Melancholy: The Evils of Man

by Aline Riva

This is the first in a series of three books which link two amusement park owners and a pact with the Devil. Melancholy takes place in the town of Steeplewick, where amusement park owner Felix Valentine will encounter the kind of evil that exists only in the hearts of humanity, as the Devil is yet to set a cloven hoof on the sands of Steeplewick - that happens many years later, in 1928, when he encounters Daisy and Christian Maplethorpe, whose tale unfolds in book Two. Felix will not cross paths with the Maplethorpes until 1928, so Book One opens the trilogy with his story, and Book Two - The Mask of Mr Lenoir - takes up the tale of a pact with the devil as the tale of Christian, Daisy and Isaac unfolds, then leading to their paths meeting nine years after the end of Book Two. Book Three, Lucifer's Playground, is currently in progress. In 1910 the coastal town of Steeplewick is transformed as the Valentine brothers, Felix, Carl and Bertie build a huge fairground called Poseidon's Playground. Felix is a wealthy businessman with a dark secret - he suffers with mental illness. Bertie is sympathetic towards his fragile brother, but Carl plots with Dr. Rufus Warren, owner of a lunatic asylum, to murder Felix for his money. But Felix has fallen in love with Amy, hired by Bertie to care for his brother whilst working under the guise of housekeeper. Amy persuades Felix to refuse the dangerous ‘therapy’ that Dr. Warren offers him. Then Felix suffers a breakdown - and in a moment of desperation accepts the doctor’s offer - not realising he is walking into a deadly trap...

472 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 6, 2012