The Gods of Gotham

Description

August 1845 in New York; enter the dark, unforgiving city underworld of the legendary Five Points... After a fire decimates a swathe of lower Manhattan, and following years of passionate political dispute, New York City at long last forms an official Police Department. That same summer, the great potato famine hits Ireland. These events will change the city of New York for ever. Timothy Wilde hadn't wanted to be a copper star. On the night of August 21st, on his way home from the Tombs defeated and disgusted, he is plotting his resignation, when a young girl who has escaped from a nearby brothel, crashes into him; she wears only a nightdress and is covered from head to toe in blood. Searching out the truth in the child's wild stories, Timothy soon finds himself on the trail of a brutal killer, seemingly hell bent on fanning the flames of anti-Irish immigrant sentiment and threatening chaos in a city already in the midst of social upheaval. But his fight for justice could cost him the woman he loves, his brother and ultimately his life...

Lyndsay Faye is the author of Dust and Shadow: an Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson, praised by the Conan Doyle Estate for its enthusiastic knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes canon and its rigorous attention to the grim details of the Jack the Ripper murders. Her short story 'Colonel Warburton's Madness' was selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery Stories 2010, co-edited by Otto Penzler and Lee Child. She resides in Manhattan with her husband.

A wonderful book. Lyndsay Faye's command of historical detail is remarkable and her knowledge of human character even more so. I bought into this world and never once had the desire to leave - Michael Connelly Executed with brio and packed with pungent historical detail...this is a cracking yarn - Daily Mail The Gods of Gotham succeeds on many levels: as a colourful, crackling evocation of an underworld packed with desperados; as an unflinching glance into the history of some of New York's shadiest and most shameful corners; and as a cleverly crafted crime story with a central character who deserves a new case, and another book - Metro The dangerous underworld of New York in the mid-nineteenth century... wonderfully vivid and vigorous - The Sunday Times This is special...The historical detail is impressive in a character-driven tale spotted with an underground language called Flash, which is fascinating. Stunning... highly recommended - Sarah Broadhurst, 'Ones to Watch' Paperback Preview, Bookseller The slums of 19th-century New York... [a] rollicking historical novel...with vibrant characters - New York Times A wonderful book. Lyndsay Faye's command of historical detail is remarkable and her knowledge of human character even more so. I bought into this world and never once had the desire to leave - Michael Connelly Executed with brio and packed with pungent historical detail...this is a cracking yarn - Daily Mail