The devil's road, paperback/jean-pierre ohl

Description While draining a pond during work for the construction of the Stockton to Darlington Railway George Stephensons workers discover a female corpse with a dagger between her ribs.

Could it be Lady Beresford, a local barons French wife who mysteriously disappeared 20 years ago? The identity of the victim is at the heart of Jean-Pierre Ohls novel, a richly woven tapestry set during the rise of capitalism in England.

The Devils Road has a Dickensian range of characters from the indolent lawyer Bailey, with a taste for Byron and madeira, his imperturbable clerk Snegg, the activist worker Davies and the Corporal, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars and Peterloo Massacre.

There is even a role for the young Charles Dickens in this riveting story.