Leviathan

by Gordon John Thomson

An historical crime story full of mystery, murder, suspense and romance...This historical thriller begins in the autumn of 1857, as the East End of London is preparing for the launch of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s giant iron steamship, the Leviathan - at 32000 tons, the greatest ship the world has ever seen... In Newgate prison, an innocent surgeon, Dr Jonathan Silver, is waiting in the condemned cell to be hanged for the murder of his wife, Marianne. Fate intervenes in the unlikely shape of a nineteen-year old thief, Elisa Saltash, who, in trying to break her burglar father free from Newgate on the eve of his execution, ends up freeing Dr Silver instead. Silver and Elisa end up in the riverside world of Wapping, among the seething and dangerous world of the London docks. Silver has only one clue to the identity of his wife’s real killer - with her dying breath she had said to him the word “Leviathan”... This leads Silver to suspect a former suitor of his wife’s - a marine engineer called Daniel Strode who works at the Napier shipyard on the Isle of Dogs where Brunel’s Leviathan is being readied for launching. Silver gets a job as a carpenter at the yard, trying to find some real evidence against Daniel Strode. On Silver’s trail are a couple of formidable human Detective Sergeant Charlie Sparrow of the Shadwell and Wapping police; and an even more devious young turnkey from Newgate, James Minshall, who is determined to gain the reward on Silver’s head for himself. Elisa soon becomes as much a fugitive as Silver when she steals a priceless pearl necklace called the Tears of the Prophet and finds her own secret life as a thief about to be exposed. Then other young women begin to be murdered in Wapping, and the fogbound riverside streets and alleyways become a place of fear... As the net closes around Silver, he has to try and discover the real reason behind his wife’s death, while also being drawn unwillingly into the mystery over the deaths of these other murdered women. Silver finds himself in a race to discover the truth before he is himself recaptured. With the help of Elisa, and another equally mysterious young woman called Amy McLennan, the story reaches a climax on the day of the launch of Brunel’s Leviathan... Set against the romantic and thrilling backdrop of London of the 1850s - the bustling centre of the greatest empire in the world, with its music halls and brothels and bare knuckle fighting - this thriller is an historical crime story full of mystery, murder, suspense and romance...

Genres: Historical Fiction

318 pages, Paperback

First published January 14, 2014

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ordered this book in error (who would of thought so many books would be titled 'leviathan'... Yes lots) but thought I would give it a read.... It was ok, if a little predictable. The characters were a touch implausible, the history lesson given not as the story, but often as an unwanted intrusion into the story.

In hindsight I wished I'd been more careful to purchase the right book, instead of a wrong read.

[Andrew Fear · Rating 3 out of 5]

I confess I bought this book because it featured the Great Eastern. It does, but not that much in the end. The book is closely plotted and told from several different viewpoints. This was done, I thought, in an interesting and competent manner. The novel is well written and avoids modern solecisms, though didn't capture the speech patterns of the period. Maybe that wasn't the author's intentions and it doesn't detract from the book. I did, however, feel that the denouement when it came was a little disappointing and rather improbable. One of the main female protagonists is also a little fantastical and we seem to slip towards the world of steampunk. My main dislike was the growing romantic strand which towards the end was almost in the Mills and Boon league. That's the reason I won't be going back for more. However if you like romance with your detectives, I suspect you'll enjoy this and want more (I don't, I'm afraid....).

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Leviathan, the characters, main and secondary, are pretty solid, there is a lot of period detail, which I found easy to skip, although some might enjoy this level of description. The beginning is quite good, after which Leviathan starts to wander and takes far too long to get to the needlessly complex, very anti-climatic, ending. A decent, but not great, read.

[Janet Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you can make it through the grammatic errors, plot lapses, the immense amount of characters bumping into eachother, and the improbably situations the main character approaches, the story is all-encompasing of the human condition. What does a good man do, when he's wrongfully accused? Maybe he does all of this, with a circus of people, trapezing themselves through a never-ending plot. Maybe.

[John Garlington · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Worthy Read

This is an interesting and entertaining book, full of action and suspense. It also is built on a great deal of research which gives the story and the characters depth and authenticity. It is one of the best historical novels I have read.

[Hamish Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historical detail

The book is well written but rather mechanical and over articulated.. Historical detail is excellent and interesting,, but the plot a touch pedantic.

[AVid_D · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason this book did not work for me. It is full of historical detail, yet it never grabbed and I found my reading grinding to a halt, with a reluctance to pick up the book.

[R Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I was not absorbed.

But as I persevered I was rewarded by an involved and well constructed story which held my attention more the more I read a fantastic story.

[Tyke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched book

One those books that I could not put down. I shall certainly read more of the authors books and if they are good as this I shall be very happy. A 5 star read

[richard melican · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who dunnit

Great read I read in a couple of days could not put it down. It s a good yarn and keeps you guessing till the end.

[Richard Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy read

I took a liking to a new setting . A compelling and plausible story with solid characterisation provided great enjoyment

[Myke]

A good crime novel, nothing too challenging. Good to read over Christmas

[P D SPENCER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who done it

A great who done it with a lot of added twists .A good insight into life round london around the shipyards

[Carol Beckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Good story which keeps you guessing until the end. Well researched portrait of life in London in 1857 too. Recommended