Rose

He opened his eyes as she stepped into the bath. She had lit a lamp but turned the wick low. She was black with silvery glints of mica, and her hair was twisted up and pinned. She washed with a sponge and cloth, watching in a full-length mirror not in admiration but because fine coal dust had insinuated itself completely into the pores of her skin. As she washed she progressed from ebony to blue, and from blue to olive, like a watercolour turning to a lighter colour. . . Rose said, 'What's your name? You know mine, I don't know yours.' 'Blair.' 'You're a bastard, Mr Blair.' ROSE is a searing love story, a gripping adventure - and a haunting mystery. It is the story of Jonathan Blair, an American adventurer cast adrift in Victorian England who must travel north to solve the mysterious disappearance of a young cleric. . . and confront his own heart of darkness... 'Cruz Smith excels' Guardian