The Dead Will Rise

Chris Nickson always has the ability to transport me back through the mists of time to the Leeds of old, to the sounds and smells, the soot, smoke and grime and the old cobbled streets of this once industrial city, and it’s somewhere I’m more than happy to spend my time.

Simon Westow is a thief taker, he returns stolen items to their rightful owners for a fee. His trusty sidekick Jane helps him in his quests (she can be quite deadly when the occasion calls for it) and together they make a formidable pair.

It’s April 1824, and this time around, Simon is asked to return a body that’s been stolen from the local graveyard. The body is that of a ten year old girl. Simon is appalled, he’s heard of body snatchers in other towns but not in Leeds. The only problem being, a body is not looked on as property, so as much as he’d love to return the child’s body and catch the monsters responsible, his hands are tied. However, after further information he’s able to accept the job, and nothing would give him greater pleasure than to put the perpetrators behind bars.

The gang they seek are extremely dangerous men, after all, they’re making easy money from their body snatching, so they’ll let nothing and no one stand in their way, so naturally, much violence ensues in attempts to capture them and it takes every bit of Simon and Jane’s resolve to make this happen.
However, this case puts immense pressure on Simon and Jane’s professional relationship, and the trust that had taken years to build up suddenly becomes very fragile in what is seen as a betrayal.

Another great read from Leeds born author Chris Nickson. Chris certainly knows Old Leeds inside out, thanks to his meticulous research, which in turn brings authenticity to his books, with fictional cases blending alongside real historical cases. His characters are well fleshed out - none more so than protagonist Simon Westow his sidekick Jane, and wife Rosie, who personally becomes involved in the quest for the body snatchers. The plots are always interesting, and well thought out, and ensure that I furiously turn the pages, eager to know what happens next.

A very engrossing entry in a series for historical mystery lovers. The characters, a family man ‘thief taker’ and his protege, a damaged young woman rising from poverty and neglect, are heroic yet flawed and the reader can’t help rooting for their success. There is plenty of danger-fueled action as these two take on the criminal element, succeeding, sometimes by the skin of their teeth, due to their street-savvy, and devotion and confidence in each others’ abilities. In this outing, body snatchers are at work, and the two must aid grieving loved ones by stopping the heinous plotters.

Simon Westow stands on the Leeds Bridge gazing into the murky water. Leeds, itself, could be a main character here with its darkened streets, sometimes shifty residents, and the panoramic waft of decay and thickening soot in the air. Such are the remnants of progress.

It's April of 1824 and Simon is almost feeling defeated. He's a thief taker of stolen goods hired by people for the return of their items. Simon usually has a high success rate, but this time he's been called upon to return the impossible.

Joseph Clark of Clark Foundry has reached out to Simon for a specific reason. One of his faithful workers lost his daughter recently. The wife noticed that her daughter's grave had been disturbed. And here Chris Nickson introduces us to the dastardly deed of the resurrectionists. Grave robbers, if you will. The bodies were usually sold to medical schools for research and anatomy lessons. Simon is shocked that such things would transpire in Leeds. This is the last thing that Simon wishes to pursue, but the circumstances of a child involved leads Simon to take on this case.

The Dead Will Rise enters with a macabre beginning, but it also leans heavily on the relationships of these characters. Simon's partner is a young girl by the name of Jane. She came from an abusive situation and is beyond street-wise. Jane is fast with the knife and fast with her instant reactions to the goings on in Leeds. We'll observe changes that have been pressed upon Jane as she is reaching maturity. There is a softening here inside a mighty hard shell.

Rosie, Simon's wife, was his tried-and-true business partner before having their sons. I'm glad to see that Nickson is incorporating her more and more into his storylines now that the boys are older. She's a wise one, most certainly, and more than capable to keep up with Simon.

Chris Nickson, as always, delves into impeccable research in his novels. But this time, Nickson weighs the age old question of the value of life. Desperate times lead individuals to desperate acts. But to disturb the resting place of a loved one is beyond the imagination and especially for profit. Nickson will have us on edge as we follow the trail of Simon, Jane, and Rosie. Believe me, he never disappoints.

