A gripping historical crime thriller set in the dark heart of London's slave trade
June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock, London - horribly tortured and branded with a slaver's mark.
Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham - a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career - learns that an old friend, passionate abolitionist Tad Archer, had been about to expose a secret that he believed could cause irreparable damage to the British slaving industry. He'd said people were trying to kill him, and now he is missing . . .
To discover what happened to Tad, Harry is forced to pick up the threads of his friend's investigation, delving into the heart of the conspiracy Tad had unearthed. His investigation will threaten his political prospects, his family's happiness, and force a reckoning with his past, risking the revelation of secrets that have the power to destroy him.
And that is only if he can survive the mortal dangers awaiting him in Deptford . . .
Blood & Sugar is the thrilling debut historical crime novel from Laura Shepherd-Robinson. Winner of the HWA Debut Crown and the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award, this page-turner sheds light on the brutal realities of Britain's slave trade in the 18th century.
'A page-turner of a crime thriller . . . This is a world conveyed with convincing, terrible clarity' - C. J. Sansom, bestselling author of Dissolution
'Epic, harrowing, thrilling, brutal, addictive' - C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man
Rezensionen / Stimmen
Laura Shepherd-Robinson has written a story that is not only a page-turner of a thriller but, to an extent unusual in historical novels, where you feel you really are listening to a voice from the eighteenth century. This is a world conveyed with convincing, terrible clarity' -- C. J. Sansom, author of <i>Dissolution</i>, <i>Tombland</i> and <i>Winter in Madrid</i> A novel of astonishing skill * Financial Times * A tightly plotted crime story with vivid details of Georgian England * Sunday Times * Stunning . . . Blood & Sugar is a harrowing and brutal epic [that] shocks and thrills in equal measure * Express * A striking historical thriller . . . Few first novels are as accomplished as this -- Andrew Taylor, author of <i>The Ashes of London</i> Epic, harrowing, thrilling, brutal, addictive. I read it flat out in one day -- C. J. Tudor, author of <i>The Chalk Man</i> Enthralling * Daily Telegraph * Magnificent . . . A tense and gripping historical thriller that shines an unwavering light on a dark period in British history. Unmissable. -- Antonia Hodgson, author of <i>The Devil in the Marshalsea</i> Phenomenal . . . A shoo-in for one of the books of the year -- David Young, author of <i>Stasi Child</i> A searing, ingeniously constructed story * The Times * Extraordinary -- Caz Frear, author of <i>Sweet Little Lies</i> Truly addictive -- Jenny Quintana, author of <i>The Missing Girl</i> A passionate indictment of British involvement in the slave trade but it never neglects its duty to chill and thrill * Sunday Express * With a hugely likeable hero at its heart, this rich and beautifully written debut marks out Laura Shepherd-Robinson as a major new talent -- Fiona Cummins, author of <i>Rattle</i> The finest Georgian intrigue * The Times Crime Club * A remarkably assured debut -- Elizabeth Fremantle, author of <i>The Queen's Gambit</i> A page-turning dive into the torrid depths of London in the 1780s -- Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of <i>The Other Mrs Walker</i> Gripping and original . . . I absolutely loved it -- Karen Hamilton, author of <i>The Perfect Girlfriend</i> Immersive and exhilarating . . . I was completely swept away -- Holly Seddon, author of <i>Love Will Tear Us Apart</i> Extraordinary, immersive, addictive and moving -- Olivia Kiernan, author of <i>Too Close to Breath</i> I can't recommend it enough -- Jo Jakeman, author of <i>Sticks and Stones</i> Utterly compelling . . . The next star of historical crime fiction has arrived -- R. N. Morris The most absorbing, intelligent and breathtakingly atmospheric novel I've read in a long time -- Chris Whitaker, author of <i>We Begin at the End</i> I haven't read such an accomplished historical novel since I was introduced to C.J. Sansom. -- Jo Spain, author of <i>The Trial</i> A gripping mystery . . . I loved it -- Laura Marshall, author of <i>Friend Request</i> One of the best historical novels I've read in ages. -- Kaite Welsh, author of <i>The Wages of Sin</i> Deptford, a gateway to and from Britain's expanding empire, is evoked in pungent detail. The British slave trade was an appalling episode in our history and the novel is unflinching in its refusal to sentimentalise motives or to row back on the savagery of the times. * Daily Mail * A brilliant book . . . Superb . . . Absolutely superb' -- James O'Brien, presenter of LBC Radio and bestselling author of <i>How To Be Right</i> One of the most sophisticated crime novels of the past few years * The Critic * Read Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson, but read Blood & Sugar first: a) because it's brilliant, and b) because the characters overlap. They're both murder mysteries set in a meticulously and hyper-vividly drawn 18th-century London. The first is eye-opening about slavery, the second is about prostitution, or rather the first is about race and the second is about woman. Total page-turners -- India Knight * Sunday Times *
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Verlagsort
Verlagsgruppe
Zielgruppe
Interest Age: From 18 years
Dateigröße
ISBN-13
978-1-5098-8080-5 (9781509880805)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Laura Shepherd-Robinson worked in politics for nearly twenty years before re-entering normal life to complete an MA in Creative Writing. Her debut novel, Blood & Sugar, was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and won the Historical Writers' Association Debut Crown and the CrimeFest/Specsavers Crime Fiction Debut Award. Her second novel, Daughters of Night, was shortlisted for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and the HWA Gold Crown. Her third novel, The Square of Sevens, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller on publication. The Art of a Lie is her fourth novel. She lives in London with her husband Adrian.
