Skin Like Silver

Ever since reading ‘Two Bronze Pennies’, the second in Chris Nickson’s Inspector Tom Harper series, I had been eagerly anticipating his next offering. I was not disappointed.

Set in Leeds in 1891, Harper is tasked to find the identity of a decomposing body of a baby found in a parcel at the post office. This is soon pushed to the back of his mind, however, with the news that there is a huge fire at the local railway station. Soon, the body of a woman, Suffragist Catherine Carr, is found in the debris. The knife wound, however, shows that she did not die in the fire and a murder enquiry is launched.

Catherine’s murder sets off a chain of events and soon the death count in Leeds is rising. With Harper worried for his wife’s safety due to her connections to the Leeds Suffragist Society, will he find the cuplrit before there is more bloodshed?

Again, Chris Nickson does a fantastic job in mixing fact with fiction, creating a vivid image of what life was like in Leeds during the nineteenth century. It was easy to imagine the stark contrast between the privileged Carr family and the unfortunates dwelling in the crowded back streets.

The ending sets up the next installment nicely; definitely worthy of a five-star rating!

Last August, I reviewed the first novel in Chris Nickson’s Tom Harper Police Procedural Series: Two Bronze Pennies. I’m pleased to report that Harper is back (and in less than a year!) with another mystery to puzzle out.

This new novel, Skin Like Silver, has all the strengths of the first: Tom Harper, a detective inspector who is both vulnerable and fearless; Tom’s wife Annabelle, owner of a tavern and three bakeries, and now an increasingly active suffragette; interesting colleagues for Tom to work with; and mysteries firmly grounded in the politics of its time and place (1891 Leeds, England).

Skin Like Silver serves as an introduction to the challenges faced by women in the Victorian era: their vulnerability to abusive spouses, their dangerous fight to earn a political voice for themselves, and the indifference, even hostility, met by young women who must sell themselves to make a living and those who find themselves unwed and pregnant.

Harper finds himself facing three mysteries, which later expand into four. A stillborn baby has been mailed to a local post office. A suffragette has been murdered and her remains found among the ashes of a burned railway station. A part-time prostitute has been raped by a potential customer. And, once the sufragette’s brother learns of her killing—an unstable war veteran with scouting and sniping skills determined to revenge himself against everyone who has ever wronged him or his sister.

Using these many strands Nickson weaves a tight, logical, and engaging tale, making sure we see the personal sides of the novel’s central characters, as well as the professional. Tom worries a hearing loss will result in his removal from the police force. A colleague works uneasily with Tom, who once convinced him to provide false testimony in order to convict a known killer. Annabelle, a highly competent businesswoman, finds herself unnerved as she becomes an increasingly popular suffragette speaker.

Give yourself the treat of reading this novel and entering Harper’s world. Then, if you enjoy yourself—and I’m sure you will—give yourself the added treat of seeking out a copy of Two Bronze Pennies as well.

His day starts with the announcement a dead baby has been found at the post office. Someone mailed it to a bad address and it sat in the back, unclaimed, until it began to smell. That night, there's a major fire and they lose a fireman who is helping fight it. But that's not the only body found...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will published March 1st, so make a note to pick it up then.

This is a Victorian mystery and it reflects the period well. There's the very poor, the super rich, and women had their place: in the home, cooking and cleaning and raising a family. Not all women were content with that, though. And the dead body that was found was a suffragette that had been knifed to death.

There's more than one story here. They are investigating different crimes, not getting far with any of them, and everybody seems to have a secret. I was surprised by the killer.

This proved to be an interesting read with lots of nuances. I enjoyed reading about the characters home lives. Mr. Nickson makes them real people with problems of their own as well as their work difficulties. I'd read more in this series.

Leeds 1891 Detective Inspector Tom Harper has two pressing cases - the dead body of a baby abandoned by his mother and the murdered wife of a local businessman. When the woman's brother escapes from a mental hospital and steals a rifle, the streets are not safe but he is no nearer finding the murderer. An exciting well researched historical thriller. I have read the author's Richard Nottingham novels and enjoyed this just as much. This is a later series but just as interesting. See my full review on the Euro-Crime website. Very well recommended.

