Blood and Sugar
Author: Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Publisher: Pan MacMillan Mantle
Publication date: 24th January 2019

An intriguing murder mystery set in Deptford, South East London against a backdrop of 18th Century Slave trading in England, this book introduces dashing Captain Harry Corsham, war hero and aspiring politician.

This is the first netgalley book I was invited to read and review by the publishers rather than requesting it myself. I am so glad I received that invitation or I might have missed one of the best reads I’ve had in a while.

Extensively researched and richly plotted this book drew me in from the outset and kept me hooked (pun intended - you have to read it..) until the last page.
A fantastic debut novel. I look forward to the next book from this author.

I’d like to thank the author, the publishers for the invitation to read, and netgalley for an advance digital reader copy of this great book.

Normally when I get a Netgalley book it's because something catches my eye, I request and sometimes they say yes and sometimes they say no and I have no idea why the Netgalley gods/this week's work experience person decided the way they did. But with Blood and Sugar the publishers pre-approved me and invited me to read. Giddy times indeed (my next three requests were turned down, so no danger of a big head here). And the reason I was approved was because I like the CJ Sansom Shardlake series. So that gave me some idea of what to expect - historical murder mystery with a reluctant detective caught up in violence and politics. Excellent!

So, if like me you are fond of a big, epic, historical mystery where politics plays a shadowy hand, the odds are stacked against our reluctant truth seeker and the past is brought vividly to life then you will love Blood and Sugar. It's set in late eighteenth century when Britain was still the dark heart of the slave trade, and most of the action takes place in Deptford, where slaver ships dock and the merchants and sailors profit from other people's bodies. Harry Corsham is a respected war hero beginning to make his mark politically, thanks to his reputation and the backing of his society wife's powerful friends. As a youth he was a passionate abolitionist, now he is more pragmatic, in public at least. But when his university friend, an outspoken opponent of the slave trade, is found dead with evidence of severe torture in Deptford, Harry is drawn by his conscience and his beliefs as well as his ties to his estranged friends to investigate. But it doesn't take him long to find out that powerful forces want him to stay quiet and as the bodies mount up Harry is in danger politically, socially and from the murderer. And as he grows nearer to the secrets at the heart of the murder he (and we) know that nothing will be the same again, and pragmatism can no longer be an option where slavery is concerned.

I had a lot of thoughts whilst reading this book. Thoughts about the myth of Empire and how it wasn't built on good old British pluck as we were once taught (I'm not going to go on a Brexit rant here but that teaching has a lot to answer for) but on blood. Thoughts about how slavery is still so prevalent, not in far away lands, in car washes and agriculture and nail bars. How young women and girls are still dragged away from their home, brutalised and forced into brothels not just in war zones but in every city in the UK. Thoughts about how Harry is told that people won't want to give up the cheap sugar slavery gives them, just as we struggle to give up our plastic and cars as the planet heats around us. The early 21st century isn't that more civilised than the late 18th century after all.

This is a vivid, disquieting, sometimes violent read with death permeating every page, not just the murders, but the deaths of the slaves whose trafficking provides the livelihood for nearly every character. Deftly plotted, beautifully written and full of tension and memorable characters Blood and Sugar is a book that will stay with you. Highly recommended - and I look forward to seeing what the author does next.

Stories of the horrors of slavery and a how a whole economy was built on the transportation of humans as commodities still have the power to shock and this murder mystery delivers. The history of the London port s and Deptford was absorbing and well researched .

**4.5 stars **

Deptford dock June 1781, and in the summer breeze, a body gently sways from a hook above the dock, but there was nothing gentle about this unfortunate man’s death - he had been horribly tortured and branded with a slaver’s mark.

War hero Captain Harry Corsham receives a visit from the sister of his abolitionist friend Tad. Tad is a lawyer, and his sister says he had travelled to Deptford to expose a secret of enormous proportions, one that would hopefully help bring to an end the British slaving industry, but he’d been due home some days ago, and she fears that some ill may have befallen him. He’d already made enemies - some of them holding positions of importance in very high places, and they had much to lose financially, should Tad’s investigations lead to the abolition of slavery.

Harry decides to visit Deptford to see if he can find Tad, but he knows that by becoming involved, he faces the loss of his political career, not to mention his family’s happiness and good standing in London. However, he has no idea of the dangers that he is about to face!

