You don’t send a gentleman to catch vermin

You send Hawkwood.

Ratcatcher by James McGee is one for my Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2014.

From the cover:

Hunting down highwaymen was not the usual preserve of a Bow Street Runner.  As the most resourceful of this elite band of investigators, Matthew Hawkwood was surprised to be assigned the case – even if it did involve the murder and mutilation of a naval courier.

Soon Hawkwood finds himself pursuing a trail that leads him from the squalor of St Giles Rookery, London’s notorious den of thieves and cutthroats, to the brightly lit salons of the aristocracy and the heart of the British government.  But it is only with the discovery of a corpse on the banks of the Thames that the true agenda behind the robbery begins to emerge and a dark conspiracy is revealed.  Napoleon’s agents are preparing to launch and assassination attempt – and only Hawkwood can stop them.

This was a story that moved along at a rollicking pace.  There were duels and daring robberies, slum living, aristocratic living, sex, secrecy and a very likeable main character. I absolutely loved this book.   I learnt a great deal about the Bow Street Runners and the British Navy during the time of Napoleon.

A great read.