The Quaint Christmas, a short story by Darren Craske which ties into to the "Cornelius Quaint Chronicles" of pseudo-Victorian mysteries, is free courtesy of publisher The Friday Project, which has become an imprint of one of the Agency 6 (HarperCollins, IIRC).
Free at
Amazon UK, does not seem to yet exist in the US catalogue, but since this is seasonal promo, may show up there as well as in the other stores.
Incidentally, UK readers can get some really good deals on the first two books in the series,
The Equivoque Principle (a former US freebie,
now only £0.49), and its sequel
The Eleventh Plague,
for £0.99.
Description
A superbly festive short story. Part of the thrilling Cornelius Quaint Chronicles.
It is Christmas Eve and Cornelius Quaint arrives at a tavern in a most contemptible part of Victorian London. His mission – to procure a Christmas feast for his travelling circus, armed with nothing but a penny, his Eskimo valet Butter, and his own dazzlingly brilliant mind. Can Quaint pull off his con, or will he and Butter find themselves strung up by their gizzards before the night is through?
For readers of The Equivoque Principle and The Eleventh Plague, The Quaint Christmas sees the welcome return of dashing magician and part-time sleuth, Cornelius Quaint. For those yet to be acquainted, prepare to discover a fantastic adventure series inspired by the penny dreadfuls and newspaper serials of the Victorian age.