The Devil in Amber

Lucifer Box is a fiendishly clever and highly entertaining novel from the writer known for Dr Who, The League of Gentlemen, and Sherlock. The glamorous, dangerous portraitist and secret agent—“the butterfly of King Bertie’s reign”—is aging, yet as sharp as ever. Assigned to observe a fascist leader and his fanatical followers in a snow-bound 1920s New York, Box is framed for murder and must rely on his wits to clear his name. His escape leads him back to England, armed only with a Broadway midget’s suitcase and a string of unanswered questions. What hides in the bleak Norfolk convent of St Bede? What is “the lamb” Olympus Mons hunts to claim world domination? And how does a medieval prayer to summon the Devil himself fit into this treacherous puzzle? From Art Deco Manhattan to the Norfolk coast and the snow-capped Swiss Alps, The Devil in Amber takes readers on a thrilling ride where Box faces the most lethal foe of his career: the Prince of Darkness himself.

Across a tapestry of espionage, occult whispers, and razor-sharp wit, Gatiss weaves a tale that blends historical intrigue with supernatural menace.

• Protagonist: Lucifer Box, portraitist and secret agent
• Setting spans 1920s New York, Norfolk coast, Swiss Alps
• Plot: framed for murder, pursuit of a shadowy conspiracy
• Themes: espionage, occult, dark intrigue
• Genre: historical mystery with supernatural elements
• 256 pages, paperback edition by Mark Gatiss