Revenge is beneath me, but accidents do happen......

The master of Leeds historical fiction, Chris Nickson presents a storyline carved deeply into setting the crooked road straight. When misfortune and life-threatening situations cross your path, it's good to know that someone will have your back.

It's 1822 in Leeds with factory smoke, soot, and miasma obscuring vision day in and day out. The snow is finally melting while revealing ruts of mud and careless refuse. But this day the remnants of something human has been left behind. With sightless eyes, the face is determined to be the petty thief Laurence Poole.

Simon Westow is engaged in a business that crossed paths with Poole on many occasions. Simon hunts down stolen items for his clients in a recovery process. His partner is Jane, a young girl with a hazy backstory who is quick-witted and handy with a knife when needed. Constable Williams hires Simon secretly to find out what he can about Poole's murder. Simon will find himself in circumstances that now threaten his wife Rosie and his twin boys.Danger is currently on his doorstep.

Chris Nickson has been broadening the role of Jane in the last two offerings in this brilliant series. Jane has had numerous run-ins with the nefarious Big Tom in the past. Each time Big Tom waits in the shadows, those encounters become more and more serious.Jane would love nothing more than to incapacitate Big Tom on a permanent basis for his dastardly deeds.

To the Dark reads as a perfect standalone. Nickson fills in the pockets of his storyline perfectly for his readers. His descriptors of life in old Leeds has us experiencing the winding lanes, crowded streets, and a sharp variation in people from the pie sellers to those of wealth and position. If danger were a flavor, it would be Flamin' Hot Cheetos down some of these back streets in Leeds. With that in mind, how can you resist anything written by the highly talented Chris Nickson?

I received a copy of To the Dark through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Severn House and to Chris Nickson for the opportunity.

Leeds, Winter of 1822. There’s snow on the ground and a chill in the air as many people struggle to make ends meet in a city full of poverty and rising pollution from the many manufactories springing up. These are very different and difficult times. There is a Constable in the parish who is answerable to the Aldermen and runs a night watch but no real policemen exist at this time. Simon Westow makes a living as a thief-taker, enough to support wife Rosie and their two sons reasonably well. People advertise details of belongings that have been stolen and for a reward Simon catches the thief and returns the goods. It’s then up to the owner whether or not they spend money prosecuting the thief. It has provided a good living and three years ago he took on an assistant, Jane, a girl living on the streets and surviving by her wits. Both have acquired skills which have kept them alive on the dangerous streets of Leeds, necessary as everyone seems to carry at least one knife or weapon. We meet Jane as she lures and attacks Big Tom, a man accused of rape. She knows he’ll be back when his wounds have healed and this will not be their only encounter. With a heavy recent snowfall, business is quiet for Simon and when Jane tells him an incident has occurred over at Fray Crow Mill, his interest is aroused and they set off to find out what everyone is talking about. The melting snow has revealed a man’s body and as soon as he sees the face, Simon immediately recognises him. It is Laurence Poole, a man who Simon had very recently tracked down for the theft of a large quantity of silver from local Lord Fullbrook. Fullbrook did not prosecute and Poole had walked free. Just in case there are any clues to be had over Poole’s death, Jane and Simon swiftly make their way to search his lodgings before the Constable’s men beat them to it. All they find is a strange notebook but Simon is still keen to find out why Poole died in case anyone, particularly Constable Williams, seeks to blame the death on his exposure of Poole as a thief since the man must have died very soon afterwards. The notebook is hard to understand but it leads Simon to Poole’s fence, a rather dangerous man, and with the confirmation that the man was indeed murdered, he sets off to find out the truth. However what he finds is a man in fear of his life and this in turn leads him to the local barracks where it seems Poole was working for two officers. Constable Williams and Simon have a strained relationship and Simon knows Williams would have no hesitation in locking him up, however with his job hanging in the balance, Williams approaches Simon for help in finding Poole’s killer and an uneasy alliance is made. Simon forms a plan to ingratiate himself with the soldiers and provide proof that they are the killers, with help from various quarters including George Mudie, a former journalist turned printer, Barnabas Wade, a disbarred solicitor, various fencers of stolen goods and homeless children that roam the streets. Little does he realize just how much danger he is putting himself and everyone else in.
This was a very different era and many people had to do anything just to stay alive, so it’s not surprising some of them have very different expectations and moral standards. In a dangerous and often very brutal society only those with plenty of money could expect to lead a life without sin of some kind, but basically Jane and Simon are good and very likeable people, trying to protect the innocent and bring bad people to justice one way or another. I loved the rich descriptions of the city and the wide variety of people within it. The book evoked a wonderful feeling of the time and places, containing a wealth of facts without ever feeling like a history lesson. The characters were vividly portrayed in a completely engrossing story with plenty of action and twists as a daring plan is executed in a gripping finale. It was so easy to get lost in the pages of this book which I thoroughly enjoyed and I look forward to reading more in this series. 5*

