Description
A Detective Inspector O’Rorke mystery
When a distinguished New Zealand businessman is murdered in London, Detective Inspector O’Rorke is once again called in by Scotland Yard to help find the killer. But O’Rorke is soon enmeshed in the secrets of the past involving the chaos of the Crimean War thirty-four years previously and the murderous activities of the young revolutionaries who called themselves the Society of the White Rose.
The dramatic events of those days shaped the lives and determined the fates of all who survived and now, the Society of the White Rose, more powerful than ever, is led by two of O’Rorke’s most unforgiving and ruthless enemies. Bogdan Lynskey and Count Zoltan Bathory have returned to London not only to assassinate the Austrian General Carl-Heinz Lorenz but to finally destroy O’Rorke himself.
As O’Rorke tries to focus on the task at hand, whispers from the past grow louder, the circles of intrigue continue to swirl and alliances splinter, leading him to distrust even those who seem to be his closest colleagues. With danger now threatening his very household, O’Rorke’s longed-for return to New Zealand becomes increasingly urgent.
About the Author
Edmund Bohan NZMN, historian, biographer, and novelist, is the author of nineteen published books, most recently, Heart of the City; The story of Christchurch’s controversial cathedral. He has twice been a finalist in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards and was long-listed in the 2019 Ngaio Marsh Awards. Turn On, Old Time is the eighth historical crime novel in the Inspector O’Rorke series. Edmund Bohan lives in Christchurch.
Specifications
ISBN: 978-1-99-110319-2
Pages: 240
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm
Format: Trade Paperback
Author: Edmund Bohan
Published: 30 August 2023
Reviews
“[Bohan’s] background as a historian ensures his books are rich with authentic detail … what he does very well is manage a plot. He keeps the suspense wound up right to the end.”
North and South
Inspector O’Rorke is back…! Similar to Boris Akunin’s Erast Fandorin detective stories set in 19th Century Russia, Edmund Bohan (long-listed in the 2019 Ngaio Marsh Awards for his O’Rorke novel, THE LOST TAONGA), this time brings history alive in 19th Century Central Europe, London and Christchurch, New Zealand. And it is not necessary to have read the seven earlier books in the series. As journalist and author Trevor Agnew said when launching this book at UBS Canterbury:
“Patrick O’Rorke is a literary creation who has worked his way into our history and strides the mean streets of Christchurch, and the world, with confidence and charm. His adventures are entertaining detective stories, woven into our history. Rudyard Kipling got it right: ‘If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.’”
As an added bonus for those who only know the bashi-bazouks as Captain Haddock’s swear-word in the Tintin stories, you will be intrigued to find why the bashi-bazouks were so feared, what they carried on their saddle-bows – and which New Zealand member of parliament led them for a time…!
