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The Selby Bigge Mysteries #2
A Morbid Passion
A gripping 1930s-set whodunnit and love letter to Golden Age crime, this sequel to A Queer Case features amateur sleuth Selby Bigge, who must solve a murder at Lady Malcolm’s Servants’ Ball in London’s Royal Albert Hall. Perfect for fans of Nicola Upson’s Josephine Tey novels.
London 1930.
Selby Bigge and his aristocratic sidekick Theodora Smythe are invited to dine with Doctor Hector Fortescue and his family, discovering a web of unrest in the household. The good doctor is adamant that homosexuals can be ‘cured’ of their perversions, oblivious to the fact his son Lancelot is ‘as fruity as a pineapple’.
Later that evening Theodora becomes Theo and attends the Servants’ Ball with Selby – a fancy-dress dance for servants, which attracts queers of all classes. Lancelot makes a surprise appearance dressed as Harlequin, as do other members of the Fortescue household. And before the night is out Selby and Theo will have another murder to solve.
Digging deeper, the duo – assisted by the impossibly glamorous nightclub singer Lady Splendid – discover that secrets abound both above and below stairs in the Kensington home of the Fortescue family. And the stakes get even higher when Selby encounters policemen he’s met before, who’d love to arrest him for being queer.
Can Selby solve the crime or will this be his last dance?
London 1930.
Selby Bigge and his aristocratic sidekick Theodora Smythe are invited to dine with Doctor Hector Fortescue and his family, discovering a web of unrest in the household. The good doctor is adamant that homosexuals can be ‘cured’ of their perversions, oblivious to the fact his son Lancelot is ‘as fruity as a pineapple’.
Later that evening Theodora becomes Theo and attends the Servants’ Ball with Selby – a fancy-dress dance for servants, which attracts queers of all classes. Lancelot makes a surprise appearance dressed as Harlequin, as do other members of the Fortescue household. And before the night is out Selby and Theo will have another murder to solve.
Digging deeper, the duo – assisted by the impossibly glamorous nightclub singer Lady Splendid – discover that secrets abound both above and below stairs in the Kensington home of the Fortescue family. And the stakes get even higher when Selby encounters policemen he’s met before, who’d love to arrest him for being queer.
Can Selby solve the crime or will this be his last dance?
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 31, 2026
ARC edition
It wasn't passion that was morbid but passion's suppression...
As guests to an awkward Fortescue family dinner, Selby & Theodora are inadvertently dragged into solving another murder. Nothing like a family discussion of "curing" homosexuality when both guests are actively keeping secret lives! Strangely enough, one of Dr Fortescue's patients is his own son, Lancelot. Completely "cured" and now engaged, he is a model heterosexual son.
The evening of the dinner is also the night of the Servants' Ball - a glamourous evening for staff from all households, including the palace! And where there is glamour, there are deviants. So of course Selby & Theodora have tickets! As do several of the staff at the Fortescue house. And strangely, it is eventually discovered that so does Lancelot...
But before the party is over, one of the gala guests will die... leaving our duo to sort out the suspects and not get arrested in the process!
Not always an easy read - so much has improved in the last 100 years, but so much is still the same. A reminder of what once was and what has been gained since is often unsettling.
It wasn't passion that was morbid but passion's suppression...
As guests to an awkward Fortescue family dinner, Selby & Theodora are inadvertently dragged into solving another murder. Nothing like a family discussion of "curing" homosexuality when both guests are actively keeping secret lives! Strangely enough, one of Dr Fortescue's patients is his own son, Lancelot. Completely "cured" and now engaged, he is a model heterosexual son.
The evening of the dinner is also the night of the Servants' Ball - a glamourous evening for staff from all households, including the palace! And where there is glamour, there are deviants. So of course Selby & Theodora have tickets! As do several of the staff at the Fortescue house. And strangely, it is eventually discovered that so does Lancelot...
But before the party is over, one of the gala guests will die... leaving our duo to sort out the suspects and not get arrested in the process!
