1894, Wigan. Miss Dorothea Gadsworth is interviewed for a teaching vacancy at George Street Elementary, but is ultimately dismissed as a candidate. Shortly afterwards, her body is discovered in a locked classroom with a note by her side. DS Brennan, aided by the scowling Constable Jaggery, wrestles with one of his most intricate investigations yet.

Shortlisted for the CWA Dagger and winner of the Dundee International Fiction Prize, this is the second brilliantly plotted Victorian murder mystery in the "Lancashire Detective" series.