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The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd
The Blurb On The Back:
London, 1811
The twisting streets of riverside Wapping hold many an untold sin. Bounded by the ancient Ratcliffe Highway and the modern wonder of the London Dock, shameful secrets are largely hidden by the noise and glory of trade. But now two families have fallen victim to foul murder and John Harriott, magistrate of the Thames River Police Office, must deliver revenge up to a terrified populace. His only hope is his senior officer, Charles Horton. Harriott only recently came up with a word to describe what it is that Horton does. It is detection.
Plymouth, 1564
Billy Ablass arrives from Oxford with the burning desire of all young men: the getting and keeping of money. Captain John Hawkyns is about to set sail in a shop owned by Queen Elizabeth herself, and Billy sees the promise of a better life with a crew intent on gain and glory. But the kidnap of hundreds of human souls in Africa is not the only cursed event to occur on England’s first official slaving voyage. On a sun-blasted Florida islet, Billy, too, is to be enslaved for the rest of his accursed days.
Based on the real-life story of the gruesome Ratcliffe Highway murders, The English Monster takes us on a voyage across centuries, through the Age of Discovery, and throws us up, part of the human jetsam, onto the streets of Regency Wapping, policed only by Officer Horton. Brilliantly imagined and richly described, this eagerly awaited debut marks the arrival of a major new voice.
It’s 1811 and Margaret Jewell is running errands for her employer, Timothy Marr, on the Ratcliffe Highway. She returns to find that he and his whole family – including a baby – have been brutally bludgeoned to death. The case falls to ambitious John Harriott, magistrate of the Thames River Police Office, who assigns Charles Horton – an ex-sailor with a murky past and a penchant for what is termed “detection” – to investigate.
Horton’s investigation takes him into the dark underside of Regency Wapping and pits Harriott against rival magistrates who see him encroaching on their territory. But the roots of this murder go back to 1564 where Billy Ablass, a young man keen to make his fortune, joins the ship of Captain John Hawkyns, who’s been commissioned by Queen Elizabeth to engage in a slaving venture. As the voyage continues, Ablass’s horizons are broadened and his innocence shaved away until events culminate in a dark and shocking encounter on a Florida island …
Lloyd Shepherd’s debut novel mashes up historical crime fiction with dark fantasy to mixed effect. Based on a real series of murders on the Ratcliffe Highway and a real slaving voyage, the research is impressive but for me the two storylines didn’t converge as effectively as they could have done and the Ablass storyline lacked tension and revolved around a bland character.
Horton’s a character with real potential – guilt-riddled over what he did as a sailor – his drive to discover the truth causes friction with his long-suffering wife and I liked the way he pieces together the clues. I also liked Harriott – a self-made (and self-broken) man who’s risen to a position of prestige and is determined to make the most of it. Based on a real person, his battle with the Wapping magistrates had a lot of potential and I particularly enjoyed the inquest scenes. Had the book focused on the Regency murders then I’d have enjoyed it more but it’s suffocated by the Ablass storyline, which lacked drive and tension. I never connected with Ablass and didn’t quite understand how it tied in with the 1811 events.
There’s some great writing – the opening chapters are gripping – and I liked the period detail but ultimately there’s too much going on and Shepherd can’t maintain the strands. That’s said, I would like to read the sequel to this and I’d be interested in reading Shepherd’s further work.
Free review copy from Simon & Schuster.
The Verdict:
Lloyd Shepherd’s debut novel mashes up historical crime fiction with dark fantasy to mixed effect. Based on a real series of murders on the Ratcliffe Highway and a real slaving voyage, the research is impressive but for me the two storylines didn’t converge as effectively as they could have done and the Ablass storyline lacked tension and revolved around a bland character. However, the opening chapters are gripping and I liked the period detail. Although I didn’t think that Shepherd maintained the strands, I’d be interested in reading Shepherd’s further work.
