Welcome to Litsy!

A remarkable number of #singleladies in this one. Granted, many of them are widows and therefore more-or-less respectable human beings in spite of their single status (it is 1797 after all), but still, independent women doing what independent women do - writing novels, running banks, driving carriages at breakneck speeds, sorting out problems, investigating the opium trade, being Eliza...

#aprella @Cinfhen @Mdargusch @emilyhaldi @Reviewsbylola

I expected fluff and nonsense. What I actually got was a complicated international crime, characters working to their own moral codes, a lot of heart and some genuinely sweet moments (though none of that romance stuff!), deceptively strong female characters... and smugglers, crime-solving vicars, marshlands, pistols and sea-chases. A surprisingly strong pick!

I received a free copy of this as an ARC via #readersfirst

Reverend Hardcastle is drawn into the dark world of smuggling when a friend is mudered. When a second person is also killed it becomes clear they will stop at nothing to survive.

This is not my usual sort of book but the first look was so interesting I decided to give it a try. It was a really good read. The plot is well constructed and flies easily. It's not an action packed read until the end but it fits with the tone of the book.

Amelia Chaytor and Bessie-from-the-pub are off to meet an unknown someone at an abandoned church on the Marsh. At night. Do you want to guess how that plays out?

Because I did - and I was WRONG! 250 pages in, and this book is still surprising me.

I'm having fun with this ARC of smuggling and murder on the Romney marsh. My banking history is coming along in leaps and bounds, as the introduction of paper money has something to do with the plot! And I had to look up Chartreuse to find out what colour the rector's sister wanted to paint the hall. It's been a highly educational morning!