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A Pyke Mystery #2
The Revenge Of Captain Paine
It is 1835, and with the birth of the Industrial Revolution, railway fever sweeps the country. Pyke is uneasy with the luxury his aristocratic marriage has brought him, and when he is unofficially asked to investigate a decapitation, he can not resist the chance to resuscitate the old skills he learned on the streets.
But with the industrial world comes a new and faceless enemy: men who have money and power, and who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of both. For Pyke, with his young wife and child and an elevated place in society to protect, the stakes have suddenly become alarmingly high.
From the sweat shops of the east end to the palace of the Queen-in-waiting; from the elegant drawing rooms of the newly rich, to the blood-spattered backrooms of London's taverns, Pyke's investigation stirs up a hornets' nest of trouble. As the death toll rises, an alluring woman from his past returns, and Pyke must draw on all of his resources if he is to protect his family, and survive.
But with the industrial world comes a new and faceless enemy: men who have money and power, and who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of both. For Pyke, with his young wife and child and an elevated place in society to protect, the stakes have suddenly become alarmingly high.
From the sweat shops of the east end to the palace of the Queen-in-waiting; from the elegant drawing rooms of the newly rich, to the blood-spattered backrooms of London's taverns, Pyke's investigation stirs up a hornets' nest of trouble. As the death toll rises, an alluring woman from his past returns, and Pyke must draw on all of his resources if he is to protect his family, and survive.
548 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 2007
10 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Pepper
30 books28 followersAndrew Pepper lives in Belfast where he is a lecturer in English at Queen's University.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 23, 2021
Read this book in 2007, and its the 2nd volume of the delightful "Pyke" series.
This tale is set in the year AD 1835, in the pre-Victorian period, and this time Pyke will have to fight against men of money and power, a faceless enemy within the Industrial Revolution.
Pyke, now married with a woman with an aristocratic background and having a young child, is asked to investigate a decapitation in Cambridgeshire.
While Pyke's wife is making friends with the radicals, who are fighting the industrialists, Pyke himself is drawn into a case where more murders will occur and where money and power will close ranks, and in this circumstances Pyke must somehow entangle this web of deceit and death.
In his efforts to unravel this mystery, Pyke must do everything he can to protect his family and seem to survive in this world where money rules and anyone who stands in the way will be dealt with.
What is to follow is an intriguing and gripping murder mystery, in which Pyke has to deliver fast results and secure his domestic life in his dealings with the high and mighty, and in the end the perpetrator will be dealt with in Pyke's usual persuasive brutal fashion.
Very much recommended, for this is another very like able mystery set in near Victorian times, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Very Thrilling Pyke Sequel"!
This tale is set in the year AD 1835, in the pre-Victorian period, and this time Pyke will have to fight against men of money and power, a faceless enemy within the Industrial Revolution.
Pyke, now married with a woman with an aristocratic background and having a young child, is asked to investigate a decapitation in Cambridgeshire.
While Pyke's wife is making friends with the radicals, who are fighting the industrialists, Pyke himself is drawn into a case where more murders will occur and where money and power will close ranks, and in this circumstances Pyke must somehow entangle this web of deceit and death.
In his efforts to unravel this mystery, Pyke must do everything he can to protect his family and seem to survive in this world where money rules and anyone who stands in the way will be dealt with.
What is to follow is an intriguing and gripping murder mystery, in which Pyke has to deliver fast results and secure his domestic life in his dealings with the high and mighty, and in the end the perpetrator will be dealt with in Pyke's usual persuasive brutal fashion.
Very much recommended, for this is another very like able mystery set in near Victorian times, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Very Thrilling Pyke Sequel"!
August 7, 2025
The second of a series set in 1830’s England where the series got off to a slow start with the first book but picked up significantly for me to give the second in the series a go. (And I’m glad I showed patience)
The background at the start outlays the political landscape as well as the industrial revolution and all that that entailed in terms of unions, protests and unrest with a mention of the Tolpuddle martyrs which all kicked off only a stone’s throw from where I reside, who knew country folk could cause so much trouble :0
I like Pike, a rogue turned gentleman as he’s now established as a banker having moved on from his days as a bow street runner, he’s also married into money & has a young son….. I did say the story had moved on 5 years didn’t i? However, he may have moved on, but a name from the past plays a significant role in the story plus he uses his streetwise ways to make bigger profits in his banks, still a rogue at heart then! Just that he’s a capitalist rogue now…. Aren’t they all!
