up with Arthur Conan Doyle to pursue a ruthless killer. It is 1860 and a Confederate officer, Jonathen Sinclair, arrives in Edinburgh with a sheaf of money to purchase a blockade-runner from Clydeside shipbuilders. He is betrayed to the Union forces and brutally shot dead by their secret agents. The money vanishes. This incident sets the scene for more foul play in another pacy McLevy thriller.

When the body of a handsome, fleshy man is found on the Newcastle to Edinburgh train with the livid mark of a garotte round his throat like a lethal necklace, naturally the first port of call is Leith Police Station and Inspector James McLevy... moreWhen the body of a handsome, fleshy man is found on the Newcastle to Edinburgh train with the livid mark of a garotte round his throat like a lethal necklace, naturally the first port of call is Leith Police Station and Inspector James McLevy. The corpse is discovered to be one ‘Count Borromeo’, a ruthless seducer and amoral bigamist; it soon emerges that Jean Brash’s coachman, the ginger-haired giant Angus Dalrymple, was also aboard the train and is the number one suspect, a fact that sets Jean and the inspector once more at daggers drawn. When McLevy and Constable Mulholland finally unravel this case, the murderer is confronted in a deadly encounter on the girders and high gantries above Waverley Station. This is an adaptation of an episode of the BBC series based around the Victorian detective James McLevy, developed for Radio 4 by David Ashton. less

BASED ON THE LONG-RUNNING BBC RADIO 4 McLEVY DRAMA SERIES ...WHILE THE STREETS OF LONDON HAD SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE DARK ALLEYS OF EDINBURGH HAD INSPECTOR JAMES McLEVY ELEGANT AND CONVINCING' The Times | 'ASHTON IS THE DIRECT HEIR TO ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON' Brian Cox | 'EXCELLENT' The Sherlock Holmes Society | 'DRIPPING WITH MELODRAMA AND DERRING-DO' Herald 1887. The streets of Edinburgh seethe with anarchy as two gangs of students rival each other in wild exploits... moreBASED ON THE LONG-RUNNING BBC RADIO 4 McLEVY DRAMA SERIES ...WHILE THE STREETS OF LONDON HAD SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE DARK ALLEYS OF EDINBURGH HAD INSPECTOR JAMES McLEVY ELEGANT AND CONVINCING' The Times | 'ASHTON IS THE DIRECT HEIR TO ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON' Brian Cox | 'EXCELLENT' The Sherlock Holmes Society | 'DRIPPING WITH MELODRAMA AND DERRING-DO' Herald 1887. The streets of Edinburgh seethe with anarchy as two gangs of students rival each other in wild exploits. After a pitched battle between them, an old woman is found savagely battered to death in Leith Harbour.Enter the Thieftaker - Inspector Jame McLevy. With Constable Mulholland at his side, he scours the low dives of the waterfront and then sees the tendrils of the case spread to more respectable nooks and crannies.When the inspector encounters Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, in the city to bury his deceased father, the two recognise each other as fellow travellers, observers of the dark side of human nature and both hopeless insomniacs.Glimpses of the murderer indicate a slender, androgynous figure with a silver cane, which is used to lethal effect. A dancing killer non unlike Mr Edward Hyde. THE INSPECTOR MCLEVY SERIES 1 - Shadow of the Serpent 2 - Fall from Grace 3 - A Trick of the Light 4 - Nor Will He Sleep less