LoveReading Says
Excellent study of life as a cook in the eighteenth century turns into a compelling whodunit which keeps you guessing right up to the end. As with all good whodunits, I shouldn’t tell you any more.
Comparison:
Iain Pears,
Robert Goddard,
Charles Palliser.
Similar this month: None, but try Jude Morgan for historical detail and Barbara Nadel for whodunit.
Sarah Broadhurst
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Thief Taker Synopsis
London in 1750… Agnes Meadowes’ quiet world of culinary activity – preparing jugged hare, oyster loaves, almond soup and other luxuries – as cook to the Blanchard family is a happy refuge from the bustle of city life. But a single night is about to change all that.
The Blanchards are renowned silversmiths and when their most prestigious and expensive commission, a giant silver wine cooler destined for Sir Bartholomew Grey, is stolen, a sinister chain of events is set in motion. That same night an apprentice is murdered and a young maid, Rose, disappears. Are these portentous happenings connected? Called upon by her master to investigate ‘below stairs’, Agnes enters an arena full of secrets, jealousy and murderous intent. Forced to play cat and mouse with the infamous Thief Taker, she is drawn into London’s murky criminal underworld where it seems the truth – like the expensive delicacies Agnes keeps under lock and key – comes at a price. Now she must decide how big a sacrifice she is prepared to make to bring the villains to justice.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780553816341 |
| Publication date: |
2nd May 2005 |
| Author: |
Janet Gleeson |
| Publisher: |
Transworld Publishers Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Primary Genre |
Historical Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Janet Gleeson Press Reviews
'Colourful and wildly entertaining...A wonderful read'
GUARDIAN
‘Take the rarefied world of Gosford Park, add the dark atmosphere of Sherlock Holmes and a pinch of stylish prose and you have The Thief Taker - an absorbing novel that evokes days of sin and skulduggery’ Daily Record
‘Historical detail that is as strong as its racy plot…redolent with authenticity’ Good Book Guide
'A delicious five-course banquet: a murder mystery is succeeded by an abandoned infant weepie, a love story, a social history and, finally, a richly flavoured, full-bodied, 18th-century whodunnit...You'll be kept guessing right up until the last page in this splendid novel'
HARPERS & QUEEN
'A compulsive page-turner which will appeal especially to anyone who was spellbound by Charles Palliser’s The Quincunx'
DAILY MAIL
‘Take the rarefied world of Gosford Park, add the dark atmosphere of Sherlock Holmes and a pinch of stylish prose and you have The Thief Taker - an absorbing novel that evokes days of sin and skulduggery’
DAILY RECORD
About Janet Gleeson
Janet Gleeson was born in Sri Lanka, where her father was a tea planter. After taking a degree in History of Art and English she joined Sotheby’s, and later worked for Bonhams Auctioneers. In 1991 she joined Reed Books, where she was responsible for devising and writing Miller's Antiques and Collectibles. She is the author of the Sunday Times non-fiction bestsellers The Arcanum and The Moneymaker. She is also the author of three novels, The Grenadillo Box, The Serpent in the Garden and The Thief-Taker.
More About Janet Gleeson
