Lewis

Lewis and Hathaway are brought in to investigate the murder of Marina Hartner, found by the river bank, brutally murdered with what seemingly was an antique Persian mirror. The murderer had left a bloodstained note on it written the word 'Uqbara.' Hamid Jassim, a university lecturer, specialising in Comparative Religion confirms that the mirror is his.

When a young actor is murdered during a student Shakespeare production, Lewis and Hathaway sift through the motives of several suspects - from a jealous thespian to an Oxford dropout to a playgoer only too anxious to use his ticket stub as an alibi. As the duo tracks down the truth, they unearth a dark secret that hits Lewis eerily close to home.

Lewis and Hathaway are called in to investigate the death of a man found beaten and drowned in his bath. By the body they discover a postcard bearing the cryptic message ‘It was no dream’... Taking the name Stephen Mullan from the victim’s work I.D Hathaway learns that Mullan was a religious fanatic and ex heroin addict, who had recently been released from prison after a drink driving incident.

Responding to complaints from a local vicar about a disturbance of the peace, Lewis and Hathaway visit the mansion of rock legend Richie Maguire. As they arrive, Lewis notices a dent in the iron gates and a dark stain on the road. Once inside, Lewis comes face to face with the rock icons from his youth and is awe struck to learn that Esme Ford, the band’s lead singer, has just resurfaced after being presumed dead for over thirty years...

After the body of Dr. Stephen Black is found on an Oxford tour bus, Lewis and Hathaway are lead to Crevecoeur Hall, a sprawling Oxford estate where Hathaway spent much of his childhood. Lewis begins to worry that a previous case involving the murder of ten year old girl has begun to affect Hathaway’s state of mind, whilst Hathaway himself seems more interested in the glamorous Scarlett Mortmaigne, the daughter of the owner of Crevecoeur. When another body is discovered on the estate, Hathaway’s refusal to believe that the family are involved threatens to tests his relationship with Lewis to breaking point.

When amateur stargazer and Master of Gresham College, Andrew Crompton, is found dead at the foot of the University Observatory stairs Lewis and Hathaway get a rare insight into the hierarchical nature of college life when the net of suspicion is cast from the senior college tutors right down to the head porter and even the college scouts. As the investigation continues Lewis uncovers a college wide blackmail plot and is confused by a mysterious astronomical conundrum, and Hobson is unexpectedly drawn into the case whilst rehearsing at Gresham College for a performance with a local orchestra.