Description
Book Synopsis‘A page-turner of a crime thriller . . . This is a world conveyed with convincing, terrible clarity’ – C. J. Sansom, author of Dissolution.
Winner of the HWA Debut Crown
Winner of the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award
Blood & Sugar is the thrilling debut historical crime novel from Laura Shepherd-Robinson for fans of C. J. Sansom and Andrew Taylor.
June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock, London – horribly tortured and branded with a slaver’s mark.
Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham – a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career – learns that an old friend, passionate abolitionist Tad Archer, had been about to expose a secret that he believed could cause irreparable damage to the British slaving industry. He’d said people were trying to kill him, and now he is missing . . .
To discover what happened to Tad, Harry is forced to pick up the threads of his friend’s investigation, delving into the heart of the conspiracy Tad had unearthed. His investigation will threaten his political prospects, his family’s happiness, and force a reckoning with his past, risking the revelation of secrets that have the power to destroy him.
And that is only if he can survive the mortal dangers awaiting him in Deptford . . .
'A brilliant book . . . Absolutely superb' – James O'Brien
Shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger
Shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger
Longlisted for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year
Trade ReviewLaura Shepherd-Robinson has written a story that is not only a page-turner of a thriller but, to an extent unusual in historical novels, where you feel you really are listening to a voice from the eighteenth century. This is a world conveyed with convincing, terrible clarity’ -- C. J. Sansom, author of
Dissolution,
Tombland and
Winter in MadridA novel of astonishing skill * Financial Times *
A tightly plotted crime story with vivid details of Georgian England * Sunday Times *
Stunning . . .
Blood & Sugar is a harrowing and brutal epic [that] shocks and thrills in equal measure * Express *
A striking historical thriller . . . Few first novels are as accomplished as this -- Andrew Taylor, author of
The Ashes of LondonEpic, harrowing, thrilling, brutal, addictive. I read it flat out in one day -- C. J. Tudor, author of
The Chalk ManEnthralling * Daily Telegraph *
Magnificent . . . A tense and gripping historical thriller that shines an unwavering light on a dark period in British history. Unmissable. -- Antonia Hodgson, author of
The Devil in the MarshalseaPhenomenal . . . A shoo-in for one of the books of the year -- David Young, author of
Stasi ChildA searing, ingeniously constructed story * The Times *
Extraordinary -- Caz Frear, author of
Sweet Little LiesTruly addictive -- Jenny Quintana, author of
The Missing GirlA passionate indictment of British involvement in the slave trade but it never neglects its duty to chill and thrill * Sunday Express *
With a hugely likeable hero at its heart, this rich and beautifully written debut marks out Laura Shepherd-Robinson as a major new talent -- Fiona Cummins, author of
RattleThe finest Georgian intrigue * The Times Crime Club *
A remarkably assured debut -- Elizabeth Fremantle, author of
The Queen's GambitA page-turning dive into the torrid depths of London in the 1780s -- Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of
The Other Mrs WalkerGripping and original . . . I absolutely loved it -- Karen Hamilton, author of
The Perfect GirlfriendImmersive and exhilarating . . . I was completely swept away -- Holly Seddon, author of
Love Will Tear Us ApartExtraordinary, immersive, addictive and moving -- Olivia Kiernan, author of
Too Close to BreathI can’t recommend it enough -- Jo Jakeman, author of
Sticks and StonesUtterly compelling . . . The next star of historical crime fiction has arrived -- R. N. Morris
The most absorbing, intelligent and breathtakingly atmospheric novel I’ve read in a long time -- Chris Whitaker
I haven't read such an accomplished historical novel since I was introduced to C.J. Sansom. -- Jo Spain
A gripping mystery . . . I loved it -- Laura Marshall, author of
Friend RequestOne of the best historical novels I’ve read in ages. -- Kaite Welsh, author of
The Wages of SinDeptford, a gateway to and from Britain’s expanding empire, is evoked in pungent detail. The British slave trade was an appalling episode in our history and the novel is unflinching in its refusal to sentimentalise motives or to row back on the savagery of the times. * Daily Mail *
A brilliant book . . . Superb . . . Absolutely superb' -- James O'Brien, presenter of LBC Radio and bestselling author of
How To Be RightOne of the most sophisticated crime novels of the past few years * The Critic *
Read
Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson, but read
Blood & Sugar first: a) because it's brilliant, and b) because the characters overlap. They're both murder mysteries set in a meticulously and hyper-vividly drawn 18th-century London. The first is eye-opening about slavery, the second is about prostitution, or rather the first is about race and the second is about woman. Total page-turners -- India Knight * Sunday Times *
