cover image The Ruffian on the Stair

The Ruffian on the Stair

Gary Newman, . . Soho Constable, $25 (256pp) ISBN 978-1-56947-543-0

Sebastian “Seb” Rolveden, a freelance writer who lives in a lighthouse on the Essex coast, undertakes an arduous quest after receiving a notebook belonging to his late grandfather and namesake in this convoluted mystery from British author Newman. The title refers to 19th-century Anglo-Swedish impressionist Julian Rawbeck's dark masterpiece, which Seb eventually tracks down after a long search from seedy London neighborhoods to the isle of Jersey, and eventually across to Normandy, all places associated with the enigmatic painter and his devotees, most especially Seb's grandfather. Evidence emerges implicating Sebastian senior, a bohemian painter turned preacher, in Rawbeck's violent death in a pub garret. Gallery owners, antique dealers and various other minor characters muddy the case, yet Seb perseveres to a happy if complicated outcome to his exhausting pursuit. Newman is the author, as Gerard Williams, of Dr. Mortimer and the Aldgate Mystery and other titles in the Dr. Mortimer series. (Nov.)