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A review by brian
Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell
4.0
A standalone novel from Bernard Cromwell for a change. Set after Waterloo, a Captain comes back to England to find his fortunes changed, his family name in disrepute and their fortunes vastly depleted.
While slumming it in a cheap tavern/inn he is recommended as an investigator into a possible miscarriage of justice.
Realising that high society doesn't really care if there was or wasn't, he digs until he finds out the truth, despite attempts to keep him away from it.
Overall it was a good read, especially tense in the last chapter. The characters are well written.
As usual it's been well researched, but at times it's like reading Dick Van Dyke's "How to talk like a Londoner" crib-sheet, with all the common types throwing slang around and then having to explain it to the more gentrified folk around them.
While slumming it in a cheap tavern/inn he is recommended as an investigator into a possible miscarriage of justice.
Realising that high society doesn't really care if there was or wasn't, he digs until he finds out the truth, despite attempts to keep him away from it.
Overall it was a good read, especially tense in the last chapter. The characters are well written.
As usual it's been well researched, but at times it's like reading Dick Van Dyke's "How to talk like a Londoner" crib-sheet, with all the common types throwing slang around and then having to explain it to the more gentrified folk around them.