Not always an easy read - so much has improved in the last 100 years, but so much is still the same. A reminder of what once was and what has been gained since is often unsettling.
July 23, 2026
The next instalment in the Selby Bigge mystery series did not disappoint.
I read A Queer Case last year and fell in love with Selby and his world -- beautifully rendered and clearly extensively researched by Robert Holtom. I was excited to read A Morbid Passion to reenter a version of London which feels so different, yet so similar. Selby and his friend Theodora (or Theo) are a crime-solving duo I have yet to encounter. Witty, sometimes distant or irritable with one another, yet full of love and a kind of companionship that allows them to truly see one another in a way few others else can.
I won't give away any spoilers, but suffice it to say, yet another thrilling and heartbreaking mystery that I struggled to solve (which I love). The perfect summer read to keep you guessing. I'm looking forward to Robert's next mystery with great anticipation!
I read A Queer Case last year and fell in love with Selby and his world -- beautifully rendered and clearly extensively researched by Robert Holtom. I was excited to read A Morbid Passion to reenter a version of London which feels so different, yet so similar. Selby and his friend Theodora (or Theo) are a crime-solving duo I have yet to encounter. Witty, sometimes distant or irritable with one another, yet full of love and a kind of companionship that allows them to truly see one another in a way few others else can.
I won't give away any spoilers, but suffice it to say, yet another thrilling and heartbreaking mystery that I struggled to solve (which I love). The perfect summer read to keep you guessing. I'm looking forward to Robert's next mystery with great anticipation!
July 16, 2026
Keeps you guessing to the very end!
Wow! This book was everything I could have hoped for and more. A murdered high society son, a masked ball, servants with secrets, gay love triangles, bad 1930s psychology… our heroes Selby and Theo/dora have a lot to contend with and are even more charming in this book than the first. I loved reading about our duo as they investigated this murder. Their friendship honestly makes this book what it is. I can’t recommend this book enough to fans of classic mystery novels, historical fiction, and queer protagonists. I will be waiting for the next one!
Wow! This book was everything I could have hoped for and more. A murdered high society son, a masked ball, servants with secrets, gay love triangles, bad 1930s psychology… our heroes Selby and Theo/dora have a lot to contend with and are even more charming in this book than the first. I loved reading about our duo as they investigated this murder. Their friendship honestly makes this book what it is. I can’t recommend this book enough to fans of classic mystery novels, historical fiction, and queer protagonists. I will be waiting for the next one!
August 2, 2026
Another delightfully gay romp through 1930s London! The mystery had me guessing until the end. Holtom paints a lush picture of the queer underground, and the queerness levels are off the charts.
July 24, 2026
Loved it just as much as the first book-maybe more. The dialogue is glittering and so very clever. Can’t wait for the next!
June 23, 2026
Selby Bigge and his aristocratic friend Theodora Smythe dine with the upper-class Fortescue family and later that evening attend the Servants' Ball. Theodora becomes Theo there, and queer people are present. Some of the above-stairs members of society attend as well. Unfortunately, Selby and Theo soon have a murder to solve, and unearth secrets while dodging police.
Police in 1930s London considered being queer a crime, so Selby has to be very careful as he goes about the city. The Fortescue family is preoccupied with the morality of the English Empire, any sign of weakness (even glasses), and solving the "problem" of being queer. Our mystery-solving duo is, of course, of that persuasion, as is the eldest Fortescue son, Lancelot, whose psychiatrist father "cured" him of this weakness. This matters because they're all present at the Servants' Ball, and Lancelot is murdered that night. Police assume it was a queer person who did it, since they're already on the lookout to arrest them. Selby and Theo interview the Fortescue family members and the staff, tracking down the timeline and potential suspects. Just about everyone is a suspect, with varying motives and opportunities.
