A severed arm dangling from a locked door in the Bank of England. A satanic portrait painter targeting the Royal Family. A deadly gas engineered to wipe out the Government. Melville has no choice. He’s sending for the magicians again.

Michael Magister and Phoebe Le Breton are selling out two shows a night. Instead, Superintendent Melville drops three simultaneous crises in their laps — each one connected to a conclave of psychopaths led by a renegade Jesuit who goes by the name The Black Bishop.

The Black Bishop is not a man who loses gracefully.

Edmonds raises the stakes on every front in Book Two — the conspiracy, the occult undercurrent that runs beneath the Victorian gaslight. Michael and Phoebe are sharper here, funnier, and considerably more endangered. The question of who to trust in a world of weird science and deliberate deception is never far from the surface.

The Tarot has already predicted the outcome. It says DEATH. Whether that’s a warning or a promise depends entirely on how good the magicians are.

Read Steam, Smoke & Mirrors first. Then come straight back — this one doesn’t let up.

A severed arm dangling from a locked door in the Bank of England. A satanic portrait painter targeting the Royal Family. A deadly gas engineered to wipe out the Government. Melville has no choice. He’s sending for the magicians again.

Michael Magister and Phoebe Le Breton are selling out two shows a night. Instead, Superintendent Melville drops three simultaneous crises in their laps — each one connected to a conclave of psychopaths led by a renegade Jesuit who goes by the name The Black Bishop.

The Black Bishop is not a man who loses gracefully.

Edmonds raises the stakes on every front in Book Two — the conspiracy, the occult undercurrent that runs beneath the Victorian gaslight. Michael and Phoebe are sharper here, funnier, and considerably more endangered. The question of who to trust in a world of weird science and deliberate deception is never far from the surface.

The Tarot has already predicted the outcome. It says DEATH. Whether that’s a warning or a promise depends entirely on how good the magicians are.

Read Steam, Smoke & Mirrors first. Then come straight back — this one doesn’t let up.