CANARY KEEPER

A Times Historical Fiction Book of the Month which has been highly rated by Elly Griffiths. London 1855 and in the grey mist of the early dawn, a body is dumped on the Thames shore by a boatman in a metal canoe. Talk soon spreads of the killer and his striking accomplice, a young widow in mourning dress. Birdie Quinn's sleeplessness led her to the river that morning. She has always been wilful, haughty, different, but is she a murderess? To clear her name she must retrace the dead man's footsteps to Orkney and the far north, a dangerous journey for a woman alone, but one she must make to save her life. This gripping, richly layered thriller has a mesmerising setting and fantastic characters and gives superb insight into a ruthless trade. The story is full of gaslit menace. 398pp, paperback.