Spring 1880 in St Petersburg.
While on an outing with his family in a leafy park, a retired general encounters a mysterious child dressed in red. The child leads him to a secluded spot. And a violent death.
The shocking crime, committed in broad daylight against a respected member of the establishment, strikes terror at the heart of the city.
It also draws the attention of the powers that be, who put pressure on magistrate Pavel Pavlovich Virginsky to solve the case quickly.
But with no witnesses, apart from a drunken fantasist who may or may not have seen the murderer making their escape, Virginsky faces one of the most challenging and bizarre cases of his career.
Then an unexpected confession brings a sudden breakthrough. Or does it? For Virginsky, it’s all a little too convenient.
Meanwhile the tsar’s trusted adviser, Count Loris-Melikov, pushes Virginsky to undertake a dangerous mission. He must find a way to infiltrate a group of disaffected reactionaries with whom the dead man was associated.
Could this shadowy group be behind the general’s murder? And what will they do to Virginsky if they find out he is there to spy on them?
As he closes in on the murderer, Virginsky uncovers a dark history in which the crimes of the past give rise to further crimes.
And the desire for revenge culminates in a devastating tragedy.
The Crimson Child by RN Morris is published on 5 May, 2023.
Read his feature about visiting St Petersburg for the first time — though it felt as if he’d already been there.
