Another excellent installment of Nickson's strong mystery series featuring Tom Harper. Two different cases—the death of a recently released convict, and an acid attack on two teenagers—showcase Harper's investigative skills as well as the world of late nineteenth-century Leeds, UK. A strong appearance by Harper's wife Annabelle adds to the book's appeal. A beautifully craft, convincing, and emotionally compelling novel, ON COPPER STREET shines from cover to cover.

I'm always excited about Victorian novels, and I'm thrilled that there's always so many Victorian mystery series out there! I didn't know this was the 5th in the series, so I'm out of the loop for the overarching plot, but as with any mystery series, you can pretty much jump in wherever. I love that this is honed in on a specific area of London, even if it's the usual Ripper hotspots. There's a reason this Victorian formula works!

Leeds 1895: DI Harper and Sergeant Ash stop in at 13 Copper Street to call on recently released Henry White who is about to reveal why he was in receipt of stolen goods.Then there is an acid attack in a bakery owned by a former police inspector. Can the two solve the crimes before another takes place.

Told over the course of a two week period, this was a realistic look into life in the 1890s. The burgeoning police force was often up against rampant crime; life was harsh; the workhouse often dominated the social landscape; the suffragette movement was in its infancy; all of which made for a nice historical context.

I hadn't read the others in the series, but will most likely go back to the beginning and start again. Having said that, it was easy to catch up and get a sense of the interaction between the main characters. The plot was teased out chapter by chapter and clues dropped like proverbial breadcrumbs. All in all, an enjoyable read.

This fifth Tom Harper mystery sees significant changes in the life of the detective inspector. Small-time crook Henry White is released from prison without naming his partner in crime; he’s later stabbed to death. As Harper struggles to find the murderer as well as solve a secondary mystery involving the disfigurement of two children, the deaths pile up, including some who are dear to Harper. Nickson has a penchant for killing off recurring (occasionally beloved) characters; so far readers in this series have been spared. But as Harper thinks to himself: “death wouldn’t leave him alone.”

Like every Harper novel (and, incidentally, every book Nickson has penned), this is an engaging read. What’s on offer is a solid Victorian police procedural with a likeable protagonist, a strong storyline, and a vibrant cast of secondary characters who illustrate different aspects of the Leeds setting (e.g., grime and crime of the lower classes; the middle-class moving up) and the social issues it engenders (suffragism, workers’ rights). All are woven naturally into the mystery storyline. In the craft of the historical police procedural, Nickson remains one of the most adept practitioners. Read him.
Published in the Historical Novels Review, Issue 81 (August 2017)

It's surprising how little I remember of this book. I think I had pretty much forgotten the bulk of it within a little while of closing it for the last time. It made very little impact on me as I was reading it; I do remember it being a bit of a slog. Thank goodness for Kindle notes and highlights.

The writing was not difficult, by any means – I can't point to anything much wrong with it. It was perfectly adequate; it was just opaque. The style was frequently choppy. There was a fair amount of statements of the obvious, and some moments which annoyed me deeply. Example: one of the key events at the beginning of the book is a man's senseless attack on a boy in which acid is thrown in the young victim's face. I think the strongest emotion I felt in reading this book was the disgust I felt when a character (which character I don't know; I didn't make a note) remarks sorrowfully on how the boy will be reminded of the attack for the rest of his life, "'Every time he looks in the mirror—'" The problem with this is that the boy would never be looking in another mirror in his life – or into, upon, or at anything else: he was completely blinded in the attack. The character who said it knew the facts of the situation, and no one around him reminded him of how horrendous that sentence had been.

I was also pretty disgusted when some papers went missing – my note on the text was "are you telling me they were the originals"? They couldn't exactly Xerox whatever it was in 1895, but it seemed hard to believe that valuable and important papers were made as vulnerable as these were. It was stupid things like that which shaved away at the rating of the book. It wasn't actively <I>bad</i> - hence three stars … it just wasn't better than average.

I didn't feel any sort of connection with any of the characters. Detective Inspector Tom Harper held next to no interest for me, and I couldn't muster much concern for his family and friends, or his enemies, either. Harper's wife was a suffragist, and would absolutely have burned her bra if bras had been worn in 1895 – and I didn't buy it. There was no believable passion, just an occasional dollop of anachronistic-feeling discourse.

