A breath-taking evocation of plague-ridden London of 1665. Thief taker Charlie Tuesday is a fascinating character as is Maria who pleads with him to investigate the gruesome murder of her sister. Charlie realises that the death is part of some horrific master plan to destroy London and sets out to solve the mystery before further deaths occur. But he himself becomes implicated and danger, chases and escapes follow at a wild pace while the plague spreads alarmingly quickly street by street and district by district. Charlie’s pursuit of the truth about the devilish murderer dressed as a plague doctor with beaked mask and heavy black cloak is shrouded by the fear of witchcraft, magic and the mystery of Charlie’s own dark past. His chase leads him into the heart of the dark underbelly of old London town, while he wears the talisman (or foreboding mark?) of the sealed knot around his neck.

The novel flowed and it was well written with a nicely worked narrative structure. Mystery, love story, history, horrors; it’s all there. I was captivated by this story. But sadly the ending seemed rushed and unsatisfactory with mysteries still remaining unresolved; what a pity. A sequel planned, perhaps?