A Stranger from the Storm

The year is 1900. The port city of Odessa on the Black Sea is being terrorized by a brutal killer called the Specter. With five people already dead, the murderer promises more.

One family, the Karadopoulinas, run a boarding house. Sisters Tasia and Eleni feel certain the killer is a scarred, shambling Londoner who took lodging with them one night during a thunderstorm. Furtive and threatening, Henry Humble, stalks Odessa’s labyrinth of interlocking courtyards and foggy docks at night, armed with weapons and skeleton keys.

As the body count rises, so do the questions...
Who is the mysterious figure haunting the catacombs below the streets of Odessa?
Why won’t Eleni’s police constable sweetheart investigate?
Who will be the next to die?

A Victorian-style murder mystery with elements of horror, adventure, and Hitchcockian black humor. "A Stranger from the Storm" by William Burton McCormick is a novella published by Mannison Press, LLC. It was awarded the Bronze Medal for Book of the Year (2022) in the Historical YA category from the Coffee Pot Book Club and a Silver Falchion award finalist (2022).

Praise for "A Stranger from the Storm"

"Unimaginable evil stalks the dark, labyrinthian streets in the Greek Quarter of Victorian Odessa. Meanwhile another haunts the eerie catacombs below. Only the Karadopoulinas twin sisters can solve the string of grisly murders that have terrorized the city—but they’ll have to stop sparring with each other first and work together as a team. A delightful and gripping Gothic murder mystery with a pair of humorous, courageous and refreshingly different young sleuths." ~Karen Charlton, author of "The Detective Lavender Mysteries" series

"A rollicking gothic-horror comedy magically set in 1900 Odessa." ~Judith Cutler, author of the "Harriet and Matthew Rowsley" series

"As dark and labyrinthine as the tunnels beneath Odessa, and with as many twists. Enthralling!" ~Clio Gray, author of Booker Nominated & Bailey's Longlisted "The Anatomist's Dream"

"A sly, wry look at murder, William Burton McCormick has given us the perfect read for Halloween—and the whole year. With a pair of quip-trading twins for sleuths, enough red herrings to fill a lake in Odessa, and a villain you won't readily guess, A Stranger from the Storm gives the reader a fast, snappy tour of times gone by in a place laden with history and secrets kept far underground." ~Jenny Milchman, USA Today bestselling author of "Cover of Snow" and "The Second Mother"