London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later—and only a block away—Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that these crimes are connected to an even more sinister plot. Was Victoria really the assassin's target? Are those closest to the Crown hiding something? And who is this shadowy figure witnesses describe as having lifeless, coal-black eyes? Soon, Field's investigation exposes a shocking conspiracy in which the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species sets off a string of murders, arson, kidnapping, and the pursuit of a diabolical madman named the Chorister. As the investigation takes Field from the dangerous alleyways of London to the hallowed halls of Oxford, the list of possible conspirators grows as the body count escalates. And as he edges closer to the Chorister, he uncovers dark secrets that were meant to remain forever hidden.
With ingenuity, intelligence, and wit, debut novelist Tim Mason has created a powerfully entertaining thriller. For fans of Caleb Carr and Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Darwin Affair is a rousing tale that both Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would relish and envy.
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“Setagainst the backdrop of Victorian England, Mason’s novel gives you the chanceto do a little sleuthing. Riding alongside the main character will give youinsight into myriad ways to solve even complex mysteries. By the time youreturn to your budgets, you’ll be poised to look at your challenges from afresh perspective.”
— Forbes
“Intellectually stimulating and viscerally exciting, The Darwin Affair is breathtaking from start to stop.”
— Wall Street Journal“An engaging historic mystery.”
— BBC.com“An audacious historical thriller…[and] intelligent plot…Wry prose and vivid period detail help make Mason’s speculations feel plausible.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred reviewBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Tim Mason is the author of the historical mystery The Darwin Affair and one young adult novel, The Last Synapsid. He is a playwright whose work has enjoyed numerous productions in New York City and throughout the world for decades. Among the awards he has received are a Kennedy Center Award, the Hollywood Drama-Logue Award, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Rockefeller Foundation grant. In addition to his dramatic plays, he wrote the book for Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, which had two seasons on Broadway and tours nationally every year.
Derek Perkins is a professional narrator and voice actor. He has earned numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, as well as numerous Society of Voice Arts nominations. AudioFile magazine named him a Best Voice consecutively in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Augmented by a knowledge of three foreign languages and a facility with accents, he has narrated numerous titles in a wide range of fiction and nonfiction genres.