Industrial revolution, unions in their infancy, Railway networks being established, corruption that went with the aforementioned networks, labour inequality, banking machinations are all covered in the plotlines…. Along of course with the odd murder or FIVE…. That’s all by about pg 150!
Quite a tangled web is woven throughout the layers of subterfuge which will keep you wondering as to a) whose pulling the strings & b) for why… let alone c) who the hell is Captain Paine?
Yeah, that kept me guessing & at the reveal(s)…!!!!
A very lively addition to the series, where ive grown to like Pike as a character as well as the period we find ourselves in.
Five stars.
The background at the start outlays the political landscape as well as the industrial revolution and all that that entailed in terms of unions, protests and unrest with a mention of the Tolpuddle martyrs which all kicked off only a stone’s throw from where I reside, who knew country folk could cause so much trouble :0
I like Pike, a rogue turned gentleman as he’s now established as a banker having moved on from his days as a bow street runner, he’s also married into money & has a young son….. I did say the story had moved on 5 years didn’t i? However, he may have moved on, but a name from the past plays a significant role in the story plus he uses his streetwise ways to make bigger profits in his banks, still a rogue at heart then! Just that he’s a capitalist rogue now…. Aren’t they all!
Industrial revolution, unions in their infancy, Railway networks being established, corruption that went with the aforementioned networks, labour inequality, banking machinations are all covered in the plotlines…. Along of course with the odd murder or FIVE…. That’s all by about pg 150!
Quite a tangled web is woven throughout the layers of subterfuge which will keep you wondering as to a) whose pulling the strings & b) for why… let alone c) who the hell is Captain Paine?
Yeah, that kept me guessing & at the reveal(s)…!!!!
A very lively addition to the series, where ive grown to like Pike as a character as well as the period we find ourselves in.
Five stars.
October 3, 2021
A decent book worth one reading.
March 24, 2021
This book is really gruesome but it did leave me guessing until near the end and I enjoyed reading it. Some of the villains were a bit one dimensional but the central character was interesting and I found the whole story compelling. I will keep reading this series.
September 24, 2010
..A great read. I for one was left guessing as to who Captsin Paine was until it was obvious near the end. Highly recommended. Pepper is becoming one of my favourite authors.
September 3, 2025
Pyke is now married, with a five yrs old son Felix, his wife Emily was born into aristocracy and has wealth. Pyke is no longer a Bow Street Runner and has made investments of his own and now owns the biggest share in a bank. However, when a decapitated body is found, his old boss, Peel, who he never liked, asks him to make inquiries and from there a whole can of worms is opened.
He becomes involved with the railways that are being built and the radicals in the unions who are trying to disrupt and cause strikes and also members of government who are hoping just to feather their own nests, and even the police are not that interested. As the bodies mount up there are few that Pyke can turn to, to trust, and when his own family is threatened he has to use desperate measures of his own.
The story twists this way and that way and paints an ugly and dark impression of London in the days just before the beginning of Victorian England.
Andrew Pepper writes an intriguing tale which had me turning the pages quite quickly but I don't think that it was quite so good as the previous Pyke episode. 4/5
He becomes involved with the railways that are being built and the radicals in the unions who are trying to disrupt and cause strikes and also members of government who are hoping just to feather their own nests, and even the police are not that interested. As the bodies mount up there are few that Pyke can turn to, to trust, and when his own family is threatened he has to use desperate measures of his own.
The story twists this way and that way and paints an ugly and dark impression of London in the days just before the beginning of Victorian England.
Andrew Pepper writes an intriguing tale which had me turning the pages quite quickly but I don't think that it was quite so good as the previous Pyke episode. 4/5
April 26, 2023
Pyke has risen from the grimy streets as Bow Street Runner battering and sorting out undesirables to a respectable land owner and banker, but still it seems mixing with the wrong crowd. His reputation as a bullish investigator not scared of getting his hands dirty precedes him so it’s not surprising he gets drawn into more murky business around the capital.
The dirt, subterfuge and crime remains a solid constant so it’s not long before Pyke is back in his old stomping ground investigating, battering and doing what he feels is right. He is never far away from vigilantism but his skill is keeping ahead of the game, to fix the wrongs.
