Skin Like Silver by Chris Nickson

I received this book from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

Ever since reading ‘Two Bronze Pennies’, the second in Chris Nickson’s Inspector Tom Harper series, I had been eagerly anticipating his next offering. I was not disappointed.

Set in Leeds in 1891, Harper is tasked to find the identity of a decomposing body of a baby found in a parcel at the post office. This is soon pushed to the back of his mind, however, with the news that there is a huge fire at the local railway station. Soon, the body of a woman, Suffragist Catherine Carr, is found in the debris. The knife wound, however, shows that she did not die in the fire and a murder enquiry is launched.

Catherine’s murder sets off a chain of events and soon the death count in Leeds is rising. With Harper worried for his wife’s safety due to her connections to the Leeds Suffragist Society, will he find the cuplrit before there is more bloodshed?

Again, Chris Nickson does a fantastic job in mixing fact with fiction, creating a vivid image of what life was like in Leeds during the nineteenth century. It was easy to imagine the stark contrast between the privileged Carr family and the unfortunates dwelling in the crowded back streets.

The ending sets up the next installment nicely; definitely worthy of a five-star rating!

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