Dangerous

About the book

When the disgraced Lord Byron is associated with the deaths of women in Venice, he turns detective to unveil the killer and clear his name. A dazzling, riveting historical mystery by the author of the Sunday Times bestseller, The Fascination
 
‘A plot as labyrinthine as the Venice backstreets, told in dazzling prose; suspenseful, seductive stuff’ Erin Kelly
 
‘Evokes all the grimy charisma of eighteenth-century Venice and at its brooding heart the flawed yet seductive Byron, enmeshed in a mystery as sinuous as the city’s alleys and canals. I was enthralled’ Elizabeth Fremantle
 
‘Sumptuous, entertaining, and glorious’ C.S. Green
 
‘Fox is the queen of darkly glittering gothic fiction, and Dangerous is an electrifying mystery inspired by Lord Byron’s life – a tale so compelling I devoured it in one sitting’ Louisa Treger
 
‘Many writers have tried and failed to capture the Byronic quintessence, but the brilliant Essie Fox has succeeded admirably. She proves that the poet and rake remains fascinating because he is, indeed, mad, bad and Dangerous’ Alex Larman
 
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When fiction is fatal…
 
Living in exile in Venice, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city
 
But when he is associated with the deaths of local women, found with wounds to their throats, and then a novel called The Vampyre is published under his name, rumours begin to spread that Byron may be the murderer…
 
As events escalate and tensions rise – and his own life is endangered, as well as those he holds most dear – Byron is forced to play detective, to discover who is really behind these heinous crimes. Meanwhile, the scandals of his own infamous past come back to haunt him…
 
Rich in gothic atmosphere and drawing on real events and characters from Byron's life, Dangerous is a riveting, dazzling historical thriller, as decadent, dark and seductive as the poet himself…
 
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‘A sensuous, decadent, voluptuous read, like sinking into rich red velvet … irresistible!’ Sean Lusk
 
‘A ravishing tale of murder, lust and thwarted ambition. Essie Fox’s reimagining of Byron’s turbulent months in c19th Venice is a sumptuous, decadent delight’ Emma Carroll
 
‘A deliciously gothic and beautifully written historical thriller starring the ultimate bad boy hero, Lord Byron’ Frances Quinn
 
‘A heady and intoxicating brew, sweeping the reader to a city of menacing shadow and melancholic splendour … scandalously scintillating’ Kate Griffin
 
‘An incredibly evocative and atmospheric book that captures the Byronic soul in all its beauty and madness’ Victoria Dowd
 
‘Wow, what a ride! A gripping mystery … a complex hero: he may be made, bad, and dangerous to know, but Byron is also sensitive, caring and fiercely protective of those he loves’ Caroline Lea
 
‘A delicious dish of decadence … fastidiously researched, richly imagined, full of wonderful descriptions of Venice’ Michael Stewart
 
‘Fox's vivid, sensual prose is as seductive as a siren's song’ Heat
 
‘Exceptional storytelling’ Nydia Hetherington
 
‘Lord Byron, detective? This romp through Venice in the company of the peerless peer has a rare swagger and panache to it that suits its charismatic, dastardly poetic anti-hero down to the ground’ Alex Larman