The dirt, subterfuge and crime remains a solid constant so it’s not long before Pyke is back in his old stomping ground investigating, battering and doing what he feels is right. He is never far away from vigilantism but his skill is keeping ahead of the game, to fix the wrongs.
January 25, 2018
An always engrossing story set in 1835, even if the “hero”, former Bow Street Runner, Pyke, is a cold-hearted killer. Set by Sir Robert Peel to investigate a headless body, events escalate as the new railways and potential profits become critical as does Princess Victoria and her right to the throne. Pyke’s invulnerability, lack of judgement and his ex-lover reappearing are over-the-top but the union rights championed by Captain Paine, the vivid descriptions of 1835 city life and the immediate pre-Victorian era compensate in a 3.5 read.
May 23, 2019
Wow. This was hard to read at times, fairly gruesome and certainly shocking. So many twists and turns and unexpected outcomes. This was really well written and engrossing. Hard to write a feeling about the book without spoiling it for others, but this did not end as one might hope. I guess, although I’m not a fan of soppy happy endings, this was unexpected and rather sad.
April 8, 2018
I saw it coming that which didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of the plot but is unusual for me because I often miss obvious things to be honest! Pyke is as unlikeable as ever but it makes for some interesting, if gruesome, plotlines!
January 28, 2022
Exceptional historical fiction, though you'd be better off reading its predecessor in the series, Last Days of Newgate, for context. Very engaging with a cast of interesting characters
October 21, 2019
A riproaring adventure set in 1830's England. I loved the setting, the sounds, the smells, the poverty and the wealth of time. While the author makes no pretence of veracity in the story line, it is set loosely in the time, with real characters and real events combined with totally fiction and wildly improbable action. Entertaining if somewhat over the top.
September 19, 2016
I have read one other book in this series on the recommendation of a colleague and it turned out to be number 3 in the series. On the strength of that I have, after some time, picked up this book. I'm not sure what to make of it. On one hand, the book is impeccably researched with a real sense of the times evoked without any heavy-handed didactic passages. There are also a couple of intriguing mysteries to be unravelled.
On the other, it is certainly not a happy book. Like fantasy, one of the pleasures of crime fiction is that the moral order of the universe in usually restored. In this book, the mysteries are solved and the guilty are found and punished, although nothing will bring back the dead. This is standard in crime fiction. It's the way in which it is done that leave me uneasy.
Pyke, the main character/solver of mysteries, is very complex; an anti-hero rather than a hero. He grew up in the gutters of London, worked as an early Bow Street runner and is now married to a minor aristocrat (more or less happily) and is the senior shareholder of a private bank. Luxury, wealth and respectability are now his. When given the chance to solve the mystery of a decapitated corpse and later, the death of a customer at the bank, his old instincts and habits are released. He will intimidate, hurt and even kill in order to get what he wants. So do many anti-heroes but we usually feel like we're on their side. I guess the real problem is that Pyke's a hard man to actually like. He has moments of kindness and love but these are mixed with moments of great cruelty and unnecessary unkindnesses. In the previous book of his that I'd read he was hard man but rogueishly more-or-less likeable. In this, he is not. It's worth reading to see how he goes for you.
On the other, it is certainly not a happy book. Like fantasy, one of the pleasures of crime fiction is that the moral order of the universe in usually restored. In this book, the mysteries are solved and the guilty are found and punished, although nothing will bring back the dead. This is standard in crime fiction. It's the way in which it is done that leave me uneasy.
Pyke, the main character/solver of mysteries, is very complex; an anti-hero rather than a hero. He grew up in the gutters of London, worked as an early Bow Street runner and is now married to a minor aristocrat (more or less happily) and is the senior shareholder of a private bank. Luxury, wealth and respectability are now his. When given the chance to solve the mystery of a decapitated corpse and later, the death of a customer at the bank, his old instincts and habits are released. He will intimidate, hurt and even kill in order to get what he wants. So do many anti-heroes but we usually feel like we're on their side. I guess the real problem is that Pyke's a hard man to actually like. He has moments of kindness and love but these are mixed with moments of great cruelty and unnecessary unkindnesses. In the previous book of his that I'd read he was hard man but rogueishly more-or-less likeable. In this, he is not. It's worth reading to see how he goes for you.
