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Blood & Sugar

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Blood & Sugar

By: Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
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About this listen

Blood & Sugar is the thrilling debut historical crime story from Laura Shepherd-Robinson.

June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock – horribly tortured and branded with a slaver’s mark.

Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham – a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career – is visited by the sister of an old friend. Her brother, passionate abolitionist Tad Archer, had been about to expose a secret that he believed could cause irreparable damage to the British slaving industry. He’d said people were trying to kill him, and now he is missing . . .

To discover what happened to Tad, Harry is forced to pick up the threads of his friend’s investigation, delving into the heart of the conspiracy Tad had unearthed. His investigation will threaten his political prospects, his family’s happiness, and force a reckoning with his past, risking the revelation of secrets that have the power to destroy him.

And that is only if he can survive the mortal dangers awaiting him in Deptford . . .

(P)2019 Macmillan Digital Audio Crime Thrillers Historical Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Scary

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Critic reviews

Laura Shepherd-Robinson has written a story that is not only a page-turner of a thriller but, to an extent unusual in historical novels, where you feel you really are listening to a voice from the eighteenth century. This is a world conveyed with convincing, terrible clarity’ (C. J. Sansom)
A striking historical thriller . . . Few first novels are as accomplished as this (Andrew Taylor, author of The Ashes of London)
Epic, harrowing, thrilling, brutal, addictive. I read it flat out in one day (C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man)
Magnificent . . . A tense and gripping historical thriller that shines an unwavering light on a dark period in British history. Unmissable. (Antonia Hodgson, author of The Devil in the Marshalsea)
Phenomenal . . . A shoo-in for one of the books of the year (David Young, author of Stasi Child)
Extraordinary (Caz Frear, author of Sweet Little Lies)
Truly addictive (Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl)
With a hugely likeable hero at its heart, this rich and beautifully written debut marks out Laura Shepherd-Robinson as a major new talent (Fiona Cummins, author of Rattle)
A remarkably assured debut (Elizabeth Fremantle, author of The Queen's Gambit)
A page-turning dive into the torrid depths of London in the 1780s (Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker)
All stars
Most relevant
Had this book on my wish list for ages then I saw it in a sale BOGOF so nabbed it.

I have to say I’m a bit disappointed as I found it a bit overly long by about an hour and the mystery was solved easily... but ...

I did enjoy the history regarding the British slave trade plus the narration was excellent.

At the end we are given the historical facts around which the book was written and I enjoyed this the most.

Blood, sweat, toil, ...

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I'd read reviews of this book and keen to get my hands on it, bought it the day it came out.

and it has a lot going for it - the writing is solid and characters develop and unfold. The narration is good with distinct voices for all the cast (particularly some of the patois from jamaica and africa - though a little hard to follow when listening faster than 1 speed).

but there were two flaws in the book - it was rather long. So long that I became unglued from the plot and why things were happening and who to. The author realises this and has a lot of internal dialogue with the protagonist as he thinks through his options and what he thinks is going on - it becomes a little clunky as a device.

the second part is (possible spoiler, so you might want to stop reading here) that for the whole first half of the book it felt like a rehash of the Taboo TV series. Same themes, same setup - it veers off later, but it left me with the feeling of is this the book of the series? have I read this before. That when added to the feeling of 'this is going on for a long time' wasn't ideal.

is it well written? Yes. Will I read more by the author? Hmmm, possibly not. It does bring the docklands to life and it was lovely knowing a little of the geography and history of the area in more depth. Will it stay with me? I don't think so.

so it might well be for you. And it will definitely make a beautiful looking movie or series, I hope they option the rights and chop out a third of it - that'll make the whole thing sing and be visually gorgeous too.

Ok... but not quite as good as I'd hoped

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A well crafted book, beautifully narrated, recounting the inhumanity of the slave trade. The sheer brutality is astounding but not gratuitous as a complicated tale of greed and violence unfolds. The author’s skill and style of the book reveals the morays of the time, as a vicious crime is tortuously solved. The search for a killer reveals the systemic cruelty and poverty which slavery was built on, creating the enormous wealth of the powerful, and abject misery for the traded “slaves”. The beginning of the conditions and attitudes which gave rise to the eventual abolition of the slave trade emerge, but not before unimaginable suffering has taken place. I had chosen this book prior to the two weekends of the Black Lives matter protests across the UK, and am of the view it should be placed on the national curriculum, televised, and made into a widely available film. In the same way we must never forget the Holocaust, or any other genocides, this dark period of history should be known.

The inhumanity of the slave trade,

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This story was brilliant! Fantastic narrator and what a gripping storyline. Kept me at the edge of my seat all the way through. I loved Captain caution fantastic protagonist.

Fantastic!

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The full horror of 18th century slavery is set out in this compelling story. Excellent narrator who perfectly caught the voices of the characters. I would recommend this book which seemed to be excellently researched

Slavery laid bare

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