It is the early 19th century. A young English detective named Edward Freame is assigned a case that could make or break his career. He is to track down a serial strangler, a task made daunting by the fact that the murders are three years old, and the one person connected to the victims is dead, leaving only his writings behind. It is in these writings, the journal of a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein, that the search for answers begins. Freame sets out on a journey to retrace Frankenstein’s last flight across Europe, and follow his descent into the human abyss.

The Frankenstein Murders is a shock to the system, working elements from Mary Shelley’s original masterpiece into a story that is equal parts Victorian gaslight detective mystery and modern psychological thriller. Its period-perfect prose, vivid characterization, and gripping narrative is guaranteed to take the reader on a stunning intellectual journey to a place where men and monsters are one and the same.

Kathlyn Bradshaw has lived her entire life in the Ottawa region, where the gothic architecture of parliament has become embedded in her subconscious. She presently works at the Algonquin College School of Advanced Technology as a Professor of English. The Frankenstein Murders is her first novel.

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“An interesting, austere approach that requires close attention to register the unspoken social cues and allusions that typify writing of Frankenstein’s vintage. Bradshaw creates a convincing world anchored with a suitably mysterious main character and enlivened with subtle references to the Sherlock Holmes canon.”

The Globe and Mail

“[A] clever re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend.”

Quill and Quire

“An auspicious debut by a Canadian author who tells an intriguing tale.”

The Hamilton Spectator