"An intense, intelligent and hugely entertaining read" --The Guardian July 1840: The young Queen Victoria has just entered her third year on the throne when a major recession brings London's desperate and destitute into its sweltering streets. While the city crackles with tension, orphaned Catherine Sorgeiul stays locked away in her uncle's home, a peculiar place where death masks adorn the walls and certain rooms are strictly forbidden. Nineteen years old and haunted by a dark past, Catherine becomes obsessed with a series of terrible murders of young girls sweeping the city. Details of the crimes are especially gruesome--the victims' hair has been newly plaited and thrust into their mouths, and their limbs are grotesquely folded behind them, like wounded birds--and the serial killer is soon nicknamed the Man of Crows. Catherine begins writing stories about the victims--women on their own and vulnerable in the big city--and gradually the story of the murderer as well. But she soon realizes that she has involved herself in a web of betrayal, deceit, and terror that threatens her and all those around her. A remarkable fiction debut, The Pleasures of Men is a gripping and spine-tingling thriller. "Don’t even think about starting Williams’ tantalizingly unnerving thriller unless you’ve cleared your schedule for the next few hours."--More "[A] promising first novel . . . Readers looking for more psychological sophistication than is usual in such historicals will be pleased." --Publishers Weekly "A wonderfully ripe, imaginative and gripping piece of Victorian pastiche."--The London Times "A charged, fast-paced ride through the dark underbelly of Victorian London . . . Fans of Sarah Waters will love it."--Good Housekeeping (UK) "This intoxicating and disturbing novel is properly thrilling and extraordinarily well-written. . . . The Pleasures of Men shows a soaring talent let loose." --The Independent on Sunday "Part bodice-ripper, part-slasher, the book's elaborate plot moves along at a brisk clip with a nod to the likes of Sarah Waters and Peter Ackroyd."--The Daily Mail