Resurrectionist by James McGee (My Goodreads Review)

Resurrectionist by James McGee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the first Matthew Hawkwood story. Therefore, I decided to give the second Hawkwood a go too. I've managed to read it in two days. The plot is fast paced and there are some rather gruesome and nasty characters in this story. Our hero is Matthew Hawkwood. He is an ex-Green Jacket from the Napoleonic wars in Spain and Portugal. I think the year is about 1813. Hawkwood is now a Bow Street Runner in London. His new found employment is that of the early police militia. This Gothic Tale of grave robbing and wanted murderers borders on horror as well as historical crime.

The Napoleonic wars are still in progress and Hawkwwod has been invalided out of the army around 1808 or 1809, I think. He works for the magistrate who sends him out on an investigative role. This diabolical plot is very intriguing as Hawkwood is hunting grave robbers and a mad doctor who is conducting diabolical experiments. I can't say too much as to how this doctor comes about in, crime invested, London. It would spoil the story. Needless to say, I would recommend this historical/crime/horror tale to any reader of fiction. Great fun, great entertainment even though it is rather grizzly in parts.

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Story of a Bow Street Runner has Growing Fans

Unusual story of a Bow Street Runner in 1810. He is a discharched Green jacket from Britain's famous rifle regiment of the Peninsular War. An ex-officer. He now works in London as one of the new types of policeman and is charged with solving a highway robberry in which a government official is murdered and robbed of valuble information concerning national security. 

Our Bow Street Runner (Matthew Hawkwood) is taken into a world of espionage with French secret agents and a villinous American who is making a submarine. The story is a good page turnner that is obviously a little far fetched, but hey! We all like a bit of escapism - don't we? Well this tale had it all and I really enjoyed it. There are more stories to come about Mattew Hawkwood. I shall give them a go too.

Ratecatcher - A story of a Bow Street Runner by James McGee

I really enjoyed this tale and bought it as a collection of the three first stories of Hawkwood. The reader is introduced to the plot and character gradually via the run down slums and hardships of low life city of London classes. We see our Bow street runner walking amid this twisted world. However, in high office, upper crust people, of the ruling establishment, feed the reader insight to our rudely drawn hero, during private idol gossip or accountability appraisals. The plot of the story moves along nicely too, with good developing intrigue that held my attention. I'm assuming the period is around 1810 to 1820. The Napoleonic war is still going or just over. So we are in this time frame.

Its all put together wonderfully well with atmospheric descriptions of the run down city streets. These very streets, that are today; parts of the affluent West End. Its a bit like imagining Canary Wharf of Docklands before it was converted to a more affluent status.

The upper class gossip concerning the history of our 'frayed around the edges' Bow Street Runner comes in drips of dialogue and helps to form a gradual, more in depth picture, of our hard, modest, pony-tailed hero. All this high profile gossip and chatter is an added sideshow that is clever decoration for the first adventure of Matthew Hawkwood.

Ratcatcher is a terrific read and I look forward to reading other novels in this series. I would not be too surprised if we get a future TV series from this.