High Vaultage

1887.London, but not as you know it.The Industrial Revolution went further than anyone could have imagined, and the sprawling, chaotic metropolis of Even Greater London spreads across the entire southern half of England, all the way to the wild Midlands Border Forest. The immense Tower casts electricity through the sky, powering the mind-boggling mechanisms of the city around it. The engineer-army of Isambard Kingdom Brunel swarms across the capital, building, demolishing, and rebuilding whatever they see fit. Queen Victoria is recovering quite nicely from her eleventh assassination, ruling with the dignity that comes from striking terror into the hearts of everyone who sees the unholy union of human and machine that one has become. And at the heart of all this sits the country's first Private Investigation Agency.Archibald Fleet (formerly of Scotland Yard, currently administratively deceased) and Clara Entwhistle (formerly of Harrogate, currently intermittent hard-hitting crime journalist) had hoped things would pick up quickly for their new enterprise. No-one seems to take them seriously, but their big break will come soon. Definitely. Probably.Meanwhile, police are baffled by a series of impossible bank vault robberies. With no trace left of the thieves, nothing to connect each break-in to the next, and it not even being clear what exactly has been stolen, Scotland Yard's resources are absorbed by the case. Which means that when a woman witnesses a kidnapping on Blackfriars Bridge, Fleet-Entwhistle Private Investigations is the only place she can turn for help. They're more than happy to oblige!But why would man waiting for his fiancée be a target for kidnappers? As Clara and Fleet dig into the mystery, things go deeper than they could ever have anticipated . . .From the creators of the critically-acclaimed podcast Victoriocity comes a hilarious new novel set in the greatest, most chaotic city in history. Twisty, inventive, and joyously funny, High Vaultage is perfect for fans of Rivers of London, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels and What We Do in the Shadows.