Book Review: Ratcatcher

By Angela Youngman Apr 6, 2006, 9:10 GMT

Entertaining, lively and full of historical atmosphere is perhaps the best summing up of this book by James McGee. Set in Napoleonic times, it focuses on the activities of the legendary Bow St Runners. Matthew Hawkwood is assigned the task of hunting down a highwayman who has killed a naval courier.

The trail leads through the squalor of St Giles Rookery, full of cutthroats who do not welcome the arrival of a Runner on their doorstep. Then bodies of other Runners start to emerge from the depths of the river Thames and in lonely places. Temporarily diverted by a flirtatious lady; Hawkwood finds himself in danger. The terrors of early submarine life, plus an attempted assassination of the Prince Regent combine to make absorbing reading. The climax is definitely unusual and inventive.  It keeps you guessing all the way through as to the true identities of the villains.

Well worth reading as a light, enjoyable story. This is said to be the first in a series of books featuring Hawkwood and I look forward to reading more of his adventures in the future. An interesting character, he is ex Army with a reputation as a crack shot. Willing to go out on a limb, he is not afraid to use his initiative or to counter the wishes of his employers if he feels it is necessary.