Tomb of the serpent

the long version

Superintendent Henry Jarrett thinks he has encountered murder in all its forms, but gory human sacrifice is horribly new. Is there a madman loose in Victorian Glasgow, as Jarrett, Inspector Grant and Sergeant Quinn believe? The victims are randomly chosen, the killings unpredictable and thus unsolvable. Then, a murder at a travelling fair - which bears no resemblance to the others - and the little matter of the valuable artefacts, increases Jarrett's confusion. It seems the time is right for him to tie the knot with his beloved Elsie Maitland and retire to the seaside - before his chief constable demands his resignation.