Again, hurrah for the ability to save bits and make notes on my Kindle, because without that crutch a book like this would vanish into some dusty and cobwebby recess of my brain. As I imagine it will five minutes after I hit "post" on this review.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.

When the sad time comes for Chris Nickson to shuffle off this mortal coil you will probably find the word ‘Leeds’ engraved on his heart. His knowledge of the city encompasses every nook and cranny, every church, chapel and graveyard, every legend, every tall tale, every dark hour and every moment of joy. Give him a battered bowler hat, steel shod boots and a rough woollen suit and transport him back to the 1890s. No-one would spare him a second glance. Fans of his books telling the story a determined Leeds copper, Tom Harper, will know this already. In previous novels in the series, Harper’s common sense, decency and compassion have shone through to highlight one of the more original creations in historical crime fiction.

On Copper Street opens in grim fashion, with death and disfigurement. The dead pass in contrasting fashion. Socialist activist Tom Maguire dies in private misery, stricken by pneumonia and unattended by any of the working people whose status and condition he championed. The death of petty crook Henry White is more sudden, extremely violent, but equally final. Having only just been released from the forbidding depths of Armley Gaol, he is found on his bed with a fatal stab wound. If all this isn’t bad enough, two children working in a city bakery have been attacked by a man who threw acid in their faces. The girl will be marked for life, but at least she still has her sight. The last thing the poor lad saw – or ever will see – is the momentary horror of a man throwing acid at him. His sight is irreparably damaged.

As Inspector Tom Harper and his colleagues throw themselves into the search for the killer of White and the brute who maimed the two children, there is a dramatic twist in Harper’s professional life. As he draws a much deserved breath from his energetic pursuit of the villains, he realises that his boss, Superintendent Bob Kendall is not a well man. The much respected Kendall confides in him that he is grievously ill, and will be relinquishing the position so that he can go home and await death. Harper is shocked and saddened by the revelation, but even more taken aback when he learns that he is lined up to be Kendall’s successor.

Death continues to stalk the streets of Leeds, and the killings all seem related to the original death of Henry White. A mysterious man known only as JD seems central to the hunt for the killer, but things take a calamitous turn for the worse when an ambitious and popular policeman is shot dead on the street, seemingly because he was close to identifying the mysterious JD.

Sadly, there seems to be an unwritten crime fiction rule that states British policemen of Inspector rank must tick at least two of the following boxes: misanthropic; alcoholic; divorced; obsessed by obscure music; loathes superior officers; superior officers loathe them; have a tortuous family history; carry an iceberg-sized chip on their shoulder. Thankfully for us, Inspector – soon to be Superintendent – Tom Harper fails in all aspects of this grim curriculum vitae. The narrative of this book, like those before it, is grounded in the warm family life Harper enjoys with his political activist wife Annabelle, and their delightful daughter Mary.

Nickson is a master story teller. There are no pretensions, no gloomy psychological subtext, no frills, bows, fancies or furbelows. We are not required to wrestle with moral ambiguities, nor are we presented with any philosophical conundrums. This is not to say that the book doesn’t have an edge. I would imagine that Nickson (right) is a good old-fashioned socialist, and he pulls no punches when he describes the appalling way in which workers are treated in late Victorian England, and he makes it abundantly clear what he thinks of the chasm between the haves and the have nots. Don’t be put off by this. Nickson doesn’t preach and neither does he bang the table and browbeat. He recognises that the Leeds of 1895 is what it is – loud, smelly, bustling, full of stark contrasts, yet vibrant and fascinating.

When petty criminal White is found dead the day after his release from Armley Jail, Inspector Tom Harper immediately thinks that someone was out for revenge. However the death of prominent Socialist Maguire, a family friend, is closer to home and the acid attack on two children is nastier. However another man dies from a single stab wound and he is also associated with White so suddenly there is a complex crime to solve. Meanwhile ex-police sergeant Reed feels that he needs to take up the case of the acid attack. With two serious cases Harper is proud to be promoted to Superintendent but saddens that is comes with the death of his mentor.

This is the fifth outing for Nickson's Victorian detective Tom Harper and once agin the book really satisfies. It doesn't harm my opinion in that the setting is Leeds and that I know some of the places mentioned really well - especially Whitelock's, still going strong century or so later. The myriad storylines weave in and out of each other linking child abuse, corruption, murder and politics. Some characters were real such as socialist politician Maguire and the sense of time and place is excellent. This is a standard police procedural set in another time, well-researched, well plotted and tightly written.

