Happy August, everyone! And happy Saturday!
This book, published in June 2020, is one of my five star reads for the year so far. Highly recommended!
I really liked Claire Evans' debut novel, 'The Fourteenth Letter', but I think this one is even stronger. It's a twisty and tense murder mystery set on the streets of Victorian Whitechapel - what's not to love?!
It's 1882 and Cage Lackmann is a corrupt lawyer. Although he does some work to defend the innocent, he also fights legal cases to acquit gang members as he is in the pay of a powerful man. When one of his 'innocent' defendants is accused of committing a second murder, Cage is in trouble. The police want to frame him, his customers are abandoning him and he is in a race against time to get the evidence he needs. Everyone has secrets and Cage has to work out who he can trust with his own.
I loved everything about this book! I kept thinking I'd figured it all out, only for the rug to be pulled from under my feet the next second. The depiction of gritty, grimy, seedy Whitechapel is great - this is a place where loyalties can be bought and sold, everyone has a price and violence is rife. That said, this isn't a depressing book - it's clever and engaging and fast-paced. I read this in a day and would recommend that any lovers of historical crime do the same - clear some time in the diary and settle down for an absolute treat.
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Photo by Nicole De Khors from Burst