Book number three in this Victorian era (1891) police procedural was a treat to read. The setting for this series is Leeds which makes a nice change from the more often used London in historical mysteries set in England. This was my first time reading anything written by Chris Nickson and this can very easily be considered a stand alone novel even though there is a relationship problem between two policemen from a previous case. Billy Reed had decided to transfer to the fire brigade but he and Detective Inspector Tom Harper are assigned to work together again after the terrible fire at the railway station. The body of a woman was found in the aftermath of the fire and it will take the skills of both men to identify her and find motive and killer.

Firmly entwined in the plotlines of this novel is the suffragist movement and the way the women were perceived by their friends, co-workers, and family members. There is a note from the author in the back of the book where he gives information concerning the historical events and people he worked into his story. The feel of the Victorian era is well developed so the overall feeling I came away with was one of satisfaction from reading the story. The police investigation worked along a logical path and information regarding the victim and the possible suspects was gathered by basic hard work through proper methods. None of the characters was so flamboyant or overpowering that they stole every minute of the story and I especially enjoyed that aspect of the construction of the novel. If you enjoy good characterization, good placement within a specific time period, and good police investigative processes, you will almost surely enjoy this novel.

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Severn House.

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for an advance copy of Skin Like Silver which is a murder investigation set in 1891. There is a large fire at New Station which burns almost out of control. Inspector Tom Harper is sent to make sure it is not arson and when he is there a woman's body is discovered. The pathologist finds a knife wound in her back and the hunt is on to first identify her and then find her killer. At the same time Harper is searching for the mother of a still born child, parcelled up and sent to a fake address and if this not enough the dead woman's brother escapes from the asylum and goes on a murderous rampage, sparking a massive manhunt.
I have only recently started reading historical crime fiction on a regular basis so I am not familiar with Mr Nickson or his writing and was not aware that Skin Like Silver is actually the third novel in the series. I don't feel I have missed anything, apart from a couple of good reads probably, by coming in at this point as it stands very well on its own. I like the writing style which is very inviting and warm and draws you in immediately. The characters are well drawn and pleasant. Tom Harper is the archetypal copper - hard working, honest, dedicated and fair. He has hearing problems and tries to hide it as he thinks it will cost him his job but everyone knows. His wife Annabelle is a suffragette which allows Mr Nickson to expound on inequality, for both women and the poor, and highlight the issues of the day in an informative but non didactic way, interesting stuff. All the characters are well drawn and rounded and it is a pleasure to read a plot driven novel like this which also has good characterisation.
The plot is intricate without being overly complex - there are plenty of twists but it is easy to keep up - so it held my attention and kept me turning the pages. By about half way through I had guessed the perpetrator but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the read as I wasn't sure and I certainly didn't know why. My one minor criticism is the ending which seems rather rushed in comparison with the fairly leisurely pace of the rest of the novel and leaves a few unexplained loose ends. Otherwise I think Skin Like Silver is a good, interesting, well written novel and I don't hesitate to recommend it.

A compelling and rewarding read.
It is 1891 and Detective Inspector Tom Harper receives news that a dead infant in a box has been delivered to the Central Post Office in Leeds. Thus starts a Tom Harper thriller which soon escalates into additional cases of murder and a rape.

A large explosion at Leeds New Station involves not only the Fire Brigade but also the police, as all available hands are needed to fight this violent fire. Sadly a fireman loses his life, but also a woman’s dead body is found in the wreckage. When Harper sees her, his first impression is ‘skin like silver’ as the girders have melted in the heat and the metal has dripped down on to her face. Later at the morgue it is confirmed that she has been stabbed in the back.

Tom is aided and abetted by his old colleague and once friend Billy Reed, who, since perjuring himself to support one of Tom’s cases, has been working for the Fire Brigade.

Meanwhile, a young lass from the mill who hasn’t had any work for the week and is trying to supplement her earnings by soliciting, is raped and slashed in the face.

Chris Nixon writes with knowledge and love of the area, having been born and bred in Leeds. He has clearly done lots of research and the consequence is that the reader is transported back to the late 19th Century. The book is vividly atmospheric and I could smell the smoke and smog, and could see the grime and grubbiness of industry and the general population’s fight against abject poverty.

Tom’s wife Annabelle is a member of the Suffragist movement and this is cleverly woven into the main strand of the novel so that we get an idea of the hatred and vilification that this movement engendered early in its inception.

A thoroughly enjoyable read and one to be recommended.
Sméagol Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review