| Title | : | Shadow of the Hangman (Bow Street Rivals, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0749016914 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780749016913 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 346 |
| Publication | : | First published February 19, 2015 |
Shadow of the Hangman (Bow Street Rivals, #1) Reviews
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Edward Marston has captured a niche into almost every piece of history and setting a detective series within that timeframe.
Here we are transported into the Great Britain in 1815 an area of history I know a great deal about since it was the topic and starting point of my ‘O’ level syllabus.
They say that history is written by the victors and that is seem cleverly here. Defeat in the colonies of America are passed over as we find London being triumphant over victory over Napoleon and the French at Waterloo.
The author is a master story teller and weaves his magic with an involved plot that mercifully is never over complicated. The many different strands give the book both a steady pace and an interesting feel as topics and characters are interchanged.
The writing is so crisp and its message so clear that characters remain formed in the reader’s mind. There is no need to go back and check people out and remind yourself of their place in the story. Yet the book is littered with well-drawn individuals who pass before you as fully formed characters.
The writing flows and the thrust of the story never stalls or diverts down some dead-end place.
However, you should realise that the same scenarios will be played out with twins as the main protagonists and a rivalry between their special services offered in detective work against the blunt instrument of bow street runners an early police enforcement agency.
The story is simple and has many aspects of appeal for a variety of tastes but also at times quite transparent in my opinion although many aspects of misdirection and partial reveals are used to good effect.
In the end the failure to identify motive and the aspirations of some of the players is almost unforgivable. In my opinion it sits uneasy in the otherwise success of the Skillen brothers.
As a new series to follow I am hooked and I hope to learn more about this interesting period I first encountered aged 14. Let me know what you think, I’m sure most will enjoy this book and those hat follow. -
This was a good introduction to the series, and especially the Skilleen brothers - Peter and Paul. This book gives quite a nice flavour of the period at the end of the Battle of Waterloo. It also shows the underlying repercussions following this war and also the American War of 1812, with a connection to both these events. A rather convoluted assassination attempt is in the making and the Skilleen brothers set about trying to prevent the outcome, aided or rather at times hindered by their fierce rivals, the Bow Street Runners. It was a very enjoyable, light and quick read that held my attention throughout. I will look to continue the series although likely to leave a gap between each one.
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This was an enjoyable historical mystery. I would say, however, that the mystery isn’t so much a mystery in the sense that the reader knows who the culprit is early on. It is more a case of hearing the culprit and detectives viewpoints as the case is solved. The story was good and had some nice twist and turns to it. You got to know the main characters a bit better. Overall, I liked this book and I will read the next book in the series.
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Really liked the different story lines that all ended up tying together, quick paced book which kept me hooked- enjoyed it more then I thought I would and keen to read the rest of the series.
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Edward Marston's new series 'The Bow Street Rivals' cements his reputation as a master storyteller even more as in 'Shadow of the Hangman' he maintains the gripping and action-packed style he exhibits in all his other series.
Twins Peter and Paul Skillen are the main protagonists in this tale. They are detectives who rival the official Bow Street Runners, who feel that they should have a monopoly on policing in London. But all too often they are outwitted by the Skillen twins, who always seem to be one step ahead of them.
'Shadow of a Hangman' has two escaped prisoners from Dartmoor making their perilous way to London where they intend to commit an act of atrocity. Home Secretary Viscount Sidmouth is targeted and the suggestion is that if the escaped convicts demands are not met he will be murdered.
Sidmouth, against the better wishes of his Runners, hires the Skillens to bring the fugitives to justice. However, he also has his Runners in the frame making their own investigations so throughout the story there is this continuing rivalry between the two parties.
Both parties find themselves in perilous situations but all along, despite various injuries, they all manage to survive and continue their pursuit of the villains. Those villains, both American, intermingle with London's Irish community who do their best to deceive the authorities but in the end the Skillens get the better of them and finally apprehend the convicts.
Throughout there are one or two sub-plots, romantic as far as the Skillens are concerned and worrying for various other characters who are on the fringes of the main plot. It is a compelling tale of murder, kidnap, revenge, intrigue and political machination and is certainly one to be recommended by one of the masters of this genre. -
4.5* This is the first of Edward Marston's latest historical fiction series, The Bow Street rivals #1. The third just being released this year 2017.
This is set in the early 1800s and features the Bow Street runners who were officially tasked with keeping law and order together with rival thief takers The Skillen brothers.
An exciting plot with twists along the way, packed with action and a true sense of accurate historical ambience.
