Evil Mark

The Dagger is a heartless master-criminal whose career in 19th century London is threatened by the newly formed police force. Assuming the identity of one of his victims, Dagger takes to the country, where he becomes the iron-handed steward of a large estate in Hampshire. As the years pass, he tightens his hold on the riches under his control, marrying the widowed sister of the squire, seducing the squire's young wife, blackmailing the squire's heir and murdering the squire himself. But the heir, gone to London, where he's driven to a life of crime of his own, uncovers the steward's identity and past, and returns to the estate for a confrontation. Although tightly plotted and smoothly paced, this crime novel is as still and remote as the Victorian era of its setting. December 30