The Dressmaker Connection: An Edwardian Political Scandal - Paperback

London 1904: capital of the world's most powerful industrial nation. Inspector Robert Ford is a protection officer in the Metropolitan Police 'Special Branch'. He is assigned to the Minister of War following a threat to him and his staff from a seemingly deranged ritualistic murderer. What Ford doesn't know is that the identity of the murderer is all too apparent to the Minister who cannot let on for fear of a national scandal. The truth would then escape about his misuse of military resources to further his own financial interests from his industrial concerns in oil. Ford has to not only protect his principal, but piece together the scant clues that he finds to discover the identity and motive for the killer. The story centres in London and major capitals in Europe where the Minister exercises his Machiavellian scheming to obtain funds from the Catholic Church in exchange for allowing them mission in the countries he intends to subjugate through industrialisation. Ford begins an affair with the Minister's mistress, the household dressmaker. This creates dangerously torn loyalties for Ford as he discovers how cruel his employer is to those around him. There are also dark forces working to eliminate the threat from the murderer, but totally counter to Ford's interests. With flashbacks to Robert Ford's life prior to his involvement in the infamous 'Whitechapel Murders' we discover the individual that he is; dogged in his determination to succeed and survive against any odds. 'The Dressmaker Connection' brings to life the sights of Edwardian London and transports us to pre World War One Paris, Prague, Rome and Venice. The murderer is relentless in his quest against the Minister with each attack more brutal than the last. It seems no one is safe, including those assigned to the very job of protection.