Dr. Fortescue and his wife are interested in the application of eugenics theories, a more common outlook for the period than we'd like to think. Any deviation from a narrow view of white nobility and procreation is a morbid one in their view, which complicates Selby's search for the truth. He keeps at it, getting more clues and red herrings along the way. He gets his dramatic reveal at the end of the story, rivaling Agatha Christie's novels. It's a clever mystery, and it kept me up late to finish the book.
Police in 1930s London considered being queer a crime, so Selby has to be very careful as he goes about the city. The Fortescue family is preoccupied with the morality of the English Empire, any sign of weakness (even glasses), and solving the "problem" of being queer. Our mystery-solving duo is, of course, of that persuasion, as is the eldest Fortescue son, Lancelot, whose psychiatrist father "cured" him of this weakness. This matters because they're all present at the Servants' Ball, and Lancelot is murdered that night. Police assume it was a queer person who did it, since they're already on the lookout to arrest them. Selby and Theo interview the Fortescue family members and the staff, tracking down the timeline and potential suspects. Just about everyone is a suspect, with varying motives and opportunities.
Dr. Fortescue and his wife are interested in the application of eugenics theories, a more common outlook for the period than we'd like to think. Any deviation from a narrow view of white nobility and procreation is a morbid one in their view, which complicates Selby's search for the truth. He keeps at it, getting more clues and red herrings along the way. He gets his dramatic reveal at the end of the story, rivaling Agatha Christie's novels. It's a clever mystery, and it kept me up late to finish the book.
August 18, 2026
This should be required reading in Queer Theory Classrooms!
Holtom’s sophomore novel is a significant leap from his debut — tighter plotting, more assured prose, and a book that knows exactly what it wants to say and says it with real craft.
On its surface, this is a satisfying period mystery set in the 1930s. Underneath, it’s something more ambitious: a novel in real conversation with queer theory, intersectionality, and questions of liminality — who gets to belong, who’s forced to live at the threshold of a life they were never allowed to fully enter. Holtom’s acknowledgments list his sources, and it shows; this isn’t theory as garnish, it’s structural. A physician character who makes his living “curing” what doesn’t need curing becomes one of the book’s sharpest indictments — the diagnosis, it turns out, belongs to the wrong person.
The novel’s emotional center is its handling of the lives its characters never got to live — the doubled, ghost-self of who they might have been in a kinder world. That thread will land hard for anyone who has stood on either side of that particular grief: mourning a life you didn’t get, or waking up one day inside a life you never thought you’d be allowed to have. Holtom writes both with real tenderness and without sentimentality.
The period setting is handled with a light, deliberate touch — a 1930s surface with an unmistakably modern sensibility pressing up underneath it, which somehow makes the book feel more honest about the past rather than less. And for a novel wrestling with heavy material, it’s also genuinely funny — Holtom has a gift for camp wit that keeps the book from ever feeling like a lecture.
This is a book with a great deal to give a reader willing to sit with it. Highly, highly recommended.
Holtom’s sophomore novel is a significant leap from his debut — tighter plotting, more assured prose, and a book that knows exactly what it wants to say and says it with real craft.
On its surface, this is a satisfying period mystery set in the 1930s. Underneath, it’s something more ambitious: a novel in real conversation with queer theory, intersectionality, and questions of liminality — who gets to belong, who’s forced to live at the threshold of a life they were never allowed to fully enter. Holtom’s acknowledgments list his sources, and it shows; this isn’t theory as garnish, it’s structural. A physician character who makes his living “curing” what doesn’t need curing becomes one of the book’s sharpest indictments — the diagnosis, it turns out, belongs to the wrong person.
The novel’s emotional center is its handling of the lives its characters never got to live — the doubled, ghost-self of who they might have been in a kinder world. That thread will land hard for anyone who has stood on either side of that particular grief: mourning a life you didn’t get, or waking up one day inside a life you never thought you’d be allowed to have. Holtom writes both with real tenderness and without sentimentality.
The period setting is handled with a light, deliberate touch — a 1930s surface with an unmistakably modern sensibility pressing up underneath it, which somehow makes the book feel more honest about the past rather than less. And for a novel wrestling with heavy material, it’s also genuinely funny — Holtom has a gift for camp wit that keeps the book from ever feeling like a lecture.
