Gallows Thief - Bernard Cornwell

I tend to stay clear of books that are written by well-known contemporary authors, unless they are crime fiction or have received interesting reviews, because I tend to find them hyped up and often a disappointment. For many years now, I have passed by Bernard Cornwell’s books and apart from the odd Sharpe that I have caught on television, I know very little about his work. I was attracted to this particular book though by another member’s review. I research criminal justice policy, and although I tend to concentrate on what is going on today, I am interested in the way that it has evolved. Different to his usual books about war, this is based around the premise of ...  Read the complete review

England 1817. and an effete young artist is accused of the rape and murder of the wayward wife of a powerful man - the only possible sentence in these times is the gallows; but his mother has influence and secures an appeal, so as a palliative, Captain Sandman is hired to 'investigate' - i.e. confirm the Court's decision. Unfortunately, Sandman is a man of principle, and he smells a rat - so when the apparently open-and-shut case proves to be more than it appears, he only has 6 more days to snatch the artist from the hangman. However, he is less than qualified to achieve this goal, his only assets being his breeding, an explosive temper and a sense of justice. ...  Read the complete review

Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~ With authors as prolific a Bernard Cornwell who have well-established characters and an established following, we occasionally see a digression from the norm and a venture into something unfamiliar and new. This is the case with Gallows Thief, in which we see Cornwell abandon Sharpe et al and their military backdrop for something a bit different. Gallows Thief is in essence a mystery/detective novel at heart although by setting the book in the period just after the end of the Napoleonic Wars he has allowed himself scope to utilise his core skills of writing historical fiction. (Perhaps a wise move given his past ventures into mystery ...  Read the complete review