1895 Leeds, and Henry White has just been released after six months in prison for carrying silver from a robbery and refusing to say who gave him the goods. D.I. Harper waits until the next day to question him, but it is too late and this is only the start of the murders.
Meanwhile is a seperate incident, acid is thrown at a young boy working in a bakery. An unprovoked attack?
This was my first read of a book from this series, easily read as a stand-alone book.
Really enjoyed this well-written, easy to read story. A good mystery and some interesting characters.

Princess Fuzzypants here:
Momma's grandmother was born in Leeds around the time of this story. It helps me get even more involved in this very good, very gritty, historical novel. There are two separate crimes that have been committed just before Tom Harper is promoted to Superintendent. He feels obliged to solve both not just behind a desk but in the streets where he has spent his life.
One is the murder of a life long criminal who has served his time but refused to "grass" the man behind his crime. He is found dead the very night he is set free. Harper knows there is a much deeper mystery behind this and is determined to solve it. The other involves the horrible attack with acid on two young people. Who would commit such an act and why? Harper is determined to answer those questions too.
At the same time he is dealing with his new position, the illness and subsequent death of his mentor and the death of a friend.
The reader gets a clear picture of Leeds of the day. A city that is divided between business and industry, rich and poor, Labour Unions, Suffragettes and others try to ease the burdens but it is still early days, There are many hearts and minds that still must be changed. Harper straddles both worlds. He and his wife are of the working class but they have succeeded where other have not. It gives them and the reader a good perspective of the times.
The two mysteries, complete with body counts, some expected and some quite unexpected, rise until both are resolved. The clues were there for both so the outcomes were not shocking. However, there were sufficient twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.
It was a good read that kept me turning the pages. That is always a good sign.
I give it five purrs and two paws up.

I received this ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Tom Harper has to solve why petty criminal Henry White was murdered the day after he is released from prison. Tom must also determine why acid was thrown at a 12 yr old boy and horribly disfigured him.

This is a good 'whodunnit' book. I didn't realize until I was already reading, this book is part of the Tom Harper mystery series. There were several references to previous scenes from other books.

3☆

The day after he is released from prison, in March 1895, Henry White is found stabbed to death at his home in Copper Street, Leeds. Local people are reluctant to speak to the police so DI Tom Harper knows that he will have a hard time trying to solve the case. Meanwhile, in a seemingly unprovoked incident, a young boy and girl find themselves victims of a serious acid attack. As the death toll rises, Harper knows that unless he gets a big break, the culprits will remain at large for ever.

On Copper Street is the fifth of Chris Nickson’s books to feature the main protagonist, Tom Harper, and is arguably his most complex to date, dealing with issues that wouldn’t look out of place in a contemporary crime novel. His descriptions of late-Victorian Leeds, however, place this book firmly in the past and it is this imagery that I love the most about this author’s books. Chris Nickson always succeeds in putting a clear picture in my mind of where the story is set, whether it be the police station, the public house of the crime scene. It is clear how much the author knows about the places he talks about in his books.

The mystery is a fascinating one and gives us a chance to see how most of Victorian police work came down to the legwork of the detectives. It was also interesting to see a new role being undertaken by Harper and poses a conundrum for future books – will he be content with being based, mainly, in the office, or will he find himself longing to be back out on the streets?

I have always loved the prominence the author gives to women in this series of books, and Harper’s wife, Annabelle, continues to be a strong character, largely due to her work with the Suffragettes. In an era where a lot of men controlled their wives’ lives, it is refreshing to see a fictional Victorian marriage where the couple appear to be equals.

Another excellent addition to the series.

A thief is killed less than a day after his release form prison. A firebrand socialist is found dead in his room. Acid is thrown on two children in a bakery. So begins the crime thriller Copper Street, By Chris Nickson. Fifth in the series of well written police detective stories staring Detective Inspector Tom Harper, this book is perfect for those who enjoy a combination of historical fiction and murder mystery.
Read the entire review at https://journalingonpaper.com/2017/05/26/book-review-copper-street-by-chris-nickson/

I continue to be delighted with this series by Chris Nickson. Our intrepid inspector Tom Harper is on the case to solve a series of deaths that are all related, but the puzzle is to figure out how they are related. The solution is quite twisted and makes a hardened mystery reader guessing until the end, something that rarely happens these days.
Mr. Nickson continues to develop Tom Harper's character, promoting him to a new position, while allowing one of his chief supporters to pass away. Tom is trying on his new roles, but he's not really sure how it fits, and I 'm sure that there will be further developments as the series progresses. All of the characters in the story, even if they are only temporary, are well drawn and interesting. Mr. Nickson has a good handle on place and time conveying life in Leeds well.
I recommend this series to other mystery lovers who seek historic mystery and I look forward to the next installment.

