The Prisoner's Apprentice

A gothic historical thriller based on a shocking true crime that captivated nineteenth-century America—and drew editorials from Mark Twain.

In his father’s jail, young Albert Jarvis finds what he’s always wanted: a teacher who takes him seriously. Sharp-minded, overlooked, aching to matter in a rough 1840s frontier town where a boy is measured by his grit, Albert is undone the first time the new prisoner speaks to him in Greek.

The prisoner’s name is Edward Rulloff. Physician. Lawyer. Linguist fluent in 27 languages. And one of the most notorious serial killers of the nineteenth century.

What begins as language lessons becomes an education in something stranger—in how a brilliant mind rationalizes its crimes, and how far a boy’s loyalty can stretch before it snaps. As Albert is drawn deeper into Rulloff’s world of silk thefts, stolen identities, and polished lies, he finds himself caught between the man’s monstrous acts and the teacher who made him feel, for the first time, like someone worth knowing.

Based on the shocking true-crime story that captivated nineteenth-century America, drew editorials from Mark Twain, and may have inspired Sherlock Holmes’s most notorious nemesis Moriarty, The Prisoner’s Apprentice is a gothic psychological thriller about brilliance, belonging, and a boy’s impossible choice between the teacher who made him and the killer he can no longer unsee.

For readers of Caleb Carr’s The Alienist, Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace, and Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Winner of the Independent Reader’s Discovery Award. Finalist, Eric Hoffer Award. B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree.

“The Prisoner’s Apprentice grabbed me on page one and swept me up into a rich, tapestried world of mystery and intrigue that kept me turning page after page well into the night. Cheyenne Richards writes with such clarity and beauty that this novel cartwheels along, raising questions, and opening up a world that is sure to delight book clubs.”

— Lolly Winston, New York Times bestselling author of Good Grief, Happiness Sold Separately, and Me For You

“This novel marks the debut of a gifted new writer. In The Prisoner’s Apprentice, Cheyenne Richards tells the astonishing story of a young boy who befriends a brilliant murderer in 1846. She writes with a fresh voice that is both energetic and engaging. The story is part thriller, part psychological study — and completely riveting storytelling.”

— Ellen Sussman, New York Times bestselling author of A Wedding in Provence, The Paradise Guest House, French Lessons, and On a Night Like This