THE ENGLISH MONSTER was released in the UK on 1st March 2012. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.
The twisting streets of riverside Wapping hold many an untold sin. Bounded by the ancient Ratcliffe Highway and the modern wonder of the London Dock, shameful secrets are largely hidden by the noise and glory of trade. But now two families have fallen victim to foul murder and John Harriott, magistrate of the Thames River Police Office, must deliver revenge up to a terrified populace. His only hope is his senior officer, Charles Horton. Harriott only recently came up with a word to describe what it is that Horton does. It is detection.
Billy Ablass arrives from Oxford with the burning desire of all young men: the getting and keeping of money. Captain John Hawkyns is about to set sail in a shop owned by Queen Elizabeth herself, and Billy sees the promise of a better life with a crew intent on gain and glory. But the kidnap of hundreds of human souls in Africa is not the only cursed event to occur on England’s first official slaving voyage. On a sun-blasted Florida islet, Billy, too, is to be enslaved for the rest of his accursed days.
Based on the real-life story of the gruesome Ratcliffe Highway murders, The English Monster takes us on a voyage across centuries, through the Age of Discovery, and throws us up, part of the human jetsam, onto the streets of Regency Wapping, policed only by Officer Horton. Brilliantly imagined and richly described, this eagerly awaited debut marks the arrival of a major new voice.
It’s 1811 and Margaret Jewell is running errands for her employer, Timothy Marr, on the Ratcliffe Highway. She returns to find that he and his whole family – including a baby – have been brutally bludgeoned to death. The case falls to ambitious John Harriott, magistrate of the Thames River Police Office, who assigns Charles Horton – an ex-sailor with a murky past and a penchant for what is termed “detection” – to investigate.
Horton’s investigation takes him into the dark underside of Regency Wapping and pits Harriott against rival magistrates who see him encroaching on their territory. But the roots of this murder go back to 1564 where Billy Ablass, a young man keen to make his fortune, joins the ship of Captain John Hawkyns, who’s been commissioned by Queen Elizabeth to engage in a slaving venture. As the voyage continues, Ablass’s horizons are broadened and his innocence shaved away until events culminate in a dark and shocking encounter on a Florida island …
Lloyd Shepherd’s debut novel mashes up historical crime fiction with dark fantasy to mixed effect. Based on a real series of murders on the Ratcliffe Highway and a real slaving voyage, the research is impressive but for me the two storylines didn’t converge as effectively as they could have done and the Ablass storyline lacked tension and revolved around a bland character.
Horton’s a character with real potential – guilt-riddled over what he did as a sailor – his drive to discover the truth causes friction with his long-suffering wife and I liked the way he pieces together the clues. I also liked Harriott – a self-made (and self-broken) man who’s risen to a position of prestige and is determined to make the most of it. Based on a real person, his battle with the Wapping magistrates had a lot of potential and I particularly enjoyed the inquest scenes. Had the book focused on the Regency murders then I’d have enjoyed it more but it’s suffocated by the Ablass storyline, which lacked drive and tension. I never connected with Ablass and didn’t quite understand how it tied in with the 1811 events.
There’s some great writing – the opening chapters are gripping – and I liked the period detail but ultimately there’s too much going on and Shepherd can’t maintain the strands. That’s said, I would like to read the sequel to this and I’d be interested in reading Shepherd’s further work.
Free review copy from Simon & Schuster.
The Verdict:
Lloyd Shepherd’s debut novel mashes up historical crime fiction with dark fantasy to mixed effect. Based on a real series of murders on the Ratcliffe Highway and a real slaving voyage, the research is impressive but for me the two storylines didn’t converge as effectively as they could have done and the Ablass storyline lacked tension and revolved around a bland character. However, the opening chapters are gripping and I liked the period detail. Although I didn’t think that Shepherd maintained the strands, I’d be interested in reading Shepherd’s further work.
THE ENGLISH MONSTER was released in the UK on 1st March 2012. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.