Richard Nottingham, Constable of Leeds, has just returned to work after
several months of convalescence. He finds that things have changed.
Meantime, one of his deputies, Rob Lister has been called to where the
bodies of three children have been found. The three were vagabonds, no
wonder no one had raised an alarm about them being missing. When
Nottingham cleans them up, he comes to the realisation that they had
each been brutalised.
Talking to young waifs, Nottingham finds
out that there are at least two other children that have disappeared,
and that there is a man calling himself Gabriel, offering children food
and a place to stay.
A servant offers up the name of his master
before the city offers a reward. Nottingham knows that the reward will
spell trouble. Nottingham approaches the man in question, and after
questioning him, he is sure that he has found the guilty party. It will
just be a matter of proving it now. However, one of the waifs that
Nottingham had spoken to earlier states that this man wasn't Gabriel.
It isn't long after that, that the waif is killed.
Nottingham is
now sure of who the culprit is. However, once again, he doesn't have
the evidence. John Sedgwick, another of his deputies does manage to
get some, which Nottingham presents to the person in question on the
sly. Unfortunately it results in the murder of his wife. Sedgwick and
Lister vow vengeance on behalf of their boss. However, Nottingham won't
have it. He wants justice served properly.
Author Chris Nickson's portrayal of eighteenth century is very good. The story is intriguing and chilling. An excellent read.
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