Rating: 4/5
Review:
Generally enjoyable
I very much enjoyed Andrew Taylor's The Anatomy of Ghosts and was looking forward to this one. It is not as good, but is still an enjoyable read.
Set in New York in 1779-79 during the War of Independence, the plot concerns Edward Savill, an English civil servant sent from London to deal with claims by Loyalists who have lost property during the fighting. Narrated in the first person by Savill the story develops into a mystery and an adventure in which he and his acquaintances become embroiled and endangered. I won't give away any plot - I wouldn't have wanted to know more than that before I started - but it is a period mystery/thriller which began well, dragged somewhat and then picked up for the last two hundred pages or so.
Taylor creates a very good sense of place and of period. The privations of a freezing winter are especially well done and I thought this a real strength of the book. His prose is easy to read and preserves a good sense of the language of the time while not sticking rigidly to it: a difficult balance which he pulls off very well. The plot unfolds at a leisurely pace, and while this can be very effective, I did feel that there wasn't quite enough real content to carry the book for quite long periods in the central section and I thought it could do with being a good deal shorter.
Nevertheless, I think this is a generally involving and enjoyable book, and I recommend it, especially if you like historical fiction.
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