Ratcatcher

A good Victorian mystery with plenty of ambiance and a main character that was easy for me to root for. There is a pretty explicit sex scene, but does turn out to be 'necessary' to the plot line later on. You can still skip the scene if you'd rather, just knowing that it happens will be enough. It can be bloody, and the author is not squeamish about the seedier aspects of life in Victorian London. This is not a 'feel good' romp through an imaginary Victorian London where everything comes up roses. This is a determined walk towards the elusive truth through a more realistic Victorian London, complete with economic and social disparity, appalling poverty and antipathy towards the poor, and of course standard greed and complicit show more cooperation between the 'law' and those criminals well off enough to buy themselves out of trouble. show less

I may have been generous with my rating, but as I had just finished another historical mystery that was such slogging I was ready to enjoy a light, historical thriller. I've finally decided what my definition of a 'thriller' is... a book (or movie) in which you must suspend a great deal of belief because in real life the hero would have died three or four times. Hawkwood is saved at the last minute more than once, by himself or someone else, and of course he saves England as well. It wasn't the best, but certainly not the worst.

What a jolly good romp through the underground of Regency London. This debut offers the reader a great new hero who is a bit of a different kind of character we usually see. Retiring from the army, a Captain in the Napoleonic Wars Rifle regiment, Matthew Hawkwood now works for the famous Bow Street Runners catching criminals. The reader does not encounter the wealthy ton of London, but is introduced to the seedy side of the city, complete with rapscallions, pick-pockets, wharfrats, prostitutes, mudlarks, and the entire array of anyone and everything unsavory. The book has great characters, a vivid depiction of what life was like in the late 1700's and early 1800s London and lots of action, humor, and mystery. I loved this debut and hope show more the author continues with the series in the same adventurous flavor. McGee's writing style could be compared to that of Bernard Cornwell, polished and engaging from start to finish. Bravo Mr. McGee, keep 'em coming. show less

The ratcatcher is after the unlawful fraternity of London and not rats. The hero Hawkwood is a Bow Street Runner with a military background similar to that of Sharpe if you know the books and series. In this book, he is involved in resolving how a naval ship suddenly blows up and sinks, which then leads him into a den of espionage and treason. This is all set during the Napoleonic war but entirely in and around London. This was a rollicking good read - and I devoured it in one sitting on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon.

this is a very good read. Perhaps a little too modern for some tastes, bearing in mind the regency period (think hollywood crime blockbuster without the cars), it's still a ripping good yarn - plenty of lowlives, pickpockets, bare knuckled fighting, submarines, spies, those damn Frenchies!

A Victorian James Bond... or just the n-th attempt at distracting the readers with period colour and detail so that they don't throw the book away?

If this was the case, didn't work for me. The characters are uninteresting, the period/place (London during the Napoleonic period) is not completely new, and introducing character X so that we can be "shocked" to find out that s/he is really Y trying to cheat the main character into doing Z is not exactly riveting.

There is a sequel. I think I'll pass.

The story starts with a highway robbery which ends in the death of a man carrying confidential documents, then heads into the underworld of London and a bow street runner, Hawkwood, who is assigned to find who did this. Along the way he finds another dead runner and a byzantine plot. It's not the best of it's type I found it a fun read.

It rattled along and took me with it for a fun spin.