This is a book with a great deal to give a reader willing to sit with it. Highly, highly recommended.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This felt part murder mystery and part historical fiction with it being set in the 1930s. It gave me a slice of history that I really didn't know much about and it was enjoyable to read. There was a lot of scene setting with the LGBTQ historical fiction side very firmly leading this story through London and on a few occasions left my head spinning a little.
The two sleuths happened to be in the right place to witness much of the goings on and this was the perfect reason for them to be called in to undertake discreet investigations of their own. There was a theme of masks throughout the story which really served to highlight the complexities of the characters involved and the different sides they showed. It added tension to the plot as you really do end up suspecting everyone!
Clever, witty, informative and intriguing this was an enjoyable read and kept me guessing until the end.
Thank you to the author and Titan books for my advanced copy.
The two sleuths happened to be in the right place to witness much of the goings on and this was the perfect reason for them to be called in to undertake discreet investigations of their own. There was a theme of masks throughout the story which really served to highlight the complexities of the characters involved and the different sides they showed. It added tension to the plot as you really do end up suspecting everyone!
Clever, witty, informative and intriguing this was an enjoyable read and kept me guessing until the end.
Thank you to the author and Titan books for my advanced copy.
June 24, 2026
Three and a half stars.
Selby Bigge and his friend Theodora Smythe are invited to dinner with Doctor Fortescue, his wife Helena, and their two sons Percy and Lancelot. Doctor Fortescue believes he can 'cure' men of unnatural perversions and his first case was none other than his eldest son Lancelot who is now happily engaged to Jacqueline. However, there seem to be some tensions at the table and with the servants centring on the annual Servants Ball which is taking place that evening at the Royal Albert Hall. The ball has become a mecca for members of the LGBTQIA+ community (not just servants) to be themselves, whilst others wear fancy dress or even clothes borrowed from their master/mistress.
Later that evening, while Selby and Theo attend said ball they see Lancelot dressed as a Harlequin and clearly just as homosexual as he ever was. At various times during the evening Selby catches glimpses of Lance, arguing with another man in a Plague Doctor costume, and talking to one of his servants, Grace.
But the next morning there is shocking news, Lance has been found dead and his faithful servant Reginald is missing, along with Lance's car. It seems Selby and Theo have another murder to solve.
This was another enjoyable mystery interspersed with historical facts about life as a homosexual in 1930. The abuse, the secrecy, the fear - all represented as part of the story, as well as the bizarre societies promoting the sterilisation of 'unworthy' individuals!
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Bumped for release.
Selby Bigge and his friend Theodora Smythe are invited to dinner with Doctor Fortescue, his wife Helena, and their two sons Percy and Lancelot. Doctor Fortescue believes he can 'cure' men of unnatural perversions and his first case was none other than his eldest son Lancelot who is now happily engaged to Jacqueline. However, there seem to be some tensions at the table and with the servants centring on the annual Servants Ball which is taking place that evening at the Royal Albert Hall. The ball has become a mecca for members of the LGBTQIA+ community (not just servants) to be themselves, whilst others wear fancy dress or even clothes borrowed from their master/mistress.
Later that evening, while Selby and Theo attend said ball they see Lancelot dressed as a Harlequin and clearly just as homosexual as he ever was. At various times during the evening Selby catches glimpses of Lance, arguing with another man in a Plague Doctor costume, and talking to one of his servants, Grace.
But the next morning there is shocking news, Lance has been found dead and his faithful servant Reginald is missing, along with Lance's car. It seems Selby and Theo have another murder to solve.
This was another enjoyable mystery interspersed with historical facts about life as a homosexual in 1930. The abuse, the secrecy, the fear - all represented as part of the story, as well as the bizarre societies promoting the sterilisation of 'unworthy' individuals!
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Bumped for release.