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

Simon Westow is a thief-taker. In the days before police forces were created, thief-takers were the community police, they would find stolen property and return it for a fee. This case is very ugly. A child's body has been stolen from its grave and the burial dress sold to a rag and bone dealer. Simon's assistant, Jane, uncovers the dress and gets a description of the person who sold it to her. Jane is a ghost, drifting along the streets of Leeds, whispering to the poor and downtrodden to uncover evil doings. Since she escaped this life, she always pays it forward, dropping coins along her way. Meanwhile, Simon and Jane are also hired to find a man who stole 50 pounds from a rich woman. She is incensed and wants her money back and revenge. Simon soon discovers she is not all she claims to be and withdraws from the case. However, this case and the case of the missing body will be entwined forever. Bodies begin to drop and Jane nearly dies, which scares her very much. Simon, his wife, Rosie, and Jane must follow down some very dark paths to uncover the ring of resurrection men, who dug up corpses to sell to universities for anatomy classes. If you appreciate well written and extremely well research historical novels, I cannot recommend Nickson's books enough.

Chris Nickson is one of my favorite writers of historical mysteries. He's solid and reliable, and I mean those words as a very sincere compliment. The world of historical mysteries if full of books that begin with a clever premise, but can't follow through or that read like a child's story "and then... and then... and then." The balance between characters and mystery vary, and all to often the solution to the mystery becomes clear well before the book's end.

I know I won't get any of those weaknesses when I start a new Nickson book. He has a number of mystery series. The one I know best is the DI Tom Harper series, set just before the turn of the 20th Century in Leeds, and featuring a main character who has managed to work his way into the hierarchy of the police department despite his humble origins (as they say). There are so any details I would love to share about that series, but the characters have developed so richly over time that I worry I'd let slip something that would deprive readers of the pleasure of encountering events "as they happen."

The Simon Westow series is also set in Leeds, in the 1820s. The lead character is a thief taker. His two partners are his wife Rosie—she's got a mean hand with a knife, but you'd never know it just looking at her—and Jane, a former street child with rigid ideas about justice and rigid rules for her own life as compensation for the years when her life was a rule-less struggle to survive.

In this volume, resurrection men (who dug up recent burials and sold the bodies on to medical schools) have just arrived in Leeds. A wealthy factory-owner who still works alongside his employees has asked Simon and company to investigate the disappearance of the body of Gwendolyn Jordan, the ten-year-old daughter of one of his employees. There's a particular horror around this event because it's not just the dead being disturbed, but the child of a family still mourning her unexpected death.

I encourage you to spend some time with Simon, Rosie, and Jane—and with Tom Harper and his coworkers and family. You'll find satisfying mysteries and casts that grows increasingly complex as the series continue. I can't personally vouch for his other series, but I would most definitely pick one up with confidence, knowing I'm in for an engaging ride with Chris Nickson in the lead.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

Chris Nickson's historical mysteries are always well researched and gripping. They're a good way to travel back in time to Leeds in another age.
This is one is the best in this series and I read it in two sitting as it's page turner.
Solid mystery that kept me guessing, vivid historical background, an excellent groups of characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Gripping Victorian Noir!

1824. Leeds has a new low in crime!
Nickson has blown me away with this episode of thief-taker Simon Westrow. The abused Jane, his very damaged partner who is making slow steps and is not cutting herself anymore, although her trusty honed blade never leaves her side is of course present, and Rosie, Simon’s wife, mother of his children and partner until motherhood shifted her attention to their boys. This time however she’s more than ever up for the chase.
Bodysnatchers have struck in Leeds. The population is aghast. The body of a ten year old child has been stolen. The parents are bereft. The population is angry. Rosie is incandescent with rage. This has become personal for her.
The owner of a Foundry, Joseph Clark, a close friend and employer of the father, has asked Simon to find the degenerate grave robbers. For a finders fee of course
At the same time a Mrs Amanda Parker has asked Simon and Jane to attend her. She wants them to find a man who stole 50 pounds from her. Jane is suspicious of the widow, doesn’t like her. Simon says they’ll try for 3 days. If they can’t find the man they’ll stop. Simon and Jane both sense something a little off key. But what?
The search for the resurrectionists lead them all over Leeds. They find them, but then two escape custody, the third dies. Mob emotions have come into play.
Now the chase is on—again! Jane confronts the Irishman. It doesn’t go well. She is shaken and angry. She’s felt fear for the first time in a long time. That doesn’t sit well with our Jane. To conquer that feeling she becomes more determined than ever to settle things with the Irishman. Jane becomes a silent wraith, even more than before, as she and Simon track their quarry.
Extraordinary times, and extraordinary measures taken by all three.
I love Nickson’s knowledge of old Leeds, of its alleyways and streets, all mapped out in Jane’s head.
I admire his craft as a storyteller, weaving history and fiction.
Tense, darkly imagined reading, makes this a favorite.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “The Dead Will Rise.” All opinions and comments are my own.

