AN AFFAIR AT OXBRIDGE, the first story in THE WIND-UP MYSTERIES, is a Holmesian steampunk novella, that features Lady Clarke–a fearless consulting detective–and Doctor Rachel Adler–her loyal friend and companion.
When the Eye of the East–a diamond as famous for its immense size and quality as for the curse which it brings upon its owners–is stolen, Scotland Yard’s clandestine ‘Special Branch’ turns to the only person in the Empire who can possibly recover it: Lady Clarke. But when she and her faithful companion, Dr. Adler, travel to Oxbridge Manor, they discover there is more to the mystery than just a missing diamond.
What do dangerous highwaymen, petty thefts, and the mysterious illness of the Lady of the Manor–stricken on the cusp of her much anticipated nuptials–have to do with the theft of the famous diamond? For most observers, nothing, but for Lady Clarke, there are no coincidences. Digging into the facts, she reveals a sinister plot that could shake the very stability of the Empire.
Read “AN AFFAIR AT OXBRIDGE” to see how it all unravels.