August 12, 2026
The Great Dames of the Golden Age of Crime Fiction - Agatha Christie - Dorothy L. Sayers - Ngaio Marsh - Margery Allingham - are probably sticking pins in a wax effigy of Robert Holtom right now in their glorious after-lives.
This novel opens all the windows on the 'Morbid Age' - between the World Wars - when two men kissing could lead to imprisonment and being disowned by one's family, but it also opens the doors on an age of elegance, when ladies and gentlemen dressed for dinner and spoke with Received Pronunciation.
In this upstairs/downstairs world secrets and lies thrived and Selby Bigge and Theo/Theodore take on all the tropes of classic crime fiction in a compelling mystery full of twists and turns.
This novel opens all the windows on the 'Morbid Age' - between the World Wars - when two men kissing could lead to imprisonment and being disowned by one's family, but it also opens the doors on an age of elegance, when ladies and gentlemen dressed for dinner and spoke with Received Pronunciation.
In this upstairs/downstairs world secrets and lies thrived and Selby Bigge and Theo/Theodore take on all the tropes of classic crime fiction in a compelling mystery full of twists and turns.
August 27, 2026
5⭐️ Review: A Morbid Passion by Robert Holtom
“A darker, queerer follow-up!”
I loved A Morbid Passion just as much as book one. It takes everything that made A Queer Case so much fun with lots of new characters and personal
development for Selby Bigge.
A brooding queer lead, a scene-stealing love interest with secrets to spare, moody 1920s/30s atmosphere dripping with dread, and a mystery that kept me guessing until the very last page… this book had all the charm of the first, but with new twists and turns…
I was hooked from start to finish and I’m really hoping there is a third installment in the works.
“A darker, queerer follow-up!”
I loved A Morbid Passion just as much as book one. It takes everything that made A Queer Case so much fun with lots of new characters and personal
development for Selby Bigge.
A brooding queer lead, a scene-stealing love interest with secrets to spare, moody 1920s/30s atmosphere dripping with dread, and a mystery that kept me guessing until the very last page… this book had all the charm of the first, but with new twists and turns…
I was hooked from start to finish and I’m really hoping there is a third installment in the works.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I read the first book and enjoyed that, just as I enjoyed this. However, there's a whole lot going on. There's a lot of history and some of it seems quite clumsy woven through but it's interesting none the less. If rather that than an under researched piece or one that could be in any time point.
I'm not a mystery afficinado but I enjoyed it well enough. I still can't decide if I like the main characters or if I'm supposed to. Selby does warm a lot, but T leaves me a little cold. But maybe they're supposed to.
Either way, a fast paced and enjoyable to read.
3.75* rounded up.
I'm not a mystery afficinado but I enjoyed it well enough. I still can't decide if I like the main characters or if I'm supposed to. Selby does warm a lot, but T leaves me a little cold. But maybe they're supposed to.
Either way, a fast paced and enjoyable to read.
3.75* rounded up.
July 14, 2026
Uppföljaren till den första Selby Bigges-boken är lika bra som ettan. Boken är utomordentligt välskriven, språket är lika vackert fortfarande. Berättelsen är både rolig och snuskig och även förstås spännande. Givetvis är huvudkaraktärerna mina favoriter. Övriga karaktärer har för det mesta nåt mystiskt över sig, som om alla döljer nånting.
Läs mitt inlägg om boken
https://tofflandel2.com/2026/07/14/a-...
Läs mitt inlägg om boken
https://tofflandel2.com/2026/07/14/a-...
June 21, 2026
Selby and his friend Theodora are invited to help investigate the death of a rich family on the night of the servants ball.
I enjoyed this story very much. Its so nice when those solving the murders have to do it without modern help.
There was also a part where Selby goes to the doctor who examines him to make sure he is not queer.
I enjoyed this story very much. Its so nice when those solving the murders have to do it without modern help.
There was also a part where Selby goes to the doctor who examines him to make sure he is not queer.
June 23, 2026
This is the second Selby Bigge mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A good page turner littered with cheeky wit and charm.
