Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in Leeds, England, in 1823, Nickson's stellar fourth mystery featuring thief-taker Simon Westlow (after 2020's To the Dark) finds Simon, who's recuperating from a devastating illness, not in the best shape to embark on a crusade. But he does so after 10-year-old Peter Hardy and eight-year-old Jacob Easby are killed by the brutal overseer at the mill where they worked, a tragedy that revives Simon's memories of his own oppressive experiences in a workhouse. When Simon's testimony to an investigating commission about the torture he endured as a child laborer doesn't yield results, he resolves to bring those responsible for the boys' deaths to justice, despite the risk of taking on the powerful status quo. Meanwhile, during a walk, Simon comes across the body of a clerk found in the river with his throat slit and right hand severed. The tension rises as the subsequent inquiry pits Simon against a dangerous adversary. Nickson does a superb job using the grim living and working conditions for the city's poor as a backdrop for a memorable and affecting plot. James Ellroy fans will be enthralled. Agent: Tina Betts, Andrew Mann (U.K.). (Mar.)
Kirkus Review
The past comes back to haunt two thief-takers. Leeds in 1823 is a heavily industrial city whose mill owners treat their workers with disdain and beastly cruelty. As he slowly recovers from an undiagnosed disease that's left him weak and listless, Simon Westow counts on Jane, his thief-taking assistant, a virtuoso with a knife, to protect him while remaining unnoticed in the background. They're both brought into the foreground by the discovery of a man in the river with his throat cut and a hand missing. At first Simon refuses an offer from the victim's brother, Charles Ramsey, who wants to hire him to find the killer, but eventually their paths cross again. In the meantime, a request from mill owner Thomas Arden to recover some candlesticks stolen from his feckless son puts Simon and Jane in imminent danger. They have no trouble finding the thief, a friend of the son, but Simon has a bad feeling about any dealings with Arden, even, or especially, when he lauds Simon for his good work. For her part, Jane, who's identified the person stalking her as her father, who raped her and threw her out on the streets, barely restrains herself from killing him. Simon is furious over the deaths of two very young boys, starved and beaten by mill overseers, as he was himself as a lad. Forcing Arden to pay reparations to the dead boys' families locks him and Jane in a life-and-death fight with Arden and another evil man with whom he has a blood covenant. A gritty tale of perseverance, cruelty, rage, and redemption not for the faint of heart. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In 1823 Leeds, England, thief-taker Simon Westover and his partner, Jane, face a complex case. First, a factory-worker's body is fished from the river, one of his hands missing. Then the bruised and battered bodies of two children, workers in another local factory, are found. Then wealthy factory owner Thomas Arden hires Simon and Jane to find some valuables, which he says were stolen from his son's home. Next, Jane's father appears in Leeds--the father who raped her when she was a child and then cast her out of his house. He wants forgiveness, but Jane refuses to give it. After another factory-worker's body is found in the river, Simon and Jane close in on the doings at Arden's factory. But how are the disparate events related? Nickson is a master at depicting the hardships of life in early-nineteenth-century Britain, and he never stints on realistic detail. Simon and Jane are a charismatic duo, and there are plenty of twists here to keep readers entertained. A fine choice for fans of British historical mysteries.
