A Gentle Axe

''Lush, and exceptionally compelling, but take your time . . . The Gentle Axe has a vast depth of Russian soul; mysterious, compassionate, and utterly irresistible.'' Alan Furst, author of The Polish Officer

St Petersburg. The winter of 1866.

Two frozen bodies are found in Petrovsky Park - a dwarf neatly packed in a suitcase, and a burly peasant hanging from a tree. Police Detective Porfiry Petrovich begins his investigation in the city''s squalid brothels and drinking dens but is soon led into an altogether more genteel stratum of society - and to a shocking discovery which reveals the city''s darkest secrets.

''Vivid and convincing . . . Morris keeps the reader guessing until the end.'' Virginia Rounding, Independent

''Tense, atmospheric and bristles with . . . intelligence.'' Tom Boncza-Tomaszewski, Independent on Sunday