A world-weary detective and a mysterious young boy hunt an unspeakable terror in a haunting short story by the internationally bestselling author of Ordinary Monsters.

Horror is loose in the gaslit streets of London. David Pye, an urchin who barely escaped an orphanage fire, saw something terrible crawl out of the inferno. Heeding his warning is Thomas Bromley, a disillusioned detective from Scotland Yard who knows the recent murders on his docket weren’t the work of an ordinary killer. But when your guide has a strange affinity for the dead, where will the search for a monster lead?

J. M. Miro’s The Cairndale Orphan is part of the Magic & Mystery collection, puzzle-box mysteries from top fantasy authors. They can be read or listened to in one enchanting sitting.

J. M. Miro is the internationally bestselling author of Ordinary Monsters and Bringer of Dust, the first two books in the Talents trilogy. He lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest.