A Pretender's Murder

Eric Peterkin, 2

by Christopher Huang

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Pub Date Jan 27 2026 | Archive Date Dec 15 2025

Inkshares

Historical Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers

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Description

“A cracking good mystery, almost impossible to put down.” —Booklist

The year is 1925. A labyrinth of roads and rails spirals out from the bones of a nearly forgotten settlement. Londinium. Once the far-flung edge of the vast Roman Empire, it is now the seat of a greater one.

Few have given more for the Empire than Colonel Hadrian Russell. Robbed of his four sons by the Great War, he now holds court as the acting president of the Britannia, a prestigious soldiers-only club in London. But when the Colonel is shot and thrown out the club’s front window, it seems the shadows of the Great War may extend further than previously thought.

Lieutenant Eric Peterkin, newly installed secretary at the Britannia, finds himself thrust into the role of detective after Scotland Yard points fingers at friends he knows are innocent. But is the true murderer an unknown spy? Or a recently resurfaced friend of the Colonel’s dead sons? Or is it one of the Colonel’s four widowed daughters-in-law, who by all appearances paid him complete devotion?

Accusations from personal betrayal to wartime espionage mount among the suspects as Eric's investigation draws him back to scenes and sites of a war he’s sought to leave behind. From the greening fields of Flanders and the springtime streets of Paris to the sterile wards of a Swiss sanatorium, and back to the Britannia itself, Eric finds that even myths leave behind bones.

“A cracking good mystery, almost impossible to put down.” —Booklist

The year is 1925. A labyrinth of roads and rails spirals out from the bones of a nearly forgotten settlement. Londinium. Once the...

Advance Praise

Praise for A Pretender's Murder

“A Pretender’s Murder is a dazzling labyrinthine mystery that combines the best of the pantheon of the classics of the genre with a fresh and unique perspective.” —S.A. Cosby author of King of Ashes

“Christopher Huang's knack for creating mysteries in the Golden Age tradition is displayed splendidly in A Pretender’s Murder." —Martin Edwards, author of the Rachel Savernake mysteries

Praise for Christopher Huang

"Delightfully twisty and chilling all at once — murder mysteries are rarely this fun." —Jonathan Whitelaw, The Sun

"Huang's impressive debut will delight fans of golden age detective fiction." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[A] puzzle worthy of Golden Age detective fiction." —Library Journal (starred review)

“We hope [this] will be only the first of many Eric Peterkin adventures." ―Booklist

"Christopher Huang's debut novel, A Gentleman's Murder, is set in post-First World War England, but incorporates themes―race, the psychic toll of war―seldom acknowledged in classic mysteries of that era." ―Ian McGillis, The Montreal Gazette

"A mystery that recalls the best of Golden Age detective fiction." ―Andy Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter

"Dorothy Sayers is alive and well and writing under the name of Christopher Huang." ―Rhys Bowen, New York Times-bestselling author

"A must read for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry." ―Daryl Maxwell, Los Angeles Public Library

"A locked room traditional mystery that does justice to its inspirations, even as it aids in the genre’s continuing evolution." ―CrimeReads

Praise for A Pretender's Murder

“A Pretender’s Murder is a dazzling labyrinthine mystery that combines the best of the pantheon of the classics of the genre with a fresh and unique perspective.” —S.A...