Book Two of The Blackchapel Chronicles is Creeping its Way onto Google Play

Yes it’s true, and no you’re not dreaming; Book Two (A Drowning of Mermaids) really is in its final stages of production – it has a front cover and everything.

Getting this one over the line is proving to be the toughest project I’ve ever worked on. Compared with Book One (A Plague of Murder), its world-building is more complex, the action more hard-hitting, and the consequences of characters’ decisions more heart-breaking.

Beginning immediately where A Plague of Murder ended (and you can get your own free copy of that book here), A Drowning of Mermaids covers a terrifying murder case from 1871. Based on actual case files from the time, it continues Jack the Ripper’s origin story, and follows the London detectives who are destined to chase him through the infamous autumn of 1888.

Without spoiling either Book One or Two, I can honestly say the reason this book has taken so much longer than I originally expected is thanks to the weight I feel to do the characters justice and to keep writing better stories for my readers. I believe any work of fiction exists first and foremost to entertain. My goal with any of my books is to pluck a reader from their surroundings and drop them in a time and place that exists only in their imagination.

And a big part of that process is authenticity.

This second book contains a tonne of intricate details that make up the world and help bring it to life from the page; whether its the location of real buildings and their floor plans, biographies of historical characters, or details on the various communities that made up Whitechapel back in the 1870’s. The greatest challenge of all this is to make it invisible when reading. Like a magician guarding their secrets, I have to scatter these authentic details lightly throughout the book to keep it a page turning ride and not a boring slog!

A Drowning of Mermaids also sees the return of our favourite characters who survived A Plague of Murder, and after an initial stop/start writing process, I felt like I was meeting up with old friends as I continued their stories and motivations. But make no mistake, this is not a humdrum sequel that treads water (no pun intended). Heartbreak drapes itself heavily over this book, and no main character is safe from their own actions (or the actions of others). The oft-used term ‘plot-armour’ does not exist in this series, and some outcomes may shock you. After all, Victorian London was as brutal and nasty a place for the destitute as it was a luxurious playground for those in wealth and power. And at both ends of the scale, death could arrive as quick as a knife in the dark.

As always, I am immensely grateful to all those who come across this humble website and decide to grab a copy of any of my works (did i mention they were available for free?). You are the reason I write.