Seymour Series by Michael Pearce
Seymour #1
A Dead Man In Trieste
Michael Pearce
From the author of the award-winning Mamur Zapt books, the first in a new series introducing Seymour of Special Branch and set in the British embassies and consulates of Europe in the early 1900s. Trieste in 1906 is one of the greatest seaports in the world, the Austrian Empire's main outlet to the Mediterranean and beyond. But various nationalist movements are threatening to pull the place apart. The heavy-handed militarist regime has trouble keeping a lid on it, the secret police are everywhere, and now the British consul has gone walkabout. Was this the result of some liaison, which it's best not to enquire into too closely? Or could he have fallen foul of the secret police, or the even more secret revolutionaries? And does it matter? Well, yes it does. Britain has commercial interests in the port and there have been rumours of too close a relationship between the consul and some of these. Has something gone wrong? In which case, it would be better to find out about it quick. The Austrian police are of course investigating, but the Foreign Ottice would prefer this matter to be handled with sensitivity so perhaps it would be wise to send someone out. Someone very special from Special Branch, perhaps. Capable of speaking the relevant languages? Special Branch is, alas, not over-endowed with linguistic talent, but there is one man . . . He is not what you might call sound. Capable enough, and rather a good officer but . . . not British. Not straightforwardly so, anyhow. Born here, lived here, but... a member of one of those East End immigrant families from somewhere in Europe. He's all right, but with these blokes you never can tell. You can never quite rely on them. A bit dubious really. Just the man for the job
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Seymour #7
A Dead Man in Malta
Michael Pearce
Malta, 1913, and hot air balloons hover over the Grand Harbour. But one of them falls from the sky, the balloonist dying later from his injuries. He is not the only one to die unexpectedly at the Naval Hospital, however, as a letter to The Times points out. Special Investigator Seymour of the Foreign Office is sent out from London to uncover the truth. Malta is still a British protectorate; indeed, with its red post boxes, English beer and English language, it seems like an exotic 'Little Britain'. But as the rumblings of war reach the small island, many of the old Maltese families are becoming divided in their loyalties, as some start to question Malta's subordinate status and wonder whether the time has come to strike out an independent path for themselves. The letter to The Times has touched a raw nerve, as Seymour soon finds out: is it simply a critique of bad nursing practises? Or is there a different, more sinister explanation to these sudden deaths?
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