Release Date: 1 April 2021 (received as advance read copy*)
Publisher: Viper Books
Star rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
This book in 3 words: mystery, death, intrigue
The plague is creeping across London but there’s something sinister lurking among the dead. Rector Symon Patrick can’t fathom who would murder the dying. Who would shave their hair, burn their skin, ink grids all over them… Surrounded by medical men with dubious motives, and aided by a mysterious young woman who recently entered his life, he needs to find the answer, in a race against the creeping death itself.
This is a delightfully vivid historical novel which balances history with plot and pace brilliantly. I found the different characters engaging and entertaining, especially those in the Prevention Society, the crackpot bunch of medical professionals hell-bent on either finding a cure or securing their best interests depending on whether you view them with cynicism or with empathy. There were moments of humour too, despite the dark subject matter. That’s one of the strengths of this novel, the ability to weave intrigue and mystery with the funnier elements, all with the pretty horrific backdrop of an epidemic. Note to self: I need to stop reading books about rapidly advancing deadly diseases…
On that subject, the maps with the ever advancing plague were a nice addition to the novel too. I wanted, though, for that sense of the walls closing in to come through more strongly, I wanted to feel the claustrophobia of being trapped by an ever advancing death knoll to beat through the text. Despite the fast pace of the novel, I don’t think the tension built in the way I’d have hoped.
My other wish for the book was for a clearer dénouement. I have to say I didn’t entirely follow the ending – it surprised me, which is no doubt a good thing, but I found myself trying to piece together the jigsaw to understand how we got there. Even having taken some time to mull it over, I don’t think I fully followed the journey for us to get there.
Nonetheless, if you like a fast paced mystery with a healthy dose of historical backdrop you’ll love this and I’d recommend picking it up.
Books in Steel City x
*Thanks NetGalley and Viper Books for allowing me free access to this advance read copy in exchange for an honest review!
Books in Steel City 