Lord John and the Hand of Devils
The three novellas of this volume span 1756 to 1758, in settings packed with dark secrets - and therefore dangers - for the soldier-hero with secrets of his own. The first novella finds Lord John swearing vengeance in London for a murdered government official, leading him to a deconsecrated abbey where members of the political elite indulge their basest desires. The second pits Lord John against a succubus that plagues his Prussian encampment, and combines humour with military strategy and supernatural myth. The third finds Lord John investigating the cause of a cannon explosion in the English countryside that results in a fellow officer's death.