1866. On a train bound for Portsmouth, an elegant woman shares a compartment with the lecherous Giles Blanchard. It is a lucky encounter for her, as she steps off the train after picking his pocket and in possession of scandalous material for a potential blackmail. It is a less fortuitous meeting for Blanchard, who will never reach his home on the Isle of Wight alive.Detective Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are swiftly dispatched to sift through the evidence. With Queen Victoria poised to spend the summer on the island, a speedy resolution to the case is imperative for their superiors. Tracing Blanchard''s killer is an endeavour freighted with difficulties, but will the fact that their inquiries lead them to the door of a royal residence be one complication too many? A classically told crime series with historical background and railway focus used to great effect Marston made the Top 50 Most Borrowed Adult Author in recent PLR figures Over a million copies of the series sold to date in the UK trade alone - Marston is on track to continue as one of A&B''s bestselling authors