The Peccavi Plot

by Frank Hurst

When Marylebone hansom cab driver, Henry Gough is forced to cross the line of Victorian respectability in order to feed his family, he is drawn towards city districts awash with vice and crime. Stumbling onto a clandestine plot that will imperil his country, he turns informer and embarks on a dramatic adventure beset with danger. Frank Hurst transports us effortlessly, and in some style, from the dimly-lit streets of nineteenth century East London to the grand estates of Tsarist Russia where foreign forces seek to challenge British imperial ambitions in the Orient. Brimming with political intrigue, riddles, romance, violence and deception, this is an epic story with more than a grain of truth at its core...

419 pages, Paperback

Published September 22, 2021

Reviews

[Courtney Pityer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a interesting Victorian era mystery novel. Although it was different from what I was used to reading it was still very good. Frank Hurst sure knows how to weavs a story and I will be looking into some his other books.
I received an arc copy from Netgalley and all opinions are of my own.

[Clive Woodward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having previously read the Golden Triangle trilogy by Frank Hurst with thorough enjoyment I was intrigued by his recent novel The Peccavi Plot set in Victorian London which is a whole world away from the steamy jungles of south east Asia which formed the backdrop to the trilogy.

Hurst captures the essence of Victorian London brilliantly with the central character Henry Gough getting involved in various scrapes and subterfuge leading to his involvement in attempting to disrupt a plot of such ambitious proportions.

All the characters in this novel are entirely believable and Hurst's attention to historical detail is to be applauded. You can almost smell the fog in the air as you travel in a hansom cab along the gas lit cobbled streets of the crime ridden east London docklands.

Altogether a most satisfactory read with plot twists and red herrings which is good for any novel worthy of a top rating. I wonder what subject Hurst latches on to next? He can do far worse than have a sequel to The Peccavi Plot in my opinion.

[Simon Landy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent, immensely satisfying novel with a driving plot and great characters set in Victorian England. Great attention to historic detail gives the intricate plot a firm grounding and that essential aura of authenticity. The surprise revelation at the end brilliantly simultaneously deepens this authenticity by highlighting the artifice. A great read.

[Misty Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank is a master storyteller and this is a good, traditional adventure-thriller, so I won't nit-pick about a few historical (or equine!) anachronisms. This is well worth the read if you enjoy Victorian-set novels