Chris Nickson

Gripping Victorian Noir!

1824. Leeds has a new low in crime!
Nickson has blown me away with this episode of thief-taker Simon Westrow. The abused Jane, his very damaged partner who is making slow steps and is not cutting herself anymore, although her trusty honed blade never leaves her side is of course present, and Rosie, Simon’s wife, mother of his children and partner until motherhood shifted her attention to their boys. This time however she’s more than ever up for the show more chase.
Bodysnatchers have struck in Leeds. The population is aghast. The body of a ten year old child has been stolen. The parents are bereft. The population is angry. Rosie is incandescent with rage. This has become personal for her.
The owner of a Foundry, Joseph Clark, a close friend and employer of the father, has asked Simon to find the degenerate grave robbers. For a finders fee of course
At the same time a Mrs Amanda Parker has asked Simon and Jane to attend her. She wants them to find a man who stole 50 pounds from her. Jane is suspicious of the widow, doesn’t like her. Simon says they’ll try for 3 days. If they can’t find the man they’ll stop. Simon and Jane both sense something a little off key. But what?
The search for the resurrectionists lead them all over Leeds. They find them, but then two escape custody, the third dies. Mob emotions have come into play.
Now the chase is on—again! Jane confronts the Irishman. It doesn’t go well. She is shaken and angry. She’s felt fear for the first time in a long time. That doesn’t sit well with our Jane. To conquer that feeling she becomes more determined than ever to settle things with the Irishman. Jane becomes a silent wraith, even more than before, as she and Simon track their quarry.
Extraordinary times, and extraordinary measures taken by all three.
I love Nickson’s knowledge of old Leeds, of its alleyways and streets, all mapped out in Jane’s head.
I admire his craft as a storyteller, weaving history and fiction.
Tense, darkly imagined reading, makes this a favorite.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher. show less

Yes, finally, thank you! A series I can get into (maybe with other books in between, because this is not for the faint-hearted!) As with other series, I came across a later sequel and had to skip back to the beginning, but what a revelation.

Set in neighbouring Leeds in the 1820s - I recognise some of the main street names - we enter the world of Simon Westow, thief-taker, and his family. A survivor of the workhouse system, Simon puts his knowledge of the streets to good use in reuniting the show more wealthy with their property - for a price. This time, however, the stolen property is a young woman and although her father is willing and able to pay well for her return, neither he nor Simon suspect that revenge is the motive behind the kidnapping and that Simon will have to pay.

People stole in order to live. What justice could there be when a man worked all week and still saw his family starve? The owners had their fine houses, their servants. They wanted for nothing.

I really enjoyed this dark story, both for the local setting and the history lesson. The reminder about the gulf between the have and the have nots is constant - this is not Austen's Regency England - but not didactic; more like Dickens set in Yorkshire, but without being paid by the word. Simon, his wife Rosie and assistant Jane are murky, elusive characters, whether intentionally or because the focus is on the story, but I liked them all the same. They all carry knives and know how to use them, and Jane, like most poor young women of the time, knows how to fade into the background when needed. The walk around Leeds was also an eye opener - I wish there was a map of the city at that time!

I will definitely be back to the soot and the smoke of industrial West Yorkshire, after a metaphorical stiff drink in the kitchen and a stroll out to the countryside! show less

Hooked from the very first line!

How could I not be? This is Tom Harper. A man I’ve traveled with down through the years. It’s 1920 and Harper’s only six weeks away from retirement. He’s been asked by his boss, Alderman Thompson to quietly investigate a matter for him. Thompson’s being blackmailed. He’d “engineered Harper’s permanent appointment as Chief Constable of Leeds City Police.” Now Thompson’s calling in the debt.
Three live cases are on the go, three cases to be show more wound up before handing over to his replacement. All have Harper puzzled and frustrated.
*There’s this blackmail case with a moneyed and cool woman seemingly at the center.
*A series of jewellery shop heists by four highly disciplined robbers.
*The coming onslaught of organized groups of women en mass shop lifting from bigger department stores in numbers too large to control. They have been working their way from London connecting to large centers by train and foiling police. Mayhem has ensued.
Leeds is next!
And with all this Tom is faced with extreme sadness and loss. The love of his life, his wife Annabelle, “the vibrant woman, the suffragist speaker, has vanished.” Caught in the clutches of a relentless disease. Dementia has taken her away. Oh, there’s good moments when she’s in the now, but they’re disappearing.
I ponder on the question of how divorced can an author be from his characters?
Nickson’s sensitive writing about the man Harper is, Harper’s alertness to situations, the presentation of his failings and strengths over the years, and now his sensitive handling of his wife’s illness, all point to the empathetic and brilliant mind behind the tales. The modestly brilliant and determined writer Chris Nickson, the creator of our beloved Harper, who writes with a huge love and knowledge of the city he loves, Leeds.
I freely admit to having tears in my eyes and a tightness in my throat as I read the last episode in Tom Harper’s investigative career, from a humble on the beat policeman to equally humble Chief Constable. So much seen, so much endured, and yet he maintained his dignity, his compassion and his humanity. We grew with him and his family through situations that saw them all go from strength to strength despite the odds.
Farewell Tom Harper, it’s been a great journey! I’ve enjoyed every moment.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change show less

Dark and vengeful!

Wow! Chris Nickson once again transports us back to 1824 Leeds. Atmospheric and stark reality color every page.
Simon Westow (the thief-taker) has a new client, an ex cavalry officer, and son of one of Leeds most notorious magistrates, who’s proving to be evasive and high handed. He wants Simon to find some stolen papers of his dead father’s but will give him no clues. It turns out others are on the trail and the dead bodies begin to stack up.
Something dark is happening show more in the lanes and alleyways of Leeds.
Jane has befriended a young girl, Sally, in whom she sees herself at that age. Sally feels protective of the children who live on the streets. In particular one small girl, Emma, who doesn’t quite seem like the others. Jane and Sally discover she and her sister were grabbed from a park when they hid from her governess. Emma was released because she was too old. Harriet, all of four, was deemed suitable.
Both Simon and Porter the Constable are shocked. They will become more so. Power and money are at work.
Sally comes more into the picture as Jane decides to only help when Simon really needs her. Her relationship with Simon has not been the same since he intervened in her planned revenge. Jane hasn’t really come to terms with Simon’s actions. She’s become more distant from the family.
Nickson’s portrayal of life on the streets for the forgotten and lost children is harsh and unforgiving.
Street justice is paid out for some of the child snatchers.
This latest novel in the Simon Westow arc has endings for some and new promise for others.
I was captured by events as they unfolded, horrified on many levels, and constantly admired Nickson’s ability to capture the terror of situations his characters faced and the driving search for justice and revenge they sought.
A challenging topic brought into the light, revealed by the power of the very talented Nickson’s pen.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher. show less