Fatal Solution

In this new mystery, Inspector Chard is confronted with another murder in bustling Victorian Pontypridd. On the face of it the case appears unremarkable, even if it isn't obviously solvable, but following new leads takes Chard into unexpected places. A second murder, a sexual predator, industrial espionage and a mining disaster crowd into the investigation, baffling the Inspector and his colleagues and putting his own life at risk as the murderer attempts to avoid capture. Once again Leslie Scase takes the reader back to a time and place where, despite the pretensions of Victorian society, life is cheap and passions strong. His research brings Pontypridd vividly to life, and historical events drive along the plot of this page-turning story of detection, as Chard navigates a way through the clues and red herrings, and a lengthening list of suspects, towards the poisoner. Atmospheric, authentic, Chard and the reader are left guessing until the final page.

Leslie Scase is a former civil servant, born and educated in south Wales but living now in Shropshire. He is a member of the Crime Cymru writers' collective, and of the Crime Writers Association. He has given talks on crime and punishment in the late Victorian period, and has appeared at literary festivals and has been interviewed on radio. His Inspector Chard series will run to seven volumes.