The Haunted Martyr

England in the chilly winter of 1902 is captive to a new craze: Mediums and psychics are springing up like toadstools after a rainstorm, and the public is rushing to consult them, thirsty for intimations of the Great Beyond. No surprise, Denton has his doubts: An American Yankee in King Edward’s city, he is a walking representative of the “Show Me” state. Nevertheless, he’s agreed to write a book about ghosts and hauntings, and has taken himself to Italy to do it.

Napoli may be bella, but it offers Denton only boredom and frustration, until a dead body—a real one, made of blood and bone rather than ectoplasm—shows up to make life interesting. Even more interesting? The murderer looks to come from among Denton’s new circle of oh-so-spiritual friends.