As my readers will know, I base my books on real events. After all, the truth is usually stranger than fiction. But not all criminals are as notorious as Jack the Ripper, and some of my felonious inspiration comes from little known crimes, notably those featured in The Felsham Affair.

Fourth book in the Lawrence Harpham series, The Felsham Affair, covers little Freddie Browne’s tragic death in a small Suffolk village, a story intertwined with the Silvertown rat cake poisonings. And the eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that my books generally have a theme. In this case, the focus is on wanted and unwanted children. It sounds pretty grim, I know. But times were hard in Victorian England.

Tempting though it is to post detailed transcriptions, the below cuttings should be enough to whet appetites without giving too much of the plot away. Spoiler alert:–this book will not appeal to those of you who don’t like rats.