It’s quiet at the moment. Simon Westow, thief-taker and his assistant Jane are taking a short break from their work. Life is good for now. Until it isn’t, of course. And soon a sad and sordid tale will come a’calling for Simon, Jane and even Rosie, Simon’s wife, in “The Dead will Rise,” the fifth in the series set in the smoky and soot-filled city of Leeds.

The story involves body-snatching, which is not considered much of a crime (not yet, anyway, that will come in time), as terrible as it is for the families. What Simon finds is that the body of a child has been taken, and a distraught father wants him to find the perpetrators. It’s a difficult case, without clues and without anything to go on. So, when another job comes to their attention, a “missing person,” it’s a chance to bring in some extra money in the meantime, he believes. How these cases intersect is testimony to the author’s ability to weave a complex and absorbing tale, dark and depressing for all that, but one that will draw you in on every page.

The city is once again a character, shadowy, noisy, choking with soot, growing with houses and thus more people. It’s getting harder to find someone. And both Simon and Jane do a lot of looking.

Author Chris Nickson shows the two sides of his main characters, the family side, the domestic side, and even for Jane her simple side, how her reading is improving. The hunt is interrupted by these moments. The author breaks up the tension in this way, and it works.There is resolution, of course, and a reckoning. “The Dead Will Rise” is another sterling effort by Chris Nickson, who knows how to bring a story to life, even an unpleasant one.

Every now and then a book comes along which I enjoy so much I simply cannot put it down. This is one of those! It is book 5 of the series featuring Simon Weston and read well as a stand-alone. It is the early 19th century in Leeds and Simon is a thief-taker. He acts for clients who have had something stolen and on finding and returning the missing items he gets paid. He is ably assisted by wife Rosie and young colleague Jane. The three main characters are well fleshed out, as is the gruesome detail of the actions of the resurrection men known as body snatchers.

Briefly, Simon is approached by Joseph Clark to find the body of the 10 year old daughter of one of his employees, whose body has been dug up and removed from her grave. There are body snatchers at work. Simon is facing the hardest task of his life to find the Resurrectionists whilst keeping the three of them safe, particularly Jane who is rather adept at getting herself into dangerous situations!

Historical fiction at its finest, as a result of the authors research and knowledge of Leeds from the period in question, which gives the reader a vivid insight into life and social living conditions. Nothing is left to the imagination. A very enjoyable read and I am looking forward to reading more adventures from the intrepid trio!

1824 Leeds. Thief-taker Simon Westow and Jane Truscott are employed by Joseph Clark to find the body snatchers who had unearthed 10 year old Gwendolyn Jordan's body. Meanwhile rich widow Mrs Amanda Parker wants them to find a Tom Rawlings, for not paying back a loan of £50. But the investigations are not as straightforward as first thought.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its cast of varied and likeable characters. Another good addition to this enjoyable and well-plotted series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Simon Westow is a ‘thief taker’ a strange amalgam of bounty hunter and debt collector. If you were robbed of something of value then the best chance of recovering the goods would be to engage a man like Simon and that would be his principal concern. If he is successful then he may also manage to apprehend the thief and bring them before the magistrate for a form of summary justice.

The plot centres on the heinous crime of grave robbing. Foul and backbreaking ‘work’, a crime against society but not one that would result in the noose, for it was only a misdemeanour not a felony. To be a felony they would need to sell valuable possessions of the corpse. So, a disgusting crime but a low risk one unless they follow Burke and Hare and murder to provide corpses. When the body of a ten-year-old girl is stolen from a Leeds graveyard Simon is approached to locate those responsible, not his usual target but the disgust of his wife persuades him to get involved.

