‘Summons to Murder’ : Much-Awaited Book Nine In Gripping Charles Dickens Investigations Series

Charles Dickens Investigations series now available

As we near the 110^th anniversary of the literary giant’s birth, J C Briggs delights with her ninth instalment of Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones investigating another shocking murder!

Charles Dickens Investigations

Whilst Charles Dickens’ stories and characters continue to delight to this day, a little known fact about author is that Dickens would have liked to be a detective.

Seizing on this piece of information, J C Briggs delights readers with her Charles Dickens Investigations series. And, with the publication of her ninth investigation with the great detective, her readership continues to flourish.

Appealing to those who love Bleak House, David Copperfield and more, as well as those partial to a good old whodunit, this series bursts with suspense, skulduggery and murder. And the literary ‘cherry on the top’ is the fact the author has used events that actually happened in Dickens’ life as the inspiration for her Victorian plots.

If you’re looking for an entertaining and atmospheric series that transports you to another time and place, the Charles Dickens Investigations series is for you. But be warned, they’re so good that you will keep coming back for more.

Summons To Murder

Dickens investigates the death of a man embroiled in scandal…

London, 1851

Pierce Mallory, a gentleman journalist, is found dead in his lodgings with a gunshot wound in his head and a duelling pistol beside him.

Though the death is deemed a suicide, Mallory’s friends — including Charles Dickens — don’t believe that he would have taken his own life.

Dickens therefore returns to the scene of Mallory’s demise, along with Superintendent Sam Jones from Bow Street. On further investigation, they soon find evidence that Mallory was murdered.

A notorious philanderer, there are plenty of people who could have wanted Mallory dead — including abandoned lovers and jealous husbands.

And as Dickens and Jones dig further into Mallory’s personal affairs, it seems that there are more shocking scandals waiting to be uncovered…

Was Mallory’s murder a crime of passion? What secrets was he harbouring?

And can Dickens untangle the web of intrigue he left behind…?

Other books in the series include:

Book one:    ‘Murder of Patience Brooke’
Book two:       ‘Death at Hungerford Stairs’
Book three:   ‘Murder by Ghostlight’
Book four:     ‘The Quickening and the Dead’
Book five:      ‘Midnight In Venice’
Book six:        ‘Redemption Murders’
Book seven:   ‘The Mystery of the Hawke Sapphires’
Book Eight:   ‘The Chinese Puzzle’

JC Briggs

“The one hundred and tenth anniversary of Dickens’s birth in 1912 is on February 7th, 2022. The first instalment of Dickens’s Bleak House was published on 29th February 1852.A 2012 biographer recorded that Dickens would have liked to be a detective. GK Chesterton called Dickens ‘a poetical Sherlock Holmes’.

“In this series of nine books, Charles Dickens sets out to investigate murder with his partner, Superintendent Sam Jones of Bow Street. Charles Dickens brings to the cases his terrific powers of observation, his understanding of the criminal mind and its motives, and his forensic knowledge of the grimy underbelly of Victorian London, its filthy alleys, slum lodging houses, its cellars and attics, workhouses, asylums, its pickpockets, mudlarks, robbers and killers. Superintendent Jones brings his flintlock pistols, his authority, and his constables. Nine cases, so far, and nine solutions.”

Reviews For Summons To Murder

“The best yet. I have loved all these Charles Dickens Investigates books but this one surpasses all those that went before. The author brings mid Victorian London to life in a way only Dickens himself could do. As always a cast of wonderfully convincing characters, a twisting plot worthy of Mr D himself and a satisfying outcome….eventually after much trial, tribulation and suspenseful moments. The regular characters become more endearing with each book. Thank you J C Briggs for another wonderful read.” – M Johnson

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole series. Brilliantly descriptive and evocative of the times. I’m sure Charles Dickens would have been very happy to give his approval to these

well thought out stories.” – Kindle Customer

About JC Briggs

Jean Briggs taught English for many years in schools in Cheshire, Hong Kong and Lancashire. She now lives in a cottage in Cumbria. The Murder of Patience Brooke is the first novel featuring Charles Dickens as a detective and his partner, Superintendent Sam Jones of Bow Street.

The idea of Dickens as a detective came about when she read Dickens’s articles about the London police in his periodical Household Words. Dickens was fascinated by police investigation and by murder, in particular – there are plenty of murderers in his writing, and Dickens is credited with the creation of the first literary detective in Inspector Bucket who solves the murder of Mr Tulkinghorn in Bleak House. 

Jean Briggs is joint vice chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, a member of the Historical Writers’ Association and The Society of Authors.

“Absolutely love this series of Victorian mysteries. Great characters, mainly Superintendent Jones, Charles and of course Scrap, but the lesser players too are so well written, you feel you almost know them. Well written, they bring Charles Dickens and Victorian London to life. I really hope there are a lot more of these books planned. They are a really good length, full of twists and turns, something to really enjoy on cold wet evenings. Or even in the garden on a summer day. Very entertaining. Hope there’s a new one out very soon.” – witch

Find Summons To Murder

Published by SapereBooks, Summons to Murder is available in paperback (£10.99)

and Kindle format on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3rtiprW and https://amzn.to/3FDL6Y1

All books in the Charles Dickens Investigates series can be found on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3IhGmsP

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