Today, we have an excerpt from Seething Lane, the latest novel by London historian Jack Jewers, and the second book in the author’s Samuel Pepys mysteries. (The acclaimed first book, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, is out now.) Samuel Pepys was famous for his diaries, which offer an unfiltered look into his life and times, not to mention his unvarnished thoughts of people he met and events of the day. Jewers has drawn inspiration from this when conceiving of and writing his historical crime series, casting Pepys in the role of detective.

Due to be published by Moonflower Books next week, September 3rd, here’s the synopsis:

January 1670. London is enduring its worst winter in decades.

But for Samuel Pepys, the darkest days are yet to come.

When a strange young man turns up at his office on Seething Lane asking for help, Samuel Pepys is too distracted to take him seriously. Nell Gwyn is about to make her scandalous return to the stage and he wouldn’t miss it for all the world.

But in the cold of a winter’s dawn, tragedy strikes. Called upon to investigate the brutal murder of a libertine aristocrat, Pepys discovers that the dead man is connected to his mysterious visitor in the most shocking way possible.

A trail of secrets leads Pepys from the backstreets of London to the glamorous world of the theatre, where nothing is quite as it seems. But whatever the dangers, he may find that the deadliest threat lies closer to home…

Reimagining one of Britain’s greatest historical figures through a 21st century lens, Seething Lane sees the return of infamous diarist Samuel Pepys, complete with his trademark audacious wit, keen eye for observation and gripping historical adventure.

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