The debut of a major new crime series from a celebrated Canadian author! In London, with Jack the Ripper's crimes still raw in the great city's memory, a well-known male prostitute is brutally murdered, the head neatly severed, and the body set on fire. Detective Inspector Phillip Devlin of Scotland Yard, mid-thirties and secretly gay, is called to the murder scene by plainclothes constable Freddie Collins, and soon both Collins and Devlin are caught in a web of intrigue as more savage murders occur. A Cold-Blooded Scoundrel resonates with the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of 1880s London. Witty and engaging, it unfolds the story of a man who must brave not only the killer but also his own inner demons in order to end the violence that is harrowing the city.

A year after serial killer John Whittaker’s reign of terror was brought to a swift and righteous conclusion, London finds her streets darkened with the blood of innocents once again. Disfigured bodies with vile, ritualistic markings are turning up at an alarming rate, and the police are at a loss to apprehend the killer, who always seems to be one step ahead of them. Detective Inspector Phillip Devlin of Scotland Yard is having problems of his own. Having fallen for his younger constable, Freddie Collins, Devlin finds that leading his double life is often more complicated than he’d originally thought. But for now he must set aside his worries, as he is called on once more to catch a killer and expose the perpetrator of this latest threat to his beloved city. He must use every resource at his disposal, both inside the law and out, to halt a string of murders the likes of which London hasn’t seen since the days of Saucy Jack. But what Inspector Devlin will soon learn is that murder is not necessarily the greatest of sins . . . and some truths are better left undiscovered. The Paragon of Animals pulsates with the sights and sounds of late-1800s London, England. Macabre yet humorous, with a familiar cast of caustic yet lovable characters, this latest in the series of Inspector Devlin’s adventures takes the reader on another unforgettable journey to the dark places where men fear to tread.