Honour the dead - Steven Saylor

Based on a string of horrifying crimes that took place more than a century ago, Honour the Dead vividly evokes a fledgling American South in the aftermath of the Civil War. The year is 1885 and a brutal serial killer is terrorising the streets of Austin, Texas. Will Porter - later to become a famous writer under the pseudonym O. Henry - dubs the murderer 'The Servant Girl Annihilator'. Panic engulfs the city and the spectre of bigotry emerges when lawmen indict a black man.

But as the bodies continue to mount it becomes apparent that the killer is still on the loose. This enthralling Texas-based historical thriller is an exciting new departure from Steven Saylor's internationally popular series of Roman detective stories.