Thresher

In this thrilling second volume of the Thresher trilogy, it is the winter of 1815 and deadly conflicts tighten their grip on the West Dorset community. Two farmworkers, searching for stolen sheep, discover the Reverend William Lessop-Dene's body in Wychcombe Farm's swamp. This triggers a riot against the Gomer Family, suspected to have a hand in his death... At Home Farm, the relationship between Hugo Jones and his wife, Katherine, deteriorates following a drunken assault he makes on her. She has no choice but to isolate herself from him in order to protect herself - and the child she is carrying. Hugo launches a murderous hunt for four Irishmen who have stolen a fortune from him - a fortune he sees as rightfully his, but in fact is one he stole from the Gomers. Tragedy strikes Wychcombe as a smallpox epidemic claims the lives of many villagers, including that of the Honourable Susannah Gomer, but her son's visit to a Dorset dairy farmer prevents the scourge from spreading to other potential victims on Wychcombe Farm. Wychcombe's misfortune is far from over, however, as the workhouse is burned down - but this is a blessing in disguise for farm labourer Joshua Wicks, on the run for poaching and now an accessory to murder, when he is briefly reunited with his wife and children as a result. Gripping and poignant, Thresher: Winter Grip will appeal to previous fans of Thresher: Autumn Fall, as well as those with an interest in the not-so-peaceful lives of Victorian country-dwellers.