Whilst this is a Simon Westow novel it is not all about him the hero, as strong, at times deadly women are there front a centre. There is Jane the victim of appalling abuse in her childhood, destroyed as a girl who is being rebuilt as a young woman with the affection and counsel of Mrs Shields. Mrs Shields is the wise and cautious mentor she needs, as Jane is now able to handle herself in dangerous situations and is skilled with a knife to deadly effect. Able to be an everybody or a nobody she manages to blend into the background when working, her empathy with and generosity to the downtrodden, of whom she considers herself one, is a valuable source of information from the street. We also see her developing as a person too as she is learning to read with the guidance of Mrs Shields and with Rosie’s help basic mathematics.

Rosie is also keen to resume work with Simon and be in the thick of the action. Their twin boys are eight and Simon acknowledges that another pair of hands would mean they could take on more work. Desperate to be useful on the case, Rosie works on the fringes and proves her worth. Like Jane a woman to be trifled with at your peril.

The chase is across Leeds, not the city we know today, but one where villages and suburbs like Sheepscar and Headingley are distinct from the city itself. It’s clear the author has great affection for his home city as the action criss-crosses back and forth across this canvas. An excellent imagining of what a developing city might have been like 200 years ago.

The storyline ebbs and flows as Simon and assistant Jane become the hunters and the three men eventually identified as the resurrectionists are the hunted. Paths intersect more than once as authorities fail in their duties and jeopardy is faced. Jane suffers great pain and indignity that fuels a desire for revenge, one that threatens to overwhelm her judgement. Knives are sharpened and violence meted out regularly but not graphically portrayed.

The stop-start progression builds to a dramatic finale, one where answers are found, and justice is served but of a hollow kind as wrongs cannot be put right.

" Thief-taker Simon Westow is used to finding stolen goods, not stolen bodies . . . Can he hunt down those committing crimes against the dead in Leeds?".......Leeds. April, 1824. Wealthy engineer Joseph Clark employs thief-taker Simon Westow to find the men who stole the buried corpse of Catherine Jordan, his employee's daughter."

As always, Chris Nickson's mysteries are enthralling.. He is the "Voice " of bygone Leeds and I'm always so happy to get a new one.

Disclaimer: Although I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher, the opinions below are my own.

Body snatching isn’t something only to be found in horror movies. During the early years of medical school this was how some surgeons received cadavers on which to practice their skills. In Edinburgh, Scotland (where I went to college), the names of Burke and Hare would become synonymous with the act just four years after when this book is set. Except they often hastened the availability of a body if you know what I mean. The Dead Will Rise was inspired by actual events in Leeds. No one is murdered for their bodies, but it doesn’t bode well for anyone who gets in the way of the body snatchers.

This is the fifth title in the Simon Westow Mystery series, and with each installment we get deeper into the complex lives of the main characters. Simon is a husband and father, fiercely protective of his two sons and wanting them to have the advantages of life he never had at their age. At the same time, however, his job skirts around legality. Thief-takers aren’t always trusted, Westow’s contacts aren’t always on the level, and he’ll shed blood if he must. His associate, Jane, is like a lion who’s been wounded yet continues to stalk her prey through the streets and alley ways of 19th century Leeds.

Chris Nickson’s Regency era novels have always been different to the Jane Austen-inspired writings set during the same period. He calls his books Regency Noir. What’s interesting this time, is that he has Jane reading Austen. She gets “caught up in the story of the Bennett sisters,” whose lives are “utterly different to her’s.” These scenes when she’s reading are moments of levity in an otherwise dark tale.

Despite the darkness, however, it’s a compelling story with many tense and breathtaking moments which made it difficult to put down. It’s my opinion that Chris Nickson has created another winner, and I’m already looking forward to book six.

1824 and the Industrial Revolution means that Leeds is expanding rapidly. When a 10 year old girl's body is taken from a cemetery in Leeds, the employer of the father hires Westow to find the men responsible.
Westow is determined to ensure that the men are caught and punished even though at this time it is a minor offence. The gang are clever and one is particularly brutal plus there also seems to be a link with a rich society woman from humble beginnings. Can Westow and Jane catch the gang before they strike again?
This series is one of my favourites, set in Leeds as the city starts to grow into the thriving industrial metropolis of the 19th century. Here the crime is committed early and the book is really about the hunt for the gang and the bringing of them to justice. There is a lot more focus on Jane, Westow's sidekick and her development through reading juxtaposed with her readiness to kill. The plot is tight and writing not too flowery, all in all a great, quick read.