I loved the nuggets of social history, especially the setting of the story being at the Servants' Ball in the Royal Albert Hall.
Hoping to see Selby & Theo back for a third instalment sometime soon.
I loved the nuggets of social history, especially the setting of the story being at the Servants' Ball in the Royal Albert Hall.
Hoping to see Selby & Theo back for a third instalment sometime soon.
August 7, 2026
This is an interesting entry in an enjoyable series — the setting and the characters are well-written and the mystery was nicely plotted and suitably twisty. Bigge perhaps doesn’t need to make so many references to his amorous impulses at times — it can interrupt the narrative — but for me that was a quibble not a deal breaker.
July 19, 2026
Who knew a queer mystery series set in 1930s London could be so much fun!? This one is possibly even better than the first book and definitely has me anticipating the next one. Keep 'em coming, Selby!
June 28, 2026
Just as delightful as the first in the series. The main characters are wonderful, and trying to solve the mystery is great fun.
July 30, 2026
These are very intricate mysteries with lots of tension.
This author has created a story where the victim is a homosexual in a time when the police (and laws) have little regard for them and usually sweep their crimes under the rug. Yet the story masterfully builds so not only does the reader care, the characters do too. They want to see justice.
Meanwhile, a strong tension hangs where the reader and main characters worry that any time Selbe and/or Theo go out or come home, they could be arrested for "indecency". Whew, what a read.
This author has created a story where the victim is a homosexual in a time when the police (and laws) have little regard for them and usually sweep their crimes under the rug. Yet the story masterfully builds so not only does the reader care, the characters do too. They want to see justice.
Meanwhile, a strong tension hangs where the reader and main characters worry that any time Selbe and/or Theo go out or come home, they could be arrested for "indecency". Whew, what a read.
August 15, 2026
Twisty and well done mystery; but this was at times hard to read because some of the characters espoused truly hateful world views- racism, homophobia, and other period accurate beliefs.
May 28, 2026
3.5 stars rounded down. An enjoyable enough historical queer cosy mystery - though be aware that you’ll never forget it’s a queer book, as it repeatedly mentions LGBT throughout, just so you remember…
This is the second book in the series, and while the mystery and the characters were decent enough, I’m not sure I’d go back and read book one, just because I felt so hit over the head by the constant references to being queer. Maybe this was just me, and others feel differently?
I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.
This is the second book in the series, and while the mystery and the characters were decent enough, I’m not sure I’d go back and read book one, just because I felt so hit over the head by the constant references to being queer. Maybe this was just me, and others feel differently?
I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I adored the first book in the series and have been eagerly awaiting this next installment. It was great to jump back in with Selby and Theo.
Scenes at Lady Malcolm's Servants Ball at the Royal Albert Hall were fantastic. I loved the descriptions of the costumes and the frivolity of the evening.
When the night ended with the murder of Lancelot Fortescue, Selby and Theo feel inclined to look into the case, especially as they may have been key witnesses to the event. As they look into the details, they discover a heap of secrets centred around Lancelot and his relationships. They need to be discreet as Lancelot's father claims to have successfully cured Lancelot of his 'illness'.
A fascinating cast of characters and an interesting commentary on hatred, racism, eugenics and sexuality. Once again, I found myself learning about the hidden history of LGBTQ+ people and love how the author weaves it into the story.
Scenes at Lady Malcolm's Servants Ball at the Royal Albert Hall were fantastic. I loved the descriptions of the costumes and the frivolity of the evening.
When the night ended with the murder of Lancelot Fortescue, Selby and Theo feel inclined to look into the case, especially as they may have been key witnesses to the event. As they look into the details, they discover a heap of secrets centred around Lancelot and his relationships. They need to be discreet as Lancelot's father claims to have successfully cured Lancelot of his 'illness'.
A fascinating cast of characters and an interesting commentary on hatred, racism, eugenics and sexuality. Once again, I found myself learning about the hidden history of LGBTQ+ people and love how the author weaves it into the story.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews