Short Synopsis
Antonia Hodgson's debut novel features a clergyman's wayward son, an infamous debtors' prison, and a murderer on the loose.

Full Synopsis
It's 1727. Tom Hawkins is damned if he's going to follow in his father's footsteps and become a country parson. Not for him a quiet life of prayer and propriety. His preference is for wine, women, and cards. But there's a sense of honor there too, and Tom won't pull family strings to get himself out of debt—not even when faced with the appalling horrors of London's notorious debtors' prison: The Marshalsea Gaol.

Within moments of his arrival in the Marshalsea, Hawkins learns there's a murderer on the loose, a ghost is haunting the gaol, and that he'll have to scrounge up the money to pay for his food, bed, and drink. He's quick to accept an offer of free room and board from the mysterious Samuel Fleet—only to find out just hours later that it was Fleet's last roommate who turned up dead. Tom's choice is clear: get to the truth of the murder—or be the next to die.

"Reader John Lee does an excellent job telling the story and bringing its many characters to life." ---Library Journal Starred Audio Review

"Lee's upper-class London accent fits Hawkins's narration well, catching his air of roguish charm---the aural equivalent of a jaunty swagger." ---Publishers Weekly Audio Review

"[Hodson] conjures up scenes of Dickensian squalor and marries them to a crackerjack plot, in her impressive first novel. . . . Hodgson makes the stench, as well as the despair, almost palpable." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Satisfyingly twisty debut thriller . . . so well detailed that one can almost smell the corruption, and the irrepressibly roguish Tom makes a winning hero." ---Booklist

"The audiobook version of this novel transports you back in time to 18th century London." ---Mixed Media Reviews

"Narrator John Lee brings the characters to life, differentiating their voices and imbuing them with vivid personalities. . . . Between Hodgson's plotting and Lee's narration, this is an exciting and atmospheric listening experience." ---AudioFile

Library Journal Audio Review

Publishers Weekly Review

Publishers Weekly Bestseller