* A TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR ** A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION PICK OF THE MONTH *'A splendid romp from a wonderfully clever historical novelist' - TELEGRAPH'An exhilarating voyage into another era' - FINANCIAL TIMESHe looked as if he had just received some very bad news. In that he was certainly right, for he was perfectly and incontrovertibly dead...London, 1774. Susan Bell - daughter of the kindly Dean of Westminster - enjoys a pleasantly uneventful life within the confines of the abbey. That is until a group of scholars from the Society of Antiquaries comes armed with a letter from King George III, giving them permission to exhume Edward I and examine his body.As they prepare to open the tomb, a ghostly figure is seen wandering the cloisters, wearing the crown of the dead king. Then one of the Antiquaries is found viciously murdered, and the corpse of Edward I is stolen. With the abbey in uproar and her father's position under threat from the scandal, Susan feels bound to investigate. Could one of the Society's members be harbouring a deadly secret, or is one of the abbey's own a killer?The new historical mystery from the bestselling author of Black Drop, Blue Water and Scarlet Town. Perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and S.J. Parris.