London: 1840. The economy is sliding into recession; gangs of unemployed workers roam the streets; and a murderer prowls the capital's poor neighbourhoods. Pyke, still grieving over the death of his wife and struggling to shoulder his responsibilities as a father, is in debtors' prison, having lost his home and reached the edge of bankruptcy. Fitzroy Tilling, now head of the new Metropolitan Police Force gives Pyke his freedom, but in return he must agree to investigate the brutal death of a young mulatto woman, who was apparently working as a prostitute. It is not long before another woman turns up dead, and Pyke begins to suspect that he has stumbled on something more sinister, and more far-reaching than the murder of a couple of prostitutes... Pyke's investigation takes him from the London docks to the sugar plantations of Jamaica, from a fading colonial mansion to the back-streets of the East End in a struggle against ambitious and ruthless enemies, as well as demons of his own.

Once again, a well written historical detective story set in London and also in Jamaica. Very descriptive as you could almost smell the stink of London's seedier parts at that time in history. A few unexpected turns really had me guessing till the end !

Going into Flutterbies9 's Crime BookBox. Happy reading !

Taken from Flutterbie9's Crime Bookbox as hubby wants to read it :o)

Added to hubby's TBR which is starting to rival mine......

Released as part of 2018 The SPOOK-TACULAR CHALLENGE (#7)

Read & enjoyed by hubby. It's now going to the Leeds meet up to find another reader

Picked up at today’s meet-up in Leeds. Good to see you today Plum-crazy. Look forward to reading it when it fits one of your themes!

A very well written historical mystery, which had me guessing right till the end. I wasn't sure whether I really liked Pyke as a person, but he won me over in the end.

An appropriate book for today as Pyke is investigating the murder of a "mulatto" woman that nobody else seems to care about. Black lives do matter!

One of several books I've been thinking of sending you for ages now. Read it or pass it on. it's up to you.

What a lovely and welcome surprise along with its friends. I'm not sure that I would ever have picked it up myself but will certainly give it a go. Thanks for sharing.

There are some good and some less well done elements to this book. Firstly, it's a solid murder mystery which makes effective use of the historical setting including a few passing references to Dickens and Thackeray. Pepper competently paints the vast social differences of mid-19th century London as well as the lush greenery and savagery of the Jamaican plantations without over-egging it with too many long winded descriptions of the food, clothing and slang of the age.

However, whilst I feel that Pepper's skill as an author has improved since the opening book in the series I simply didn't feel that Pyke has developed accordingly. Pyke is meant to be an anti-hero but comes across simply as an angry man with a massive chip on his shoulder who is over-reliant on his physical prowess. Now I should admit that I skipped the second book in this series so it's possible that I've missed something vital but after finishing this one I'm still uncertain as to what really motivates Pyke. I feel that he lacks the necessary depth to carry the weight of the author's historical observations.

Whilst I believe that this novel is an improvement on the first in the series and is a decent piece of escapism its an OK read rather than a memorable read.

Going out as part of a package to a fellow bookcrosser. I hope that you haven't already read it. Enjoy!

Received in London as an extra treat. not an author or series I've heard of before so I'll give it a try in due course and see how I get along. Thanks for your generosity.

After a year on my shelf I finally picked it up and sadly I just couldn't get into it.
I think it was the historical references that just gave me pause. Sorry.

As it's not on any wishlists I have released it to one of my 2 local LFL's. I know it will quickly find another home but will the next reader journal it ?