Frank Geyer is a detective in Philadelphia who, in 1894, is called to investigate the death of Ben Pitezel.
He encounters Dr Henry Holmes who says he is acting for Pitezel’s family to collect the insurance money. Holmes had been best friends with Geyer in their home town of Gilmanton, New Hampshire.
Alerted by the insurance company, Geyer seeks Holmes in what becomes a journey to redeem Geyer’s life as he discovers how his former friend left horror after horror in a killing programme across the United States.
Set in the gilded age of American history, this is a study of one late 19th-century criminal, and the police methods used to bring him down.
Choice of Darkness by Jad Adams is published on 10 August, 2025.
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