this is a very good read. Perhaps a little too modern for some tastes, bearing in mind the regency period (think hollywood crime blockbuster without the cars), it's still a ripping good yarn - plenty of lowlives, pickpockets, bare knuckled fighting, submarines, spies, those damn Frenchies!

A good Victorian mystery with plenty of ambiance and a main character that was easy for me to root for. There is a pretty explicit sex scene, but does turn out to be 'necessary' to the plot line later on. You can still skip the scene if you'd rather, just knowing that it happens will be enough. It can be bloody, and the author is not squeamish about the seedier aspects of life in Victorian London. This is not a 'feel good' romp through an imaginary Victorian London where everything comes up roses. This is a determined walk towards the elusive truth through a more realistic Victorian London, complete with economic and social disparity, appalling poverty and antipathy towards the poor, and of course standard greed and complicit cooperation between the 'law' and those criminals well off enough to buy themselves out of trouble. ( )

The ratcatcher is after the unlawful fraternity of London and not rats. The hero Hawkwood is a Bow Street Runner with a military background similar to that of Sharpe if you know the books and series. In this book, he is involved in resolving how a naval ship suddenly blows up and sinks, which then leads him into a den of espionage and treason. This is all set during the Napoleonic war but entirely in and around London. This was a rollicking good read - and I devoured it in one sitting on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon. ( )

Well I finished Ratcatcher and I really wanted to like this book but it got to be more and more unbelievable as the story progressed.

The author refers to several events as "miracles" which got to be annoying after a while, with Hawkwood getting himself in impossible situations and being saved by a miracle. He should have been dead several times were it not for such miracles.

As a mystery it started out reasonably for the first 100 pages but it seemed all his clues seemed to come from bad guys about to kill him and telling him stuff about their actions. As a historical fiction, it lacked the descriptive feel of the various locations. He was kind of a minimalist, as he would describe the scene in short choppy sentences but you never really feel you are part of the scene.

Many names of historical significance are tossed about but they were not developed and not overly involved in the story other than to be there... sort of historical name dropping IMO.

I will not be reading the next in the series. ( )

I may have been generous with my rating, but as I had just finished another historical mystery that was such slogging I was ready to enjoy a light, historical thriller. I've finally decided what my definition of a 'thriller' is... a book (or movie) in which you must suspend a great deal of belief because in real life the hero would have died three or four times. Hawkwood is saved at the last minute more than once, by himself or someone else, and of course he saves England as well. It wasn't the best, but certainly not the worst. ( )