7 March 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-4483-1019-7 (HB
The story is set in Leeds where Simon Westow and his assistant, Jane, live and work. Simon is a thief-taker whose job is to track down thieves and retrieve his client’s property, but it is up to his employer whether they decide to prosecute the thief. As a rule, Simon is not particularly interested in achieving a prosecution, however, the case that confronts Simon and Jane in April 1824 is different: Joseph Clark is a wealthy engineer who approaches Simon to retrieve not property but a child’s body. Gwendolyn Jordan was just ten years old when she died of fever. A fortnight after her death, Joseph Clark consults Simon because, when Gwendolyn’s family visited her grave a week after her death, they realised it had been disturbed and discovered that her body had been stolen. Gwendolyn’s father, Harmony Jordan, is a long-time employee of Joseph Clark and Clark is appalled by the family’s grief and is willing to pay whatever it takes to get Gwendolyn’s body back and bring the grave robbers to justice. Simon and his wife, Rosie, have eight-year-old twin sons and the grief of the bereaved parents and the heinous nature of this crime appals them both. Simon knows that the theft of a body is a misdemeanour because a body is not deemed to be property, but Gwendolyn’s parents had bought her a special gown for burial and that was costly enough to mean the thieves could be severely punished and possibly transported. Simon and Jane had been working very hard and had hoped for a rest, but this is a case that Simon knows he has to undertake.
Another case is offered when Simon is summoned by Mrs Amanda Parker, who insists that he brings Jane with him to their meeting. Rumour has it that Mrs Parker had been a working-class girl who had been a prostitute until, by successful marriage, she had risen in wealth and social standing. Mrs Parker wants them to locate a man called Tom Rawlings, whom, she claims, had borrowed fifty pounds from her and then disappeared. She says he has a taste for prostitutes and suggests that Jane pretends to be one in order to smoke out Rawlings. Simon and Jane turn down this proposal, but Simon agrees to spend a limited time searching for Rawlings. When they are alone, Jane asks him why he’d agreed to work for a woman that neither of them liked or trusted and Simon explains that he doesn’t believe Mrs Parker is telling them the truth and he hopes to discover what she really wants of them.
Simon and Jane make a wonderful team. He has experience and balanced judgment, a different range of contacts than Jane and a certain authority; she has friends amongst the very poor, a genius for blending into the streets and an acutely honed instinct for danger. Both have pulled themselves up from direst poverty by their own courage and determination and both are deadly knife fighters. Simon lives with his wife and sons and he is determined that his boys will receive a good education and have a successful future. Jane lives with an old lady who befriended her. Jane is also reaching out for education and feels empowered by her new ability to read and understand numbers.
Simon continues to investigate the grave robbers, also known as the Resurrection Men, and is horrified by the realisation of how many bodies have been stolen and sold to hospitals for teaching purposes. Rosie used to work with Simon before the twins were born and, now the boys are getting older, she wants to start work again. The theft of Gwendolyn’s body has touched her heart and she is determined to help with the investigation. She is sure that Mrs Parker is in some way involved with the grave robbers and she wants to make sure that all of those responsible for the desecration of the dead are brought to justice.
Simon and Jane move in on the grave robbers but it is a frustratingly slow process and it becomes clear that these are ruthless and dangerous men who will resort to murder without a second thought. Nevertheless, the thief takers will not give up until the guilty are caught and punished, whatever the cost to themselves.
The Dead Will Rise is the fifth story featuring Simon Westow, Rosie and Jane.
It is a superb series, which grows stronger all the time. The protagonists are
interesting and engaging and they grow with every book. The plot is complex
with several twists. There is a slow, simmering build-up of tension and the
setting is realistic with many subtle, authentic details. This is a page-turner
which I wholeheartedly recommend.
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Reviewer:
Carol Westron
Chris Nickson was born and raised in Leeds. He is the author of the Richard Nottingham books, historical mysteries set in Leeds in the 1730s and featuring Richard Nottingham, the Constable of the city, and his deputy, John Sedgwick. The books are about more than murder. They're about the people of Leeds and the way life was - which mean full of grinding poverty for all but the wealthy. They're also about families, Nottingham and his and Sedgwick, and the way relationships grow and change, as well as the politics, when there was one law for the rich, and another, much more brutal, for everyone else. Chris has penned a further six series, and to date has published 31 books. For full details visit his web site. In addition to this Chris is also a music journalist, reviewing for magazines and online outlets
Carol Westron is a successful author and a Creative Writing teacher. Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times. Her first book The Terminal Velocity of Cats was published in 2013. Since then, she has since written 5 further mysteries. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. Click here to read the interview
www.carolwestron.com
http://carolwestron.blogspot.co.uk/
To read a review of Carol latest book
The Curse of the Concrete Griffin
click on the title.
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