Reviewed by W. Keith McCoy, Somerset County Library System
The ne’er-do-well son of a country
parson is thrown into the alternative world that is debtors’ prison of London
in 1727. Owned by a noble, run by an
SOB, and inhabited by the unfortunate as well as the conniving, Marshalsea Gaol
is a festering pot of deception, treachery and brutality. When a man of means is murdered inside it,
everyone seems to have an interest in finding the killer, as well as a motive. New arrival Tom Hawkins not only needs to pay
off his debts, he needs to find out who murdered the man who slept in his bed
two days before. The scenes are
Hogarthian, and the pace is Pattersonian.
The author has a gift for action and characters, using the historical
prison as the main stage, and real people as supporting actors. She manages to keep the reader guessing as to
who might be the murderer, and when (and whom) he might strike next.
Verdict: History
and mystery fans will both enjoy the roller coaster twists and turns of this
atmospheric thriller.
