Can Dead Men Wink?

Poor Alice. She's cold, and it's raining, and this is a miserable, humiliating, and on top of that, heartbreaking duty. But it IS a duty, and Alice is a girl who knows hers. Her Uncle Frank was kind to her. He was funny, he made her feel beautiful, and he always treated her like life was going to be an adventure. It was for him that she came to the ugly, rambling house in London with her stupid Aunt Ursula and her ancient grandmother. And now that he's been hung and beheaded, she's going to claim the body, and give him a decent burial.

His name is Dan Skinslicer. He's a poor man, has dirty hands, and is generally spattered with blood. His wife is a castigating shrew, and his work is actually a relief. He's a hangman, and he does a good, clean job of it, puts those poor souls under the axe with a bit of dignity, he does. When Alice catches his attention, he just sees a small, thin girl who is one of his betters. He doesn't see someone who has more gumption and guts than common sense. He doesn't see someone who is bossy and impetuous. He doesn't see someone he will someday love, and for whom he will turn his back on safety.

All he wants is to do his execution properly so he can have a bit of a rest and a good dinner. Unfortunately, there's Alice. And soon, there are red-coated soldiers chasing him.

Sometimes, the course of love runs... completely backwards, crooked, and upside down.

But love is love, anyway.
K.M. Grant lives and writes in Glasgow! You might find this book with the U.S. cover, or read the U.K. version, like I did, but HOW THE HANGMAN LOST HIS HEART is exactly the same in either version.

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