A satisfactory ending leaving me excited to continue the series -
Enjoyed the characters cat and mouse game with the Bow Street Runners … can’t wait for the next one
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Yet another great book from Edward Marston.
If you like your crime novels historical with great characters who are well developed then this is the book for you.
This one is set in 1815 and my only complaint was that it read a little too like the railway detective novels also by this author, so much so that I kept thinking we were in the late 1800's not the early 1800's. Not that that matters.
The fact the two main characters are twins also isn't an issue however the fact they are called Peter and Paul is. The amount of times I had to check back which brother was which was ridiculous. I know parents tend to give twins similar names but in the interest of reader enjoyment Peter and James would have made things a lot less confusing. -
England 1815: Paul & Peter Skillen, Private Detectives, are twins both working for the Home Secretary. Their rivals, Yeomans & his group of ruffians, with criminal tendencies, also working for the Home Secretary. Both groups are always trying to best each other the former w/ class & intelligence, the latter w/ little regard for the law & brute force.
When the uprising at a local prison involving American POWs demanding better treatment, ends in a massacre... the leader O'Gara & his black friend Bass escape, making their way to London seeking asylum & carrying a truthful version of the peaceful uprising.
In London O'Gara finds a scribe who sends a letter on O'Gara's behalf describing the abuse of prisoners & the truth of the uprising to the Home Secretary, which causes a stir & prompts a formal investigation on behalf of the POWs... Unfortunately O'Gara threatens the Home Secretary in the letter thus making himself & Bass wanted men.
Both the of the Skillens and Yeomans & his group are hired to find O'Gara & Bass, which turns into a fiasco of attempted revenge against the Skillens by Yeomans & crew.
In a side plot, the office charwoman goes missing, when another is hired to take her place, confidential papers also begin to go missing.
I like the Skillen brothers, Marston has them as completely different individuals. Peter is a gentleman, married to a clever woman who chose Peter over Paul. Paul is robust, a gambler, drinker, womanizer who has fallen in love for the 2nd time and is grappling with his feelings.
Yeomans & his group are not only unintelligent & coarse, they are unlikable men and their underhanded schemes, leaning toward violence against the twins & others put me off.
I also liked O'Gara & Bass, I admired their sense of duty to their compatriots.... but I didn't like how they were handled by those in power.
I will attempt to read one more in this series.... If I do not like it any better, I'll drop it not continue. -
Some years ago, I read the Domesday Series (
https://www.goodreads.com/series/40756 ) by Edward Marston
so when I was searching for a mystery about the Bow Street Runners, I was pleased to find the Bow Street Rival series by
Edward Marston and decided to start with the first one,
Shadow of the Hangman.
It was a quite fun mystery which features twin brothers Peter and Paul Skillen , who excel in defensive arts and exceed the skill of the Bow Street Runners in detection. As it is the first in the series, it sets up the characters and background for the rest of the series. It was interesting, educational and entertaining, but it did fall through a bit in the end.
I will continue to read this series and I'm quite happy to have found a new one to follow. -
"How many aunts can hit a target with a bow and arrow?"
A fun, and curious introduction to the Bow Street Rivals.
I like quite a few of the characters within, and the many parallel story threads. They all came together nicely near the end, and the conclusion was mostly satisfying.
I could have done without the Runners POV, I don't think it especially added anything to any part of the story. But all of the others had their merits and helped to make for an enjoyable read.
I won't hold it against the story that the book itself was a little disappointing, in that it had several spelling mistakes throughout at various points.
All in all, I liked it, and I shall be reading
Steps to the Gallows. -
Review - I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about one of my favourite historical periods. Having already read the Nicholas Bracewell series, set in Elizabethan London, I was anxious to also read this one. The first book in the series didn't disappoint, and I felt like I was right there among the action and the characters. The only thing I would say is that there seems to be a lot made of Peter and Paul's competition over Charlotte - it would be nice to see how that happened.
Genre? - Historical / Crime / Mystery
Characters? - Paul Skillen / Peter Skillen / Charlotte Skillen / Gully Ackford / Tom O'Gara / Moses Dagg / Viscount Sidmouth / Micah Yeomans
Setting? - London (England)
Series? - Bow Street Rivals #1
Recommend? – Yes
Rating - 18/20 -
Set in 1815, this is the first in a series about identical twin detectives. In this case, they are called in by the Home Secretary to find a missing woman and to find two missing prisoners, which ends up also covering assassination attempts, kidnapping and illegal fighting rings. There is a lot going on here, and I found it hard to get into at first as there are so many stories and points of view: we find out what the twins are up to; we spend time with their bumbling rivals, the Bow Street Runners; we get a few chapters from the missing woman and from the prisoners; plus a few single points of view from various other parties. There's a ripping yarn in here somewhere, but there was too much going on for me to find it.
