A Leap in the Dark by Justin Kerr-Smiley
“A thrilling story, well told” The Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh, 1798. David Stoddart is a respected town councillor by day — and a thief by night. Addicted to the criminal underworld, he prowls the alleys of the Old Town, gambling away his loot and risking everything for the thrill of danger.
As his debts spiral and his double life grows more perilous, Stoddart forms a gang to increase his takings — among them, an ex-convict on the run for murder. When a raid goes disastrously wrong, betrayal and bloodshed follow. Hunted and desperate, Stoddart’s next move could spell salvation — or ruin.
Rich with atmosphere and moral complexity, A Leap in the Dark is a riveting tale of duplicity, danger, and a man torn between honour and vice. As Robert Louis Stevenson observed: “Man is not truly one, but truly two.”
ISBN: 978-1-916556-40-9 (hardback)
ISBN: 978-1-916556-53-9 (epub)
“A thrilling story, well told” The Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh, 1798. David Stoddart is a respected town councillor by day — and a thief by night. Addicted to the criminal underworld, he prowls the alleys of the Old Town, gambling away his loot and risking everything for the thrill of danger.
As his debts spiral and his double life grows more perilous, Stoddart forms a gang to increase his takings — among them, an ex-convict on the run for murder. When a raid goes disastrously wrong, betrayal and bloodshed follow. Hunted and desperate, Stoddart’s next move could spell salvation — or ruin.
Rich with atmosphere and moral complexity, A Leap in the Dark is a riveting tale of duplicity, danger, and a man torn between honour and vice. As Robert Louis Stevenson observed: “Man is not truly one, but truly two.”
ISBN: 978-1-916556-40-9 (hardback)
ISBN: 978-1-916556-53-9 (epub)
“A thrilling story, well told” The Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh, 1798. David Stoddart is a respected town councillor by day — and a thief by night. Addicted to the criminal underworld, he prowls the alleys of the Old Town, gambling away his loot and risking everything for the thrill of danger.
As his debts spiral and his double life grows more perilous, Stoddart forms a gang to increase his takings — among them, an ex-convict on the run for murder. When a raid goes disastrously wrong, betrayal and bloodshed follow. Hunted and desperate, Stoddart’s next move could spell salvation — or ruin.
Rich with atmosphere and moral complexity, A Leap in the Dark is a riveting tale of duplicity, danger, and a man torn between honour and vice. As Robert Louis Stevenson observed: “Man is not truly one, but truly two.”
ISBN: 978-1-916556-40-9 (hardback)
ISBN: 978-1-916556-53-9 (epub)
PRAISE FOR JUSTIN KERR-SMILEY AND ‘UNDER THE SUN’
‘The gripping and beautifully paced debut of an intriguing new talent.’ WILLIAM DALRYMPLE
‘It’s a small masterpiece; the best novel that I have read about war since Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. It can well stand the comparison.’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘…Kerr-Smiley’s passionate tale should convince readers that remarkable, as well as horrific, things can happen in the midst of war.’ PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
