The year is 1665. Black Death ravages London. A killer stalks the streets in a plague doctor's hood and mask...
When a girl is gruesomely murdered, thief taker Charlie Tuesday reluctantly agrees to take on the case. But the horrific remains tell him this is no isolated death. The killer's mad appetites are part of a master plan that could destroy London - and reveal the dark secrets of Charlie's own past.
Now the thief taker must find this murderous mastermind before the plague obliterates the evidence street by street. This terrifying pursuit will take Charlie deep into the black underbelly of old London, where alchemy, witchcraft and blood-spells collide.
In a city drowned in darkness, death could be the most powerful magic of all.
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[In the year of the Black Death, London is a city of half-limbered houses and dark towers. In the narrow back streets, astrologists predict the future, and alchemists conjure wonders. Traitors' heads line London Bridge, where witches sell potions, and gamesters turn cards. The river flowing beneath lands a daily cargo of smuggler gangs and pirates] ***(Thomas & Mercer, 9 September 2014, ebook, Kindle Owner's Lending Library)
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NB: This will be my last read of 2017. It won't be possible to finish the others I'm reading in just over 24 hours. My December round-up and annual overview will follow soon.***
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This is my first time reading the author.
I loved The Thief Taker and plan to read the rest of the series.
The book is set in London during the time of the Black Death. I love the way the author brings the city to brilliant, vivid life. I felt like I was really there, walking the streets that stank of death and decay. The sense of place created in the book was fantastic.
I loved the characters, a mixture of decent people and villains with the darkest hearts. The characters were really vivid and so alive they seemed to breathe.
I loved everything that happened in the book. There are so dark moments as Charlie and Maria draw closer to the killer. I was riveted.
Awesome book.
