Seven for a
Secret is a crime novel which succeeds both as a follow up to last year’s Gods
of Gotham and as a mystery in its own right. We are back with the fledgling
NYPD in 1846 and Copper Star Timothy Wilde has a new case to solve as a young
woman rushes into the police headquarters reporting her family has been stolen.
Soon Wilde is on the trail of a gang of blackbirders; legal slave catchers who
Mrs Lucy Adams claims have illegally taken her sister and son. With the help of
the Vigilance Committee and his brother Captain Valentine Wilde, Timothy
discovers a web of corruption that leads to his old adversary Silkie Marsh and
to the heart of The Democratic Party. Lyndsay Faye has painstakingly recreated
19th Century New York with meticulous research, rich contemporary
language and fantastic characterisation. From the wealthy and well-dressed
politicians to the starving orphans, from the drunks to the dandies, this book
is peopled with a fascinating cast of characters. The Wilde brothers are by
turns comic and tragic and despite their faults utterly likeable. Don’t start
this book at bed time as you are likely to lose sleep as I did, desperate to
know what happened next and what scrape the Wilde’s will find themselves in.
Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes and anyone that loves a wild thrill ride of
a tale.
Available now in hardback, trade paperback and e-book from Headline Review.
This review originally appeared on welovethisbook.com
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