Murder at the Ashmolean

In 1895, a senior executive at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford is discovered in his office with a bullet hole between his eyes and a pistol discarded nearby. The local police have officially ruled the death as a suicide, but with no apparent motive for such an act, the museum's administrator, Gladstone Marriott, suspects foul play.

With his cast-iron reputation for shrewdness, developed during his time investigating the case of Jack the Ripper alongside Inspector Abberline, private enquiry agent Daniel Wilson is the natural choice to discreetly explore the situation. He is ably assisted by his partner, the archaeologist-turned-detective Abigail Fenton.

However, their enquiries face challenges from the start due to an interfering lone agent from Special Branch, who is secretive and intimidating in his methods. Amidst rumours of political upheavals from South Africa, mislaid artefacts, and a lost Shakespeare play, Wilson and Fenton quickly find themselves ensnared in bureaucracy.

Forming unlikely alliances, the duo confronts players who live by different rules and will need their intellect and ingenuity to uncover the secrets of the aristocracy. Murder at the Ashmolean is a riveting tale of mystery and deception, evoking the richly textured backdrop of late 19th-century England.