Huck Finn meets Professor Moriarty

Albert Jarvis is an unusually bright boy - a tragic temperament for the jailor's son in a gritty 1840s town at the edge of the American frontier. Desperate to belong, he fails repeatedly to prove himself worth his salt, until a captivating stranger offers an enchanting vision - a world where the path to heroism lies in words. The place is New York City. The stranger: Edward Rulloff, an accomplished physician, lawyer, professor, inventor, linguist fluent in 27 languages - and serial killer.

Soon caught up in an epic test of loyalty and betrayal, Albert must wrestle with the meaning of justice, and decide for himself whether Rulloff is a genius or a madman - all while trying to survive his thrilling, shameful, and dangerous adventures.

Based on the shocking true story of the Educated Murderer that riveted 19th-century America and England, drove editorials by Mark Twain, and may have inspired Sherlock Holmes' most notorious nemesis, The Prisoner's Apprentice has all the makings of a classic. In a compelling twist on most detective fiction and true crime drama, we learn whodunit at the start. The genuine mystery teased out through this unforgettable psychological thriller is why.

A must-listen for anyone who adored Erik Larson's Devil in the White City, Lindsay Faye's The Gods of Gotham, or Robert McCammon's The Queen of Bedlam.