In the confusion of getting rid of the deceased's body - India planned to hide the body, with the help of a street urchin named Vincent - those papers disappeared. Unfortunately, she later learnt that the deceased customer, whom she knew as "Bowser" was in reality the important civil servant Sir Archibald Latham, working at the Foreign Office, and with him he had a briefcase full of top secret documents concerning troop numbers and locations, which the Russians were very keen to get hold of. India decided that she would arrange to get the body rolled up in a carpet and dumped somewhere after dark. The gentleman in question died whilst with Arabella his regular harlot. It starts on a Sunday in the winter of 1876, when the lady of the title, who is the Madam of a brothel, named "The Lotus House" - appealing to the most discerning and wealthy of clients - is shocked to learn that one of her most regular customers is dead. This very exciting first novel by this new American author, a former attorney and corporate executive, is one of the best historical mysteries that I've read for some time.
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