This wonderfully intriguing and exciting historical mystery really packs a wallop. Although a sequel to ‘The Devil in the Marshalsea’ you can most definitely read it as a stand alone novel. The story starts just before the gallows is set to claim Tom Hawkins, then travels back in time to the events that saw him declared guilty of murder. Occasional shifts in time continue, ensuring that you feel Tom’s fear and his desperate hope that he will be saved before the rope begins its grisly business. There is a certain colour and luminosity to the writing, you just have to reach out and you are in the centre of these robust, bawdy, sometimes repellent times, that are so vividly described. It’s fascinating to read the history behind the novel at the end, you can feel the depth of care that the author has taken and the fascination she feels for this time period. So, bear witness to the manipulative, clever Queen Caroline, keep your hand on your money as you creep through St Giles and hope with all of your might that Tom and Kitty find their way through this dramatically enjoyable read. ~ Liz Robinson
London, 1728. A young, well-dressed man is driven through streets of jeering onlookers to the gallows at Tyburn. They call him a murderer. But Tom Hawkins is innocent and somehow he has to prove it, before the rope squeezes the life out of him.
It is, of course, all his own fault. He was happy settling down with Kitty Sparks. He should never have told the most dangerous criminal in London that he was bored and looking for adventure. He should never have offered to help, the king's mistress. And most of all, he should never have trusted the witty, calculating Queen Caroline. She has promised him a royal pardon if he holds his tongue but then again, there is nothing more silent than a hanged man.
Based loosely on actual events, Antonia Hodgson's new novel is both a sequel to The Devil in the Marshalsea and a standalone historical mystery. From the gilded cage of the Court to the wicked freedoms of the slums, it reveals a world both seductive and deadly. And it continues the rake's progress of Tom Hawkins - assuming he can find a way to survive the noose...
