Daughters of Night
by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
From the brothels and gin-shops of Covent Garden to the elegant townhouses of Mayfair, Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s DAUGHTERS OF NIGHT follows Caroline Corsham, as she seeks justice for a murdered woman whom London society would rather forget. . .
London, 1782. Desperate for her politician husband to return home from France, Caroline ‘Caro’ Corsham is already in a state of anxiety when she finds a well-dressed woman mortally wounded in the bowers of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The Bow Street constables are swift to act, until they discover that the deceased woman was a highly-paid prostitute, at which point they cease to care entirely. But Caro has motives of her own for wanting to see justice done, and so sets out to solve the crime herself. Enlisting the help of thieftaker, Peregrine Child, their inquiry delves into the hidden corners of Georgian society, a world of artifice, deception and secret lives.
But with many gentlemen refusing to speak about their dealings with the dead woman, and Caro’s own reputation under threat, finding the killer will be harder, and more treacherous than she can know. . .
"A gripping page turner that had me immediately invested in every rounded character, this was a perfect blend of rollicking good read and insightful commentary on on both the past and present. In Caro Corsham, Laura Shepherd-Robinson has created a heroine who is hugely believable and hugely engaging. 5 shining stars from me.” - Gytha Lodge
"A historical murder-mystery masterpiece". - Marnie Riches
"This book blew me way. Pitch-perfect within the 18th Century world and wholly immersive, it is an exquisite mystery, an exceptional voyage through danger and an extraordinary novel." - Rachel Edwards
"This is right up with the best of C. J. Sansom and Andrew Taylor . . . A real treat, for readers of literary, detective and historical fiction" - Amanda Craig
"Here’s one where the pages turn all by themselves and the plot doesn’t let you go" - Diane Setterfield
"Shepherd-Robinson’s ingenious plotting, eagle eye for detail and evocative prose picked me up and dropped me in the underbelly of Georgian London. Like all the best historical fiction it makes the reader think as much about the way we live now as then" - Erin Kelly
"DAUGHTERS OF NIGHT brings Georgian London to life in all is seedy glory…” - Daily Express
“Shepherd-Robinson builds on her addictive debut, BLOOD & SUGAR, with this outstanding sequel…” - i Paper
"Robinson would be advised to clear her shelves for more awards." - Financial Times
"Shepherd-Robinson is fascinating on women’s portrayal in art, on the English obsession with the classics and on the relationship between vice and virtue and the shades of grey between them. Come for the clever mystery, stay reading late into the night for the vivid, tender portrayal of a world where women are bought, sold and abused, yet fight to retain their vim and dignity. I would gamble what’s left of my virtue on DAUGHTERS OF NIGHT being the best historical crime novel I will read this year." - Antonia Senior, The Times
"This is a 500 plus page novel that I gobbled up. It pitched the period perfectly, you got a real sense of what London was like. The attention to detail is exceptional and the plot races along. Loved it." - Woman's Way
“A plot as intricate and precision-engineered as a Janvierclock…a deeply satisfying novel, reminiscent of Iain Pears’s later work in its feel for historical detail and character, and the way it subtly asks questions about our own age.” - Stephanie Merritt, The Observer
"An utterly fascinating trawl through the Georgian demimonde ensues, covering everything from the bestselling directory of London sex workers, Harris’s List, to the auctioning of maidenheads, the appalling ravages of venereal disease and a lightly fictionalised version of the notorious Hellfire Club. Niftily plotted, vivid and thoroughly researched, this immersive – if wrist-spraining – 569-pager is highly recommended." - The Guardian
"A delectable whodunnit oozing with menace and lively period language." - "The best historical fiction books to add to your reading list in 2021", Woman & Home
"[an] intricately written and absorbing historical crime thriller" - The Guardian, "Summer reading: the 50 hottest new books everyone should read"
Other Books by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
