Black Drop (Ebook)
the Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of the Month
Buy from
An atmospheric and brilliantly plotted historical thriller set in 1790s London
* A TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR *
* SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE MONTH *
* LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA DEBUT CROWN *
'One of the best debuts of the year' - THE TIMES
'As nimbly realised as by the genre's master, Andrew Taylor' - FINANCIAL TIMES
'Black Drop is a joy from start to finish' - ANDREW TAYLOR
This is the confession of Laurence Jago. Clerk. Gentleman. Spy.
July 1794, and London is filled with rumours of revolution. The war against the French is not going in Britain's favour, and negotiations with America are on a knife edge.
Laurence Jago, Foreign Office clerk, is ever more reliant on opium - the Black Drop - to ease his nightmares. A highly sensitive letter, whose contents could lead to the destruction of the British Army, has been leaked to the press and Laurence is a suspect. Then he discovers the body of a fellow clerk - a supposed suicide - and it seems clear where the blame truly lies.
But Laurence is certain both of his friend's innocence, and that he was murdered. But after years of hiding his own secrets from his powerful employers, can Laurence find the true culprit without ending up on the gallows himself?
A thrilling historical mystery, perfect for readers of C.J. Sansom, Andrew Taylor, Antonia Hodgson and Laura Shepherd-Robinson.
'This opium-fuelled gem is a murderous romp' - JANICE HALLETT
'A thrilling slice of pitch-dark historical fiction' - EMMA STONEX
'A gripping, intricate story of Georgian high politics' - W.C. RYAN
Black Drop (Paperback)
the Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of the Month
Buy from
An atmospheric and brilliantly plotted historical thriller set in 1790s London
* A TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR *
* SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE MONTH *
* LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA DEBUT CROWN *
'One of the best debuts of the year' - THE TIMES
'As nimbly realised as by the genre's master, Andrew Taylor' - FINANCIAL TIMES
'Black Drop is a joy from start to finish' - ANDREW TAYLOR
This is the confession of Laurence Jago. Clerk. Gentleman. Spy.
July 1794, and London is filled with rumours of revolution. The war against the French is not going in Britain's favour, and negotiations with America are on a knife edge.
Laurence Jago, Foreign Office clerk, is ever more reliant on opium - the Black Drop - to ease his nightmares. A highly sensitive letter, whose contents could lead to the destruction of the British Army, has been leaked to the press and Laurence is a suspect. Then he discovers the body of a fellow clerk - a supposed suicide - and it seems clear where the blame truly lies.
But Laurence is certain both of his friend's innocence, and that he was murdered. But after years of hiding his own secrets from his powerful employers, can Laurence find the true culprit without ending up on the gallows himself?
A thrilling historical mystery, perfect for readers of C.J. Sansom, Andrew Taylor, Antonia Hodgson and Laura Shepherd-Robinson.
'This opium-fuelled gem is a murderous romp' - JANICE HALLETT
'A thrilling slice of pitch-dark historical fiction' - EMMA STONEX
'A gripping, intricate story of Georgian high politics' - W.C. RYAN
Leonora Nattrass
Leonora Nattrass studied eighteenth-century literature and politics, and spent ten years lecturing in English and publishing works on William Cobbett. She lives in Cornwall, in a seventeenth-century house with seventeenth-century draughts, and spins the fleeces of her Ryeland sheep into yarn. Her first novel, Black Drop, was published in 2021, and was a Times Book of the Year. Her second, Blue Water, was published in 2022 and was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger Award. Her third novel, Scarlet Town, was also shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger Award. Her fourth novel, standalone historical mystery The Bells of Westminster, will be published by Viper in 2024.
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Blue Water
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