The political tinderbox of 1780’s London provides the perfect backdrop for a tightly plotted and impeccably researched thriller from Laura Shepherd-Robinson, in which an aspiring politician and former soldier sets out on the trail of a murderer and finds much more than he bargained for.
Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2020
Waterstones Thriller of the Month for January 2020
June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock - horribly tortured and branded with a slaver's mark.
Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham - a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career - is visited by the sister of an old friend. Her brother, 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 ...
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781509880799
Number of pages: 464
Weight: 314 g
Dimensions: 196 x 132 x 33 mm
Laura 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 Madrid
A 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 London
Epic, harrowing, thrilling, brutal, addictive. I read it flat out in one day - C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man
Enthralling - 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 Marshalsea
Phenomenal . . . A shoo-in for one of the books of the year - David Young, author of Stasi Child
A searing, ingeniously constructed story - The Times
Extraordinary - Caz Frear, author of Sweet Little Lies
Truly addictive - Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl
A 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 Rattle
The finest Georgian intrigue - The Times Crime Club
A remarkably assured debut - Elizabeth Fremantle, author of The Queen's Gambit
A page-turning dive into the torrid depths of London in the 1780s - Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker
Gripping and original . . . I absolutely loved it - Karen Hamilton, author of The Perfect Girlfriend
Immersive and exhilarating . . . I was completely swept away - Holly Seddon, author of Love Will Tear Us Apart
Extraordinary, immersive, addictive and moving - Olivia Kiernan, author of Too Close to Breath
I can’t recommend it enough - Jo Jakeman, author of Sticks and Stones
Utterly 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 Request
One of the best historical novels I’ve read in ages. - Kaite Welsh, author of The Wages of Sin
Deptford, 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 Right
One 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
Set in 1781, 'Blood & Sugar' follows Captain Harry Corsham as he investigates the murder of an old friend. His inquiries lead him into some of the darkest secrets of the slave trade. As he begins to... More
Laura Shepard-Robinson has created a crime thriller like I've never read before. The book begins with the twisted murder of a lawyer, branded and hanged at Deptford docks. Captain Corsham, veteran of many... More
This is one impressive novel. Impressive for the writing, the subject, the level of detail and research and the overall reading experience. This novel is on another level. The best way I can describe this is similar... More
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