Soot

LoveReading Says

A Maxim Jakubowski selected title.

Until now Andrew Martin has been better known for his pleasant if traditional Jim Stringer series of novels, about a railway detective in North East Edwardian England, and his non fiction, but this new book stretches his boundaries and moves him up a notch or so in the crime stakes pantheon. In York in 1799, an artist well-known for his characteristic paintings of shades and silhouettes is found brutally murdered, stabbed by a pair of scissors.

When it becomes evident that the killer could only have been one of the last persons to be portrayed by the artist, his son calls on Fletcher Rigge, who is in prison for debt, to be released for a month to solve the crime. A race against time begins in earnest as failing in the task might entail a life sentence.

In possession of the mysterious silhouettes, Fletcher enters a veritable world of shadows. Traditional historical crime with an atmospheric feel, and some truly innovative touches and elements. ~ Maxim Jakubowski

Reviewed by Maxim Jakubowski
Maxim Jakubowski is a London-based novelist and editor.
More reviews by Maxim Jakubowski

About Soot

York, 1798: An artist is found murdered in his home, stabbed with the tools of his trade: a pair of scissors. The people depicted in the final six shades, or silhouettes, made by him become the key suspects - but who are they, and where are they to be found? Meanwhile, Fletcher Rigge, a clever but impoverished gentleman, languishes in debtors' prison - until a letter arrives containing a bizarre proposition from the son of the murdered man.

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