Ruler of the Night by David Morrell

In the Victorian age, riding a train to your destination was a new thing.  You got there quicker, you didn't have to suffer a carriage ride over rutted lanes, and you could even sleep if traveling at night.  You certainly never expected to get murdered...

Mulholland Books and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published November 15th.

The Opium Eater is back again.  He's addicted to laudanum but he has a brilliant brain.  He often sees things others don't.  Scotland Yard has used him before, at the Queen's request, and he'll be involved in this case also.  You see, he and Emily were on the same train and some of the blood splashed through the train windows and got on his face.  However, trying to investigate is hard because the train must stay on schedule and clear the tracks for the next train using it.  He and his daughter stay with the body until the constables can get there.  They have to fight off wild dogs and they almost get hit by a train but they do protect it.

The two detectives that each have a crush on Emily get involved in the case, too.  The murdered man is a high level attorney that knows lots of secrets.  Which one got him killed?

Mr. Morrell's stories are always complex with many factors coming together that must be resolved.  This story talks about the Opium Eater's past, a lost friend found now, and a war with Russia.  The murderer was no one I suspected.

As I've seen in other Victorian tales, the people with money are not always nice.  In this case, the past came back to haunt the woman he just currently found.  It's sobering look at life in that era.

This says it is the final in the trilogy.  That leaves Emily's potential romance up in the air.  I wouldn't mind seeing her return in her own series.