A Matter of Spirit by Michael Coorlim

Galvanic Century is set in an alternate steampunk world where the reign of Queen Victoria has extended well into the early 20th century. As the world edges inexorably towards a World War that few can even begin to anticipate, brave men and women must contend with airship pirates, clockwork assassins, galvanic monsters, and anarchist madmen.

Inventive genius James Wainwright has been retained to advocate for Bryce, an old friend, a con-man accused of kidnapping his partner, who maintains that she was spirited away by the shades of the dead.

James has little use for the fancies of spiritualism, but can he put his prejudices aside and clear Bryce’s name, or will his old friend go to the gallows?