This is my first time reading the author. I had a great time reading To the Dark so it won’t be my last. There are other books featuring Simon Westow for me to catch up on and another two series’ for me to read. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction this year, far more than in previous years. To the Dark is among the best I’ve read. The book tackles some grisly subject matter including murder, betrayal and corruption, making it a gripping and compelling read. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is the relationship between Simon and Jane, they work well together and I enjoyed the comradeship, friendship and the clashes between them. Simon is in danger when he uncovers a corruption at the core of the city, something certain people with go to extreme lengths to bury forever. Jane also realises she’s not infallible or as tough as she looks when she’s betrayed by Martha, a young street urchin she takes under her wing. I enjoyed the way things play out. I’d highly recommend this.

To The Dark is the third book in Chris Nickson's historical crime series featuring thief-taker Simon Westow. Having not read the previous two books in the series, I can testify that To The Dark works perfectly well as a standalone. Indeed for the benefit of new readers the author includes nuggets of information about the back stories of the main characters - Simon himself, his wife Rosie and his assistant Jane.

Jane is a particularly intriguing character. Clearly she has a troubled past but possesses an uncanny ability to pass unnoticed in a crowd, mingling with those on the boundaries of society in order to gather information. And she's more than capable of looking after herself in risky situations.

Simon is an intuitive reader of others' actions and intentions - useful in a fight, when seeking information or in a game of cards. It's just as well because his work as a thief-taker (recovering stolen goods for a fee) brings him into contact with some pretty shady types. As a family man now, he has more to protect than before as well.

Set in early 19th century Leeds, readers familiar with that city are likely to recognise many of the locations featured in the book. It's a city that is changing though as it becomes more industrialised with many of its inhabitants taking up employment in the new "manufactories" that fill the air with smog and smoke. I enjoyed the way the author conjured up the sights and sounds of the city such as during this evening stroll down Briggate.

"The night was alive with people. Groups moved from beer shop to dram shop, singing and laughing. The whores stood their pitches at the entrances to courts, joking and teasing for business. Lights glowed behind shutters and reflected in puddles on the pavement. Someone played a fiddle, a rousing jig that carried in the winter air.

From the beginning, Simon senses there's more than meets the eye about his engagement to help find the murderer of Laurence Poole, especially as that should be the responsibility of the city's Constable. "He knew he was caught up in something political, a twisted, grubby little spectacle." His suspicions are proved correct when the hunter becomes the hunted. Soon there are scores to be settled and justice to be served.

To The Dark is a well-crafted historical mystery with plenty of twists and turns. It's certainly a series I shall be looking out for more of in the future.

Author Chris Nickson is back with book 3 in the Simon Westow series. Now, it’s no secret that I am a massive fan of this author. He is a native of Leeds in the North of England, and it’s where the series is set, and what Chris doesn’t know about the history of his home city of isn’t worth knowing.

1822, and it’s a cold and icy winter in Leeds, where thief taker Simon Westow, his wife Rosie, and his assistant Jane, are determined to discover who was responsible for the death of petty thief Laurence Poole, who Simon recently collared for a very valuable silver theft. Poole’s body has just emerged from the melting snow at Flay Cross Mill, and a coded notebook found at his home, mentions one Charlie Harker, known to Simon and the local constabulary, as the most notorious ‘fence’ in Leeds. The trouble is, Harker is missing, looks like he’s gone on the run, and Simon’s subsequent enquiries bring him into contact with officers from a local cavalry unit, and this will lead him, and his family, into extreme danger.

I really enjoyed ‘To The Dark’ - the characters come fully fleshed, not least the women, who contrary to expectations for this period in history, are just as independent and capable as their menfolk. The plot was gripping, and as ever, the author captures the sense of time and place, aided by his extraordinary gift for detail about early 19th century Leeds. The research undertaken by him is meticulous, adds huge interest to his stories, and the details always check out. I recommend anyone who loves historical fiction/ mysteries to read Chris Nickson’s books.

I am delighted to say that my first review for 2021 is a new book by the reliably excellent story-teller, Chris Nickson. For those new to his books, he is a widely travelled former music journalist, who has rubbed shoulders with some of the big names in rock, but now pursues a rather more sedentary lifestyle in the Yorkshire city of Leeds. When he is not tending his treasured allotment, he writes historical novels, based around crime-solvers across the centuries, most of them based in Leeds.

Nickson has written several late 19th century novels featuring the Leeds copper Tom Harper, but his latest book takes us back a little further, to Georgian times. Leeds is undergoing a violent transformation from being a bustling, but still largely bucolic centre of the wool trade, to a smoky, clattering child of the Industrial Revolution.

