The Quincunx: The Maliphants

Book excerpt: The final gripping part of this classic historical mystery With the will finally in his grasp, John may be able to prove his inheritance, and put an end to the deadly plots and endless machinations that have plagued his life. But betrayal hides around every corner. Will justice narrowly fall through his fingers one last time? Upon uncovering a dastardly plot to trick Henrietta into a marriage that would steal the fortune, John must do everything in his power to stop it. But can John, who has struggled so hard and for so long, finally be in reach of peace? The unputdownable, final instalment of the bestselling The Quincunx is perfect for fans of Andrew taylor, AD Swanston and Carol Hedges. Praise for The Quincunx ‘Grips like steel... it’s a book to make you miss your stop on the bus or the train, keep you up at night and wake you early... a formidable achievement’ Kaleidoscope, BBC Radio 4 ‘His brilliant and entertaining pastiche of the mid-nineteenth-century novel’ The Times ‘A brilliant and deeply eccentric attempt to reproduce an early Victorian novel...it combines massive scope with minute detail – there is a cast of thousands, but every figure is lovingly painted. The plot is so thick the spoon stands up in it, and by the end, the reader has toured the whole of late Regency society... Magnificent – gripping and beautifully written; the sort of book that sends you into a trance of pleasure’ Independent ‘Charles Palliser has realised a world that can almost be smelt and tasted as it pours off the page of this gripping, extraordinary novel’ Daily Telegraph ‘His plot is of an intricacy that Wilkie Collins himself might have envied... an astonishing achievement’ Scotsman The Quincunx The Huffams The Mompessons The Clothiers The Palphramonds The Maliphants