This was a beautifully written book that captured the 18th century perfectly - the grime, the stench , the greed and lack of morals and compassion, that were essential to work in the slave industry. The horrors of the slave ships are told in graphic detail, but it’s not gratuitous violence for the sake of it, but rather to illustrate the reality of the situation that these poor people faced.

Captain Harry Corsham was a great character, the plot was complex, but utterly absorbing, and I could see this transferring to the small screen without any problem. A wonderful debut novel!

First novel set in London in 1781 sees war hero Harry risking his marriage and political ambitions, not to mention his life, trying to find the brutal murderer of his childhood friend and vocal anti-slavery campaigner Tad. Good historical depiction and characters although I found it dragged slightly in the middle as he kept coming up against the powerful pro-slavery lobby.

Laura Shepherd-Robinson's debut is an impressively researched piece of 18th century historical fiction that proves to be an atmospheric, viscerally gut wrenching depiction of the realities and horrors of the slave trade within Britain, London and the wider British Empire. This is not for the faint hearted as its brutal portrayal spares the reader none of the heinous details of the era, providing an indelible and heartbreaking stain of unforgettable shame on British history. It took me a little while to get into this novel, but once I did, I was fiercely glued, turning the pages ever faster, until I had finished. It is London 1781, Captain Harry Corsham has returned a hero from war in the US, suffering PTSD. His marriage to Caro, from a powerful and wealthy banking family, is experiencing difficulties, and he has a young son, Gabriel, whom he adores. He is on the cusp of becoming an elected parliamentarian, buttressed by establishment support, especially his employer. He receives a visit from Amelia, the sister of lawyer Thaddeus 'Tad' Archer, a friend from his Oxford days who meant everything to him until their friendship splintered apart for some reason. Amelia, who ran off with a married man, is a pariah, shunned by London society.

Amelia is a distraught and worried woman, Tad, a totally committed abolitionist, is missing in Deptford, a slaving port, having informed his sister that he was about to expose a secret that would bring down the slave trade, but he was being followed, threatened, and in danger of being killed. A powerful establishment group, including those in government, slave traders and the West India Company are determined to ensure the profitable slave trade continues unabated, willing to do whatever it takes to squash any meaningful opposition. In the midst of the river's miasmic Devil's Breath at Deptford dock, a man's body hangs on a hook, gruesomely tortured as slaves are, branded with a slaver's mark. Harry goes in search of his friend in the mean streets of Deptford, guilt ridden, walking in Tad's footsteps to find out what happened to him. His efforts to investigate are not welcomed, and before long he too finds himself in the same dangers that befell his dear friend. Despite all the obstacles, he is driven by an inner need to atone, not even the prospect of losing everything that matters, including his glittering future, nothing can stop him, not even the fear of his own death.

The author captures the murky poverty stricken streets of London, the cruel horrors of its underbelly of crime, abuse and the dehumanising business of slavetrading, and those at the sharp end of it. The massacre that took place in 1778 on the appropriately named ship, The Dark Angel, is fictitious, but this nightmarish practice really did occur at this time on slave transport ships heading towards the sugar plantations across the Atlantic. So many of the characters that Harry meets in Deptford or London turn out to be not what they seem, with an unholy tangle of twisted intrigue, politics, and slavetraders, the narrative slowly reveals deception, massacre, conspiracy to defraud, murders, entrenched racism, greed, and the mental health issues that plagued those that had been enslaved. Harry's characterisation had depth and is complex, the true nature of his love for and relationship with Tad is poignant and emotionally affecting, whilst societies harsh attitudes to such relationships is a reflection of the historical period. The British slave trade continued until 1807, although this made little inroads into slavery and it was only outlawed in the British Empire in 1833. I found this atmospheric novel an enthralling read, outlining what abolitionists faced when it came to instigating change and shifting perceptions of the people. This is a fantastic debut. Many thanks to PanMacmillan for an ARC.

Absolutely brilliant. From the first page I was hooked. Deptford i. The 1780’s brought to life. I hope to meet the captain again in the future.

** I wish I'd liked this book more.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.
It was interesting,rich in period detail,throwing in some graphic content every now and again as a surprise...
But I never felt drawn in by it. I'm afraid I might have missed something.