The Anarchists' Club

by Alex Reeve

Published 2 May 2019
'Leo Stanhope is a wonderful creation, his world atmospheric and terrifying, and his own story as powerful and enthralling as the mysteries he investigates' Sam Blake

The second book in the acclaimed historical crime series, following on from the Richard & Judy Book Club 2019 pick, The House on Half Moon Street


It’s been a year since Leo Stanhope lost the woman he loved, and came closing to losing his own life. Now, more than ever, he is determined to keep his head down and stay safe, without risking those he holds dear. But Leo’s hopes for peace and security are shattered when the police unexpectedly arrive at his lodgings: a woman has been found murdered at a club for anarchists, and Leo’s address is in her purse. When Leo is taken to the club by the police, he is shocked to discover there a man from his past, a man who knows Leo's birth identity. And if Leo does not provide him with an alibi for the night of the woman's killing, he is going to share this information with the authorities.

If Leo's true identity is unmasked, he will be thrown into an asylum, but if he lies... will he be protecting a murderer?

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The latest Leo Stanhope case, The Blood Flower, is available to pre-order now - out July 2022!
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SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 CWA SAPERE BOOKS HISTORICAL DAGGER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE

‘Enthralling, exciting, extraordinary and utterly convincing. Everything a great book should be’ Sarah Hilary


‘Wonderfully atmospheric, each page carries the whiff of sulphur and gaslight’
Red

Everyone has a secret... Only some lead to murder. Introducing Leo Stanhope: a Victorian transgender coroner's assistant who must uncover a killer without risking his own future


When the body of a young woman is wheeled into the hospital where Leo Stanhope works, his life is thrown into chaos. Maria, the woman he loves, has been murdered and it is not long before the finger of suspicion is turned on him, threatening to expose his lifelong secret.

For Leo Stanhope was born Charlotte, the daughter of a respectable reverend. Knowing he was meant to be a man – despite the evidence of his body – and unable to cope with living a lie any longer, he fled his family home at just fifteen and has been living as Leo ever since: his secret known to only a few trusted people.

Desperate to find Maria's killer and thrown into gaol, he stands to lose not just his freedom, but ultimately his life.

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The latest Leo Stanhope case, The Blood Flower, is available to pre-order now - out July 2022!
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