100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

Tom Hawkins was once a man destined to follow in his father's footsteps and become a man of the cloth, that is, until he was disgraced on the day of his graduation by his own brother.  Now, free to live life as he chooses, Tom gambles, drinks and chases after women.  It is no surprise that he soon falls into debt and through a series of unfortunate events, finds himself being locked up in the infamous Marshalsea debtors prison.  Upon his arrival, Tom finds out that he looks very similar to a man who was just murdered, a man whose bed he now sleeps in with a cell mate, Samuel Fleet, who might just be the murderer.  Tom is now in the position to find the murderer or be killed himself.

The most interesting part of this story is that it takes place almost entirely within the walls of the Marshalsea gaol. The Marshalsea was a very real and very dangerous place to be, but within itself there was almost the feeling of  a small community.  Antonia Hodgson has done wonderful research into the setting, bringing this gaol to life in all of its brutality and intensiveness.  Using real people as inspirations for many of the characters that worked and lived within the Marshalsea at the time created a rich historical atmosphere that I love to see in my historical fiction.  Tom is a rich character, caring and intelligent, but otherwise content to let life take him for a ride, he is the perfect unintentional sleuth for the murdered Captain Roberts.  Tom's crime-solving partner, and suspect, Samuel Fleet is a colorful and mysterious character himself, I never quite knew if he was trustworthy or not.  The mystery, although only unfolding over Tom's stay of five days in the Marshalsea, is a little slow unfolding and Tom seems to spend almost as much time getting in and out of trouble as he does mystery-solving.  However, near the end the pace picks up and the details of this intricately woven mystery come out, I found myself absorbed. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

This can be my second square in Summer Bingo for 'Set in Europe'