Christopher Wallace

The Pied Piper's Poison Christopher Wallace First edition

A remarkable debut novel that is "Kafka's Metamorphosis, Suskind's Perfume, and David Lynch's Twin Peaks all rolled into one" (Literary Review)

Winter 1946, and strange things are happening at Tarutz quarantine camp in southern Poland where a group of refugees have fallen victim to a horrific, unidentifiable disease. A young doctor is sent to identify the mysterious affliction now working its way through a growing list of victims.

Winter 1648, and the ancient town of Hamelin is struggling to survive the most savage war Europe has ever known. Besieged by a vicious mercenary army, confounded by the endless machinations of its leaders, and gripped by starvation, fever and vermin, Hamelin is desperate for any respite.

Is there a connection between the two calamities? In a novel of gritty intelligence, Christopher Wallace reveals the truth behind the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, involving the reader in the devils and demons who patrol the great European plain ready to seize their moment whenever chaos invites them in.

"Wallace's book is a grainy, honest attempt to probe those dark areas we give novelists sanction to investigate. As such, it is both highly ambitious and stunningly successful."--The Independent