From its first compelling pages, Foul Trade draws the reader in to the cut and thrust of life in London’s East End in the 1920s through the eyes of its central character, officer to the Poplar Coroner’s Court. An unlikely job for a woman, and May Keaps is no ordinary woman.
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BK Duncan has created a novel of complex characters, full of the sights, sounds and smells of docklands. It’s an absorbing read with plenty of surprises and leaves the reader looking forward to the next in the series.
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An interesting and unusual slant to a murder mystery investigation. A likeable “heroine” and a story with so many threads. This book was difficult to put down and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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This is a fantastic, well written book and keeps you hooked from beginning to end. May is an extremely likeable character and will stop at nothing in order to see the truth brought to light. If you haven’t read the THE LAST POST, the novella that introduces us to this young woman, then I suggest you do so as it is equally as brilliant.
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At last a crime novel that doesn’t have a depressed, middle-aged, male alcoholic as its central character. May Keaps is well able to look after herself in 1920s East End docklands. BK Duncan transports us back to a time when life was cheap. The sights, sounds, and even smells of the age are made vivid by the author, as are the characters. Great read, let’s have some more.
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Fantastic story! Well written, great plot and characters. Very atmospheric. I highly recommend this book.
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Foul Trade started as a fascinating book about the proceedings of coroner’s court in 1920’s England before morphing casually into a plot so intriguing that one one point I missed my underground stop! The story is well written and dynamic with a rich ensemble cast of characters supporting our protagonist, May Keaps, as she explores the seedy underbelly of post-war Poplar.
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I enjoyed this book immensely. A new angle on crime detection in the occupation of the main character i.e. 22 year old May Keaps, the Poplar Coroner’s Officer. For those who adore the sights and sounds of old London, the backdrop reeks with authenticity. May, with her strong sense of injustice, her quick wits and her own vulnerability is an endearing and remarkable character.
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As I read I was transported into the 1920’s, the smell of the docks, of death and poverty stricken lives. May Keaps, who has suffered so much tragedy in her young life, finds herself in a man’s world and through grit and determination becomes a very efficient Coroner’s Officer. I was compelled to turn the pages as the mystery unravelled. I can’t wait to follow May into the next novel, and will she or won’t she have a liaison with Jack? We shall have to wait and see.
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I was enthralled by the adventures and mishaps of May Keaps, Coroner’s Officer for Poplar, and I fell in love with both the heroine and the full cast of her friends and associates. Theses engaging and interesting characters leapt off the page, through BK’s vivid descriptions and action-filled plot, as did their enemies and the treacherous situations that they encountered. It was thrilling stuff!
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Detailed research expertly brings the historical setting to life as May is drawn towards the criminal underworld placing her, and all those she cares for, in great danger.
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