Leeds / Audiobook and Book Reviews by Audiothing

Gods of Gold by Chris Nickson. KINDLE EDITION

Saturday, 13 February 2016

Author: Chris Nickson

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 982 KB
Print Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Severn House Digital; First World Publication edition (1 December 2014)
Amazon Australia Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00OERTV1O
Introducing Detective Inspector Tom Harper in a brand-new historical mystery series.
5 STARS
My Review
A great read, and I was quickly drawn in to this story, the first in the Detective Inspector Tom Harper series set in Leeds during the gas strike of 1890.
Despite the disruptions of the gas strike, Tom Harper is concerned by the disappearance of Martha, the beautiful little child of Col and Betty Parkinson, Betty is in jail so Col, a ne'er do well, tells people he'd sent Martha to stay with an aunt for a while because he couldn't care for her. Tom does not believe him and determines to find Martha. Because Martha is so young, people are more willing than usual to talk to him yet nobody seems to know anything. Then a man is murdered, he was one of many men brought in to replace the gas workers, Toms' superiors tell him he should be spending his time on that, rather than looking for Martha, but he doesn't give up on her. He eventually uncovers many fragile threads of information that lead to shocking discoveries.
It's an absorbing story with some really good characters, Tom himself was raised to a life of poverty and back breaking work but manages to break free of it by joining the police force, doing well and rising in the ranks. He comes across as a good sort, willing to give others a chance and, because of his own background he well understands that people do what they have to in order to survive. His sergeant is an interesting character too, Billy Reed, an ex military man who still suffered the effects of the war horrors he'd witnessed, Reed likes to drink, which sometimes leads to aggressive behaviour, he dislikes himself for it. I was drawn to him because it seems like he is doing his best to overcome his troubles. Then there is Annabelle, Toms' fiancée. What a woman she is, a widow with her own business she is a strong independent type and she is fascinating, I'm sure that in the future she will be stealing the limelight from Tom. All the characters in this book are so well described that it's easy to picture them.
For me, another draw is the historical aspect, the story is set during the time of the second industrial revolution, a time when industrialists were getting richer yet the poor remained poor. Chris Nickson weaves a great deal of social history into this book yet never resorts to using boring information dumps.
Be sure to read the epigraph "A New Nursery Rhyme" written by Tom Maguire, a man who died too young, aged 29.

The Broken Token

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Written by: Chris Nickson
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:09-28-12

Publisher: Creative Content Ltd

Available from Audible

5 STAR REVIEW

Publishers Summary

Pickpockets, pimps, and prostitutes: All in a day’s work for the city constable – until work moves too close to home…. When Richard Nottingham, Constable of Leeds, discovers his former housemaid murdered in a particularly sickening manner, his professional and personal lives move perilously close. Circumstances seem to conspire against him, and more murders follow. Soon the city fathers cast doubt on his capability, and he is forced to seek help from an unsavoury source. Not only does the murder investigation keep running into brick walls, and family problems offer an unwelcome distraction; he can’t even track down a thief who has been a thorn in his side for months. When answers start to emerge, Nottingham gets more than he bargains for….
©2010 Chris Nickson (P)2012 Creative Content Ltd
My Review
The Broken Token is the first book in the Richard Nottingham Mystery Series, Richard Nottingham is The Constable of Leeds, the year is 1731.
There's a lot on this mans plate right now, apart from the never ending thieving, and drunken brawling, the officials have been on his back to find and arrest a "cut purse", a cunning and successful thief who had relieved many a gent of his money filled purse. Then came the first of the murders!

The first few years of Richard Nottinghams life were spent living in a grand house, until his father discovered his wife had taken a lover. Convinced that Richard was not his son, he threw them both out onto the streets. In those days, married women forfeited everything to their husbands, she was left with nothing. Richard learned to scrounge for rotten left over food, and he learned to steal, they were forced to sleep wherever they could find shelter or on the streets. Such was the lot of the desperately poor. Somehow Richard survived to adulthood and found work as one of the constables men, eventually becoming the Constable of Leeds. This was his background, and was what made him appreciate his modest home, a warm and comfortable haven for his wife and two daughters. All this was now at risk, the new Mayor and the aldermen were putting him under great pressure to bring the murderer to justice.

When Richard was called to the scene of the first murders it was to find the bodies of a preacher and a prostitute. The preacher had been invited to Leeds by a man of good social standing, and was an important enough person to cause the mayor to threaten Richard with the loss of his position unless the murderer was quickly caught. The girl, however, was of little importance, just another whore, but Richard recognised her. Pamela, she was his Pamela, who had come into his household as a thirteen year old girl to help Richards' wife Mary with her daughters. The family had loved her, she had left them to marry. Pamela always wore a half token on a blue ribbon about her neck, a gift from Richard, it had once belonged to his mother. The token was gone, all that remained was the torn blue ribbon, so began the hunt for the murderer, Richard was driven not just by duty to his job, but a need to avenge the death of their dear Pamela. First though comes the sad task of breaking the news of Pamelas' murder to his family and to Pamelas' grandmother.

The story of Richards investigations leads us into a world populated with wonderfully described characters, his warm loving wife Mary, his daughters, Rose the sensible one, nineteen years old and about to be married. Emily, a hot headed thirteen year old with aspirations beyond her position in life, Queen Bee they called her. Richards deputy is poor John Sedgewick, not for him are the comforts of a loving wife, he is married to a cold hearted shrew but she is the mother of his beloved infant son. Her coldness drives John to work long hours. There's Brogan, the coroner, who moves through the mud attempting to keep his shiny shoes clean, and with his lavender scented rag held over his nose protecting his delicate sensibilities. Then there is Mr. Worthy the pimp, there's an enigmatic quality to Mr. Worthy, I couldn't quite fathom his motivation, yes, interesting!

When you find a book that gives so much more than just a story it's like a surprise gift. We are given a trip back in time, to days when people lived in conditions unimaginable to us in these times of plenty. It certainly provided food for thought and, surprisingly, reawakened an interest in social history. I thoroughly enjoyed this first in the series and look forward to more.

Narrator
Not for nothing is Steven Pacey a well known and respected narrator, he is such a gifted reader. Yes, he has all those formal skills of the good narrator, but he also has that indefineable something. Regular listeners to audiobooks will know just what I mean, it's a little bit of magic in the voice or in the telling that projects the images of the characters and places straight into the listeners head.

This audiobook is my own copy purchased from Audible.com, I had no obligation to write this review.

This was my first experience of listening to an audiobook in conjunction with the Kindle Whispersync. Actually, I'd purchased a Whispersync copy of a previous audiobook but forgot to use it. I highly recommend the experience, the book does provide that little bit more information. In this case, it was good to have the research resources and a drawn map of old Leeds.