The Smiling Corpse is set in 1870s, Sydney. A body is found in a back lane and the police call for Ben Laidlaw; lawyer, adventurer and amateur sleuth.

An autopsy reveals death by a rare poison and a cryptic note is found in the corpse's jacket. Is it a warning from the beyond the grave? While Laidlaw and Detective Henry Walsh hit dead ends, a second body is found.

A sorcerer stalks the streets of Sydney. A puppet master pulls strings above a stage of death. Can the partners decode the note before the killer strikes again, or will the hunter become the hunted?

Bruce Mitchell has worked as a labourer, shop assistant, musician, clerk, educator, waiter, bookmaker, public servant, consultant and corporate director. His writing history began as a copywriter with a Sydney advertising agency, writing print and radio scripts for products, corporate training and marketing videos. 

His passion for history and talent for writing have combined in the authorship of six novels and three novellas in the historical fiction genre, receiving 4-5 star ratings on Amazon. The ‘Thornton Series’ is a four-book (soon to be five) series of action, adventure, laughter and tears which follows the Thornton family who migrate to Sydney in the 1840’s.