London, Christmas Eve, 1840.
When children begin disappearing from the streets of Victorian London, Detective Thomas Jackson is assigned what appears to be another missing persons case. But every investigation leads back to the same unsettling place. A forgotten toy shop where exquisitely crafted wooden figures seem to know far more than they should.
As the disappearances multiply, Thomas uncovers a trail stretching back generations. Ancient folklore, impossible bargains and whispered Christmas traditions converge around a mysterious figure known only as the Crimson Collector. Every child taken has been offered a gift. Every family ignored the warning. And every clue suggests the nightmare has happened before.
Joined by determined journalist Eliza Finch, grieving mother Amelia Worthington and the steadfast Sergeant Charles Weston, Thomas must confront a force that feeds on memory, longing and promises never meant to be kept. To save the missing children, he will be forced to question everything he believes about reason, justice and the stories that survive the darkest winters.
Blending Victorian crime fiction with Gothic horror and haunting folklore, The Crimson Collector is the first novel in the Thomas Jackson Mysteries. A series where every case uncovers an older, darker secret lurking beneath the streets of London.