LoveReading Says
Another impressive and enthralling investigation by the newest and most original investigating team in town. It’s a bit of a shock to find Blake and Avery back in England after their first case in India; however the underbelly and political manoeuvrings of London snatch your attention from the get go and run off into the back streets with it. On the surface this is an entirely different tale to ‘The Strangler Vine’, however the wonderfully dynamic interaction between Blake and Avery and the absolutely fascinating historical aspect remain vividly bold and true. The author not only drops you into the middle of the teeming London thoroughfares of mid 19th century England, she encourages all of your senses to partake in this challenging murder investigation. At one point in this captivating tale Mr Dickens is seen rushing through the streets, and by the end there’s just one thing to say…please Ma’am, we want some more!
Liz Robinson
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The Printer's Coffin Synopsis
Even more fun [than The Strangler Vine]. Delicious stuff. (Financial Times). Published in hardback as The Infidel Stain. London, 1841. Mr Jeremiah Blake and Captain William Avery, recently returned from India, are invited by Viscount Allington to examine the particulars of a grisly pair of murders. Two printers from the seditious gutter presses have been brutally dispatched in distinct but similar circumstances. Fearing the deaths will stoke the fires of Chartism sweeping the capital, Allington hopes Blake and Avery's determination to uncover the truth will solve these crimes and help restore civic order. But there are others who seem equally determined that the pair shall fail...
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M. J. Carter Press Reviews
'Vividly realised...the second outing for [Blake and Avery] is even more fun, with the same blend of derring-do and elegant writing. ..Delicious stuff.' Financial Times
'Witty and unfailingly readable...its contemporary resonance [is] all the more effective for being implicit.' -- Andrew Taylor The Spectator
'An entertaining stew of blackmail, murder, cross-dressing and incomprehensible slang ... like Dickens, Carter's righteous anger at Victorian hypocrisy does not prevent her from revelling in it with infectious glee.' Sunday Telegraph
'While the relationship between the dynamic duo Blake and Avery evolves in a nuanced, tender way the real star of the show in this complex, clever novel is London itself.' Evening Standard
'The Strangler Vine was a promising and enjoyable debut - plenty of action, rich in historical detail, all crowned with a very clever twist. Carter has proved with The Infidel Stain that it was not a one-off.' The Times
'If this series is not bought for film, it would be another mark of the corporate stupidity that lost the BBC Ripper Street. It is, however, far more pleasurable and impressive to read.' Independent on Sunday
'Vivid...done with brio. Mail on Sunday A sinister tale involving political revolution, printers and porn, The Infidel Stain drips with period atmosphere.' Bella Magazine
'Compelling... Carter's book is historical crime fiction at its best.' Nick Rennison, BBC History Magazine