There are fortunes to be made in Leeds, but crime is still crime, and Simon Westow is known as a thief-taker. Remember, this is before the emergence of a regular police force, and what law there is is enforced by (usually incompetent) town constables, and men like Westow who will recover stolen property - for a fee.
Westow is a man who has survived a brutal upbringing as an institutionalised orphan, and there is not a Leeds back alley, courtyard or row of shoddily-built cottages that he doesn't know. He doesn't work alone. He has an unusual ally. We know her only as Jane. Like Westow, this young woman has survived an abusive childhood, but unlike Westow - who isn't afraid to use his fists, but is largely peaceable - Jane is a killer. She carries a razor sharp knife, and uses it completely without conscience if she is threatened by men who remind her of the degradation she suffered when younger.

When a petty criminal is found dead in a drift of frozen snow, Westow frets that he will be linked with the murder as, only a week or so earlier, he had completed a lucrative assignment that involved returning to their owner stolen goods that had come into the hands of the dead man. Instead of being harassed by the lazy and vindictive town constable, Westow is asked to try to solve the crime. It seems that two aristocratic officers from the town's cavalry barracks might be involved with the killing, and this sets Westow a formidable challenge, as the soldiers are very much a law unto themselves. Meanwhile a notebook has been found which is connected to one of murdered criminal's associates, but it reveals little, as it is mostly in code. Someone cracks the cipher for Westow, but he is little the wiser, especially when the text contains the enigmatic phrase 'To The Dark.'

The discovery of a stolen handwritten Book of Hours, potentially worth thousands of gold sovereigns, further complicates the issue for Westow, and when the seemingly invincible Jane suffers a crippling injury, his eyes and ears on the Leeds streets are severely diminished. Still, the significance of 'To The Dark' escapes him, and when his life and those of his wife and children are threatened he is forced to face the fact that this seemingly intractable mystery may be beyond his powers to solve.

As ever with Chris Nickson's novels we smell the streets and ginnels of Leeds and breath in its heady mixture of soot, sweat and violence. In one ear is the deafening and relentless collision of iron and steel in the factories, but in the other is the still, small voice of the countryside, just a short walk from the bustle of the town. Nickson is a saner version of The Ancient Mariner. He has a tale to tell, and he will not let go of your sleeve until it is told. To The Dark is published by Severn House and is out now.

Christopher Nickson is one of my favorite writers of period mysteries. His series cover multiple historical periods, but most are set in Leeds, a city whose history Nickson knows in detail. In his description of his own work on GoodReads, Nickson explains that "Yes, I write mysteries, but ultimately they're books about people and their relationships, and the crime becomes a moral framework for the story," and it's this fact (along with the period detail) that makes his titles so engaging.

To the Dark is set in early Nineteenth Century Leeds. Simon Westow, this series' central character, is a thief-taker, with a wife who has done some thief-taking of her own, and a young work partner, Jane, a girl who grew up alone on the streets of Leeds and can travel the city nearly invisibly. This novel opens with the discovery of a murder victim—Laurence Poole, who Westow recently nabbed for a major silver theft. It turns out that Poole, and at least two others who fence some of his goods, were all desperate to flee town, but Poole never made it. Westow takes it upon himself to hunt down Poole's murderer, a task that brings him into contact with local leaders and law enforcement, as well as the local cavalry unit.

One of the things I love about this series (and the other Nickson series I've read) is that the female characters are as strong and fully fleshed-out as the male characters. Women are never decorative or background material in his novels. They're independent, intelligent, and capable, often able to pull off moves that would be impossible for the male characters—and not because they're pretty, but because they have real skills that Westow doesn't.

You can pick up Westow's story right here, in the third novel in the series, but trust me, you'll want to read all the Westow titles and then move on to some of Nickson's other engaging series. I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions are my own.

#ToTheDark #NetGalley Severn House and Chris Nickson, storyteller superb of Leeds, many thanks for this very exciting historical mystery.

"Winter is about to take a chilling twist...Leeds, 1822.Thief-taker Simon Westow is drawn into a deadly puzzle when the melting snow reveals a dark secret-"

As always, Chris Nickson tells a story of historical Leeds as it was in that particular period of time. It was a time of desperation for many people and almost, but not quite, lawless.

Westow and his wife Rosie and his sometime assistant Jane, are involved in a many layered mystery involving the Constable of Leeds, as well as at least one unsolved death. These events resulted in the death of the constable and serious injury of Jane and another younger girl.

The storyline took some extreme turns and I was surprised at some of the events! I am expecting Simon to have increased involvement in Leeds government as he seems to be increasingly feared, as well as respected.( but who really knows until next time)

Again Chris Nickson pens a masterful, suspenseful tale of a dark period in Leeds history. Get yours March 2, 2021!