‘A breathtaking historical thriller.’  Erin Kelly, author of  The Skeleton Key

‘Vivid and thoroughly entertaining…  More, please.’ Guardian, best crime and thrillers

June 1940. As World War Two rages, Daphne Devine remains in London, performing each night as assistant to stage magician Jonty Trevelyan, aka the Grand Mystique.

Then the secret service call.

For, aware of Hitler’s belief in the occult, the war office has set up a hidden cohort to exploit this quirk in the enemy’s chain of command.

Daphne and Jonty find themselves far from the glitz and glamour of the theatre, deep inside the lower levels of Wormwood Scrubs prison. Here, they join secret ranks of occultists, surrealists, and other eccentrics co-opted to the war effort. There is one goal: to avert invasion on British shores.

Soon Daphne realises she must risk everything if there is any chance of saving her country

‘Quirky, clever and compelling.’  Anna Mazzola, author of  The Clockwork Girl

‘A rattling good read.’  Barbara Nadel, author of  Belshazzar’s Daughter

From the twice CWA Dagger shortlisted author of The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas come  twelve  thirteen stories to transport you to the macabre world of inexplicable phenomena.

As dark winter nights draw in, prepare to lose yourself in the world of the peculiar. With a tale for each day of the festive period and an unlucky thirteenth, Christmas is not the only spirit in these pages. ‘Tis the season for sacrificial feasts, cultish communities and sinister rituals. So wrap up warm and get ready to be terrified and delighted as you journey from the spooky to the downright strange.

Nothing says Christmas more than a good old fashioned ghost story on a dark winter’s night, so sit back and enjoy a little pinch of Yuletide mayhem.

These extraordinary tales, one for each day of Christmas, explore the odd, the peculiar and the downright chilling, from a Strange encounter with an Icelandic Shaman, to a psychic policewoman, lively winged beasts and warnings from the recently departed.

Some of these stories appeared in the ebook The Strange Casebook, 2018.