Fire Catcher
This story takes place in London of 1666, where city blocks and non-believers were burned in cleansing fire. The streets are dangerous for the ‘thief taker’ named Charlie Tuesday, searching London for the man who murdered his mother when he was a boy. Now a man, Charlie has worn a mysteriously-shaped key all his life, given to him by his mother as she hid him away from the horrors to come. He sets about trying to find the now powerful and dangerous Master Blackstone, leader of the Brotherhood of the Sealed Knot, and his mysterious box that holds important papers. Tuesday teams up with a streetwise card shark, Lily Boswell, who may be able to help Charlie on his mission, as she is knowledgeable about the secret society. London is on fire and it is believed that arsonists are at work: it has now become a race against time and the elements. If they find the box that contains secrets that could topple his powerful hold on all of those that he controls, then the thief taker could bring Blackwell to justice. There are dangers around every street in London for Lily and Charlie.
The reader is transported back into time in this hard-edged book that takes a look at the underworld and the cults of the period. Setting this adventure against the backdrop of the famous fire that destroyed much of London, and combining it with a secret society of the day, provides another element of mystery and danger. Recruiting young, hungry children into the society and the evil, bloody initiations and punishments to instill fear of Master Blackstone are very realistic touches. The book is well written, and I would recommend it to readers of historical mystery, though it’s not for the squeamish.