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This book recounts the adventures of twin brother detectives in nineteenth-century London. The maritime conflict with the USA has ended, but American sailors are still being held, under harsh conditions. Two prisoners escape and take their complaints to London. But there are dark secrets and a kidnapping in the Home Secretary's office. Celebrations are being planned for the victory at Waterloo, and an attack is feared. Some of the plot events rely on people mistaking one brother for the other, and on the rivalry between the brothers and the official law enforcers, The Runners.
A good story, written very clearly in its epoch, as we might expect from the author of the railway detective stories. But I felt that the American sailors deserved a happier ending. -
I picked this book up because I had picked up and enjoyed previous books by the author. I was interested in the setting, especially since the book included a lot of the political situation at the time and used it to inform the plot itself. There were several different plotlines going on, like the Americans escaping, Horner going missing, the Bow Street Runners trying to get one up on the brothers and Paul's romance with an actress.
I liked this book. With all the different plotlines, it kept my interest all the way through and there were a couple of sympathetic characters who I enjoyed when they came on page, like Charlotte and Mrs Horner. I'll probably keep going with this series but it will definitely be a library borrow.
3.5 stars! -
This was probably my least favourite read of 2022. I was expecting a half decent crime thriller, but ended up with a book that truly was a real slog to get through.
Set in 1815, the book follows a pair of twins, Peter and Paul Skillen, who are notorious crime solvers in London. When the Home Secretary is faced with a missing staff member and a death threat against him, he calls on the Skillen brothers for help, much to the chagrin of the Bow Street runners who consider themselves the head honchos of London's crime fighters.
I found this such a tough book to get through, and was the closest I've come to DNF-ing a book in years. The main plot point was basically that the two main characters were identical twins and everything hinged around that. -
3/5 Stars
I’ll be honest, I chose this book based on the title. And because it’s an author I have read before and enjoyed. And the write up has it pitched as a Sherlock and Watson-esque romp.
Whilst it’s well written and well structured, I just didn’t find it a challenging whodunnit. There was no sense that the Skillen brothers will fail in their efforts, and you don’t build enough of a relationship with any of the principle characters to care about what happens to them.
I found this mildly disappointing as I’ve read other stories by Marston and found they had heightened tension and good suspense.
All in all it passed the time, however I wouldn’t rave about this book. -
I really enjoyed my first encounter with Edward Marston’s work, and the Skillen Brothers. This was an amusing, and captivating read and I really enjoyed the historical context surrounding it. I also didn’t get confused with all of the characters which I often finds happens when I’m reading mystery/crime books so I was very impressed with that.
My only issue was I felt certain aspects were wrapped up a little too quickly at the end, but nonetheless am excited to continue in the series!!
4.25 stars -
Another historical mystery from a prolific, entertaining author. It is just after Waterloo and the American War of 1812. American POWs who have yet to be returned despite the Treaty of Ghent have justly voiced their concerns but are fired upon by the evil Brit prison guards. Add to this French agents looking to avenge the defeat of Nappy, and you have an interesting mix for the Skillen brothers (and if you don't picture the Property Brothers when reading this, you are isolated indeed) and their rival Bow Street Runners.
A fine start to the series, one I'll continue reading, as always. -
This was my first Edward Marston book and I really looked it. It remined me of the television series "Ripper street". Good read.
One remark however, -
This was an entertaining read and an easy page turner but nothing really exciting happens.
All the characters are laid out before the reader so there are no real surprises and the crimes committed were pretty tame compared to most crime novels I read.
I think the author missed a great opportunity to describe, in detail, the abysmal conditions of both the jails of the time and the areas of London occupied by the poor. This could have made it a far more interesting read. -
I have always enjoyed Edward Marston's books, his writing and descriptions etc and found them quite difficult to put down once started.
However to me this is very definitely one that is the exception. The middle third became turgid and I had more problems picking it back up than putting it down. The ending was way too rushed and I struggled to find things in the characters to like and won't be reading any more of this series. -
Another great book and apparently another new series.
Set after the battle of Waterloo we are introduced to the Skillen brothers, who are great rivals to the Bow Street runners, catching thieves and unmasking and solving a variety of mysterious plots.
I have loved some of the previous series such The Railway Detective and the Redmayne series look forward to reading this series too
