Kill-Devil and Water (A Pyke Mystery) - Softcover

Pepper, Andrew

3.82

186 ratings by Goodreads

9780753825976: Kill-Devil and Water (A Pyke Mystery)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 075382597X ISBN 13: 9780753825976

Publisher: Phoenix, 2010

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In London of 1840, the economy is sliding into recession; gangs of unemployed workers roam the streets; and a murderer prowls the capital's poor neighborhoods. Pyke, still grieving over the death of his wife and struggling to shoulder his responsibilities as a father, is in debtors' prison, having lost his home and reached the edge of bankruptcy. Fitzroy Tilling, now head of the new Metropolitan Police Force gives Pyke his freedom, but in return he must agree to investigate the brutal death of a young biracial woman, who was apparently working as a prostitute. It is not long before another woman turns up dead, and Pyke begins to suspect that he has stumbled on something more sinister, and more far-reaching than the murder of a couple of prostitutes. Pyke's investigation takes him from the London docks to the sugar plantations of Jamaica, from a fading colonial mansion to the backstreets of the East End in a struggle against ambitious and ruthless enemies, as well as demons of his own.

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About the Author:

Andrew Pepper is the author of The Last Days at Newgate and The Revenge of Captain Paine.

From Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. Set in 1840, Pepper's outstanding third hard-boiled historical finds the series' unusual antihero, known simply as Pyke, still recovering from the loss of his wife, who perished five years earlier, in 2008's The Revenge of Captain Paine. Self-destructive acts have landed the former Bow Street Runner in debtors' prison, leaving him even more of a stranger to his 10-year-old son, Felix. When one of Pyke's few friends in a position of power secures his early release on condition he look into the savage murder of an unidentified young woman found in a seedy London neighborhood, Pyke welcomes the chance to redeem himself in Felix's eyes. No one is particularly interested in giving the mixed-race victim a name or bringing her killer to justice, but Pyke throws himself into the inquiry and follows the evidence all the way to Jamaica. As in the previous two books, there's plenty of violence, but it's never gratuitous and indeed helps make the protagonist more complex. (Jan.)
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