On Hist Fic Saturday
Let's go back to ...1828
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| CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform March 2018 |
Investigating Crime in Regency London
It's never too late to join Constable Sam Plank as he patrols the mean, and it must be said, often moody streets of Regency London. In this, his fifth adventure, Sam and his assistant Constable, William Wilson, find themselves drawn into the mysterious world of religious meeting houses. Shadowy places where the vulnerable go to find comfort and hope in messages from loved ones who have departed this life. When Sam's wife, Martha, gets drawn into this eerie world, Sam is determined to discover as much as he can about the enigmatic preacher, John Buxton and of the perplexing women, known as ‘heralds’, who receive messages from the dead.
As always, from the very first page, the world of Regency London springs into action and Sam’s patch around Great Marlborough Street takes shape, whether it be serving warrants on behalf of the magistrate John Conant, or attending the scene of a grisly murder, Sam does so with his usual steadfastness and meticulous attention to even the smallest of detail. There’s an inherent dependability about Constable Plank which shines through in every novel and yet, I think that in Faith, Hope and Trickery we see an altogether more vulnerable Sam which is centred on Martha’s unusual susceptibility and of his unerring need to protect her. We rarely go behind the bedroom door of this marriage; there has never been a need before, so it was really interesting to see how this crack in their relationship altered the perceived intimacy between them, something which, perhaps, we have taken for granted in previous novels.
The mystery at the heart of the novel, is as ever, beautifully explained and so meticulously detailed that nothing is ever left to chance and everything flows like the wheels of a well oiled machine. And such is the great partnership which exists between Sam and Wilson that it's an absolute joy to see them continue to work so well with each other.
The mystery at the heart of the novel, is as ever, beautifully explained and so meticulously detailed that nothing is ever left to chance and everything flows like the wheels of a well oiled machine. And such is the great partnership which exists between Sam and Wilson that it's an absolute joy to see them continue to work so well with each other.
Beautifully written and impeccably researched, Faith, Hope and Trickery takes us into the very heart of teeming London. Whether it be taking a Hackney coach to the religious meeting place at Cooper’s Gardens in Bethnal Green or visiting the criminally insane in the confines of the notorious Bethlem Hospital, I always know that, travelling alongside Constable Plank as he goes about his purposeful business, I am always going to be held in a safe pair of hands.
From the minute I opened Faith, Hope and Trickery, cup of tea in hand, I relaxed, safe in the knowledge that neither Sam, nor his creator, will ever let me down.
Susan Grossey has written five Sam Plank novels, set in subsequent years in the 1820s: “Fatal Forgery”, “The Man in the Canary Waistcoat”, “Worm in the Blossom”, “Portraits of Pretence” and “Faith, Hope and Trickery”.
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