The Dead Will Rise is the fifth Simon Westow historical mystery by Chris Nickson. Released 7th March 2023 by Severn House, it's 291 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is such a skillfully written series. Protagonist thief-takers (bounty hunters/ private investigators) Simon and his partner Jane are employed by a wealthy businessman and tasked with finding the resurrectionists who have stolen the body of his employee's daughter. They're outclassed in terms of power and deceitfulness by influential men in Leeds and are in danger of losing their freedom and lives throughout the book. There's a real and palpable sense of the setting and narrative menace throughout much of the book and the writing is very high quality and engaging. It is redolent of the time period (1820's) and setting (Leeds and environs) without sacrificing readability.

It's written around a framework of actual events so skillfully that it's difficult to tell when fact shades over into fiction. The author is technically competent and (happily) quite prolific. There are now 4 books extant in the series, making this a good candidate for a long weekend binge or buddy read.

The books -are- quite realistic and this one is no exception. The author has a very realistic writing style and describes the less salubrious facts of life in the early 19th century unflinchingly. This book deals with the stark, brutal, and all-too-often short lives of the inhabitants, even relatively financially well-to-do.

One of the main characters, Jane, has a very sad back-story, and much of the plot of the book revolves around her past, her present, and her (scarily competent) redemptive development. I love her character, but she's often quite frightening. I was impressed by the author's ability to write a young female character and do it very well. There are emphatically no perky anythings here, no bodice ripping, and absolutely zero flirty eyelashes to be found.

Four and a half stars. Definitely one for lovers of well-crafted mysteries. I would heartily recommend it to fans of Hambly's Benjamin January and Peters' Cadfael (although different time periods and settings, obviously).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Chris Nickson is a former music journalist, and has rubbed shoulders with the Great and The Good across the history of rock music, but in these latter days he has earned a considerable reputation as a historical novelist. His books are mostly centred on Leeds, and they cover different historical periods from the 1730s to the 1950s. His latest book features Georgian thief-taker Simon Westow. Back then, there was no organised police force; the only legal officials were parish constables, who tended to be elderly, infirm and incompetent. Westow is more like the 20th century concept of a Private Eye; he recovers stolen property and catches criminals - for a fee.

Here, he has an unusual assignment; Local factory boss Joseph Clark asks him to find the men who stole the buried corpse of Gwendolyn Jordan, the daughter of Harmony Jordan, one of his employees. The crime of body snatching is unique in that it involved acts of criminality carried out in the name - some might argue - of a greater good, that being anatomical and medical research. Westow wastes no time on moral philosophy, and with his assistant Jane he sets out to find the Resurrection Men.

Jane is, for me, the most compelling character in any of Nickson's novels. Raped by her father, disowned by her mother, the teenager has made her living on the streets. Not in the conventional sense by selling her body, but by employing preternatural skills of awareness of danger, cunning and speed of thought; most fearsome of all is the fact that she will use her knife without a moment of compassion or hesitation. She is a stone-cold killer, as many men - now dead and buried - would testify, were they still able to.

Westow's case load becomes more complex when he and Jane are summoned to the elegant mansion of the infamous Mrs Parker - infamous because she is renowned in Leeds for  marrying a series of wealthy men, who then die, leaving her with an ever expanding fortune. Just for once, she has been bested. A lover has swindled her out of £50 - over £5000 in today's money - and she wants recompense.

When the usually invulnerable Jane is bested by one of the thugs involved in the corpse trade, and is hurled from a bridge, she is lucky to escape with cuts and bruises. Her pride is hurt more, though, and she vows vengeance. Eventually the elusive Resurrection Men are tracked down, but Westow and his wife Rosie are convinced that there is one big player in the racket left to catch, and this leads to a thrilling - and unexpected -  end to the case,

Nickson's narrative voice is totally authentic: Simon Westow, his family, and others in his world live and breathe as if they are they were standing with us in the same room. He makes the Leeds of April 1824 as real and vivid as if we had just stepped down from the York stagecoach. The Dead Will Rise is published by Severn House and is out now.

Chris Nickson's Simon Westow series continues to delight.

I strongly suggest reading this series in order. Westow, his wife Rosie, and their assistant Jane are fully developed characters with significant back stories by the time we arrive at this fifth-in-series.

The often violent streets of early 1800's Leeds are the setting for this story. Corpse stealing has spread to Leeds, and Westow has been hired by a wealthy industrialist to find the villains.

Nickson's attention to detail and historical accuracy are on full display again. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more in the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.