December 30, 2010
This is the sequel to the Last Days of Newgate. Pyke is living in the countryside with his wife Emily and son Felix but he is not happy with his new life. He soon finds himself caught up in another murder investigation using his previous experiences as a Bow Street runner when a headless corpse is found in Cambridgeshire. A woman from his past is also about to unsettle him in his new privileged life.
He is once again caught up in a web of intrigue as he must take on the new wealthy industrialists and questions the motives of Peel who has asked him to investigate the murder. He also finds out that his wife is involved in the radical politics of the railway labourers who are struggling against the railway owners. His as well as his family are in danger.
I enjoyed this book but found myself not entirely sympathetic with the main character but I guess that is the attraction of Pyke the anti-hero.
He is once again caught up in a web of intrigue as he must take on the new wealthy industrialists and questions the motives of Peel who has asked him to investigate the murder. He also finds out that his wife is involved in the radical politics of the railway labourers who are struggling against the railway owners. His as well as his family are in danger.
I enjoyed this book but found myself not entirely sympathetic with the main character but I guess that is the attraction of Pyke the anti-hero.
July 31, 2009
This is the second book of a series about Pyke, an ex-Bow Street Runner. The first dealt with his acquiring a wife and money. This one deals with his life as a banker and the early days of railroads in Great Briton. The book is gritty, fairly violent, and way too long.
We have a threat to Princess Victoria (this is two years before she comes to the throne) by her mother's secretary and the Duke of Cumberland. We have a threat to public safety with the rise of unions, and we have a threat to personal safety of Pyke's wife and son.
I generally enjoy historical mysteries, but this one was not my cup of tea. It took a while to get to the mystery, and then it unwound so very quickly in the last few pages.
We have a threat to Princess Victoria (this is two years before she comes to the throne) by her mother's secretary and the Duke of Cumberland. We have a threat to public safety with the rise of unions, and we have a threat to personal safety of Pyke's wife and son.
I generally enjoy historical mysteries, but this one was not my cup of tea. It took a while to get to the mystery, and then it unwound so very quickly in the last few pages.
May 8, 2013
Oh I love this author's works. Book 2 is just as good Book 1 and I can't wait to get a chance to read Book 3. Great scenery setting, the poverty, the dirtiness, the unhappiness, the weather and muddy roads - Andrew P just knows how to involve the reader and I really felt the atmosphere of his settings. A bit of dirty politics going on but not too imposing. Main character is a real tough guy with a mean streak but clearly the tough life has made him what he is. Some great twists to this plot. One thing that really strikes me about this era - could they really get away with murder so easily? If so then it proves the uncaring attitude towards the poor which this book captures.
July 13, 2013
The second book in the Pyke mystery series is an absolutely great read and while other people complain it is too long with more than 500 pages, I find the content fit to the length.
This book is much more then a pure murder mystery. It is a great mix of murder mystery, Pyke's biography, historical and altenate history events, introduction into economy and a secret ode to London.
I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
This book is much more then a pure murder mystery. It is a great mix of murder mystery, Pyke's biography, historical and altenate history events, introduction into economy and a secret ode to London.
I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
April 14, 2011
I was disappointed with this novel as I found it much too long and it seemed to take me forever to read. The protagonist is very violent which seemed to contradict his present position in society. Yes, he is a former Bow Street Runner but when you are dealing with bankers and the prime minister, I think one should attempt to handle situations without brute force. Can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!
August 14, 2020
A fast paced thriller set in Industrial pre Victorian London, set against the coming onslaught of the future, in the backdrop like the threat and throttle of the railways. The novel lays bare and explores the heavy industrial underside of progress, of Bankers, bow street runners, and the crude moralities of 19th century London Town
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August 13, 2016The second Pyke Mystery in which Pyke is still a bit too spiteful and horrid to be a likeable anti-hero. Very unexpected ending though, definitely worth reading but if you want this type of book but with a more Sharpe-esque heroic quality then check out…
September 15, 2013
Really enjoyed this book, possibly even more than the first one in the series, The Last days of Newgate. The plot developed well building to a great conclusion. The description of London in the 1830's was very evocative.
December 25, 2008
An enjoyable read even if it was easy to identify who 'Captain Paine' was from the start
March 10, 2011
Pyke, definately someone you'd want to get on the wrong side of.
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September 19, 2012CAPTAIN PAINE
June 9, 2013
Better even than the first instalment
July 3, 2016
Enjoyed this . Was quite blood thirsty , but I expected that.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews