While on his rounds, walking on the outskirts of Leeds, John Sedgwick,
deputy to the Constable, discovers the body of a man. The victim‘s neck
had been slashed and his back flayed. Constable Richard Nottingham
recognises him as a retired merchant.
Nottingham and his team must now begin their investigation into why this
murder had occurred. Could it possibly be one of the men that the
victim had sacked in years past? If so, where are they now?
The answer comes when an urchin delivers a book to Nottingham. The book
contains the reason for the killing, and obviously identifies the
killer. It has a couple more shocking revelations, the foremost being
that the killer intends to kill three more people. He doesn’t believe
that Nottingham will be able to catch him, thus the warning.
Nottingham is shocked, and must now figure out how to catch the killer
before he can strike again. However, despite being watched by one of
Nottingham’s men, a second victim is snatched. Where did he disappear
to? Is Nottingham going to have to turn to a pimp, who has offered help
in searching for the killer?
On the same night that the body of the second victim is found, a Jew is
killed. Two young men had thought that he had gold. It doesn’t take
long to find evidence of their criminality. However, their father is a
powerful merchant. He has gotten them off in the past for their
misdemeanours. Can he do it again?
Shortly after receiving the second book, an attempt is made on
Nottingham’s life. Injured and shocked, Nottingham is all the more
determined to find the killer.
Will justice prevail? Author Chris Nickson builds up the suspense in
this historical thriller before bringing it to a crashing conclusion.
An excellent read, and hard to put down. It has been seven years since I
read the previous book, but immediately Nickson had memories of the
previous book flooding my mind. This is the sign of a very good writer.
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