This, the fourth of Gyles Brandeths acclaimed murder mysteries, opens in the spring of 1890 at a glamorous reception hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Albemarle. All Londons haut monde is there, including a young actor Rex LaSalle who, disarmingly, claims to be a vampire. What begins as a diverting evening ends in tragedy. The Duchess is found murdered in an anteroom, two This, the fourth of Gyles Brandeths acclaimed murder mysteries, opens in the spring of 1890 at a glamorous reception hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Albemarle. All Londons haut monde is there, including a young actor Rex LaSalle who, disarmingly, claims to be a vampire. What begins as a diverting evening ends in tragedy. The Duchess is found murdered in an anteroom, two tiny puncture marks in her neck. Desperate to avoid a public scandal, the Prince of Wales asks Oscar and his friend Arthur Conan Doyle to investigate the crime. What they discover threatens to destroy the royal family - and the reputation of Oscar Wilde.