‘Fatal Forgery’ by Susan Grossey

Independently Published,
12 July 2013.
ISBN: 978-1-91600190-9 (PB)

1824, in London. Constable William Plank of the magistrates’ force has just arrested respected banker Henry Fauntleroy for forging the signatures to various documents. If he’s found guilty, he’ll hang ...

Trial stories are always a good hook, and this one’s a winner. For a start, there’s the fascination of how exactly a trial was conducted two hundred years ago, and we follow Plank and Fontleroy through the whole process: the arrest, the preliminary hearing and Fauntleroy’s incarceration, then the second hearing, his transfer to Newgate and finally the trial. It’s written so vividly as to feel like time travel. Then there are the characters. Fauntleroy is intriguing right away – the charge-sheet sounds like just another fraudulent banker (we know all about them nowadays!) but a crowd of witnesses to his good character come forward, and his behaviour is strange – why isn’t he defending himself? The narrator, William Plank, is drawn in too – and he’s a great character, a solid, honest policeman with a supportive wife, Martha. He knows the people in this early C19 London: the clerks and lawyers in the court, the magistrates and justices, and the wardens of prisons Coldbath and Newgate. His search leads him out into the suburbs, and a woman with two little girls – was Fauntleroy as squeaky-clean as he pretends? The chapters are short, making for a quick read, the progress of the trial is compelling reading, and the final reveal is completely unexpected.

This historical PP is the opener in what promises to be an excellent series, with a well-plotted story, gripping characters, a vividly described setting and a clever end twist.
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Reviewer: Marsali Taylor

Susan Grossey has always made her living from crime – for twenty-five years as an anti-money laundering consultant and now writing historical financial crime novels.  In 2012 she published what she thought was a standalone book set in London in 1824, but it turned out that the true hero of Fatal Forgery was a magistrates’ constable who insisted on having a further six books written about him.  When he retired in 1829, Susan turned her attention to her hometown of Cambridge and the University constables who were created there in 1825.  She has published Ostler – the first of five planned novels narrated by university constable Gregory Hardiman – and is currently wrestling with the second in the series.  

Susan Grossey – Historical crime writer

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh and came to Shetland as a newly qualified teacher. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.  She lives with her husband and two Shetland ponies.

www.marsalitaylor.co.uk