The year is 1895, the location - the city of Leeds, in the North of England. Small time criminal Henry White is found stabbed to death in his home on Copper Street, in the 'Bank' area of Leeds - an area of acute deprivation. His death comes just a day after his release from prison, after serving a sentence for robbery.

DI Tom Harper and Sergeant Ash find investigations nigh on impossible, as people of the 'Bank' area are no friends of the police. It's a place of hostility and suspicion, and the locals are completely unwilling to assist with investigations.

At the same time, DI Harper is investigating the vicious acid attack on a 13 year old boy. This attack was completely unprovoked, someone walked into a bakery and threw acid all over the boy and a young shop assistant. The young lad was well liked by everyone, as was the girl, so no obvious motives for the team to work on.

Harper and Ash however, do a fantastic job, working away with little to go on, piecing together what tiny scraps of information they can garner. Eventually though, they get the breakthrough they've worked so hard to achieve, but we're kept guessing pretty much to the end of the book, thereby ensuring that we willingly hang onto every word until its conclusion.


The characters are great, and really walk right out from the pages of the book, and the narrative captures the grit and determination that every rank in this police force have, to bring these perpetrators to justice.

This was an age where investigators had to either walk - take a tram - or hail a cab ( horse driven of course ) to scenes of crime!


The author did a wonderful job in recreating this period of great change in Leeds, a city that was a big player of the Industrial Age. He introduces us to the Suffragist movement, and the beginnings of the Independent Labour Party. He also gives a real flavour of what it was like to be among the unfortunate of Leeds - the poor, doing whatever they had to do to keep a roof over their heads, and of course the criminal element of the 'Bank' area, as well as the soot, grime and smoke of a late 19th century city in the grip of heavy industry.

On a personal note, I was born and raised in Leeds, ( though contrary to rumours, I was NOT around in 1895! Though I no longer live there, it will always have a place in my heart, and as a child, I remember people talking about the 'Bank' area and how the 'coppers' never set foot there unless there were two or more of them - there were some really rum characters. On the other hand, there were those who were genuinely deprived in terms of economic and social necessities, who still tried to stay within the law.


This was a great read that kept me hanging in there, desperate to discover whodunit in this Victorian police procedural. Miss this author (Chris Nickson) at your peril! I hadn't read his previous books, goodness knows how I've missed him. I just loved this book.

*Thank you to Netgalley, Severn House Publishers and Chris Nickson for my ARC for which I have given an honest review*

"Detective Inspector Tom Harper finds answers hard to come by in his latest, most challenging, investigation to date."

Nothing is more satisfying than a Chris Nickson historical police procedural, set in various time periods, in Leeds. Why Leeds? The author says "It's where I was born and raised , and that puts a place in your bones."

I think there is more than that however. Leeds, in whichever epoch we see here described, exemplifies a time and place that existed and mattered and vanished but not without a trace. Each subsequent era left it's mark upon those who follow, other regular working class men and women, who chose to make their city a good place.

Why police procedurals? Because good and bad people exemplify all places, and are a necessity to describing a society. Chris Nickson is an accomplished author who writes with a deep sociological perspective of "his" Leeds.

D.I Tom Harper, soon to be Superintendent Harper, becomes plunged into a series of murders. "Leeds, England. March, 1895. The day after his release from prison, petty criminal Henry White is found stabbed to death at his terraced home on Copper Street."

These crimes are bookended by his promotion, and the deaths of important people in his life. His touchstones are his wife, Annabelle a suffragist and political figure in her own right, and his daughter Mary. His predecessor's death is a blow to him but he leaves him a touching legacy gift.

If you like historical police novels, this one has all the elements, with a maiming by acid of two youngsters which leaves several mysteries of it's own. Several innocent or well meaning people came to untimely ends which is why I did not always read it at night.

Please join Superintendent Harper and Annabelle,newly promoted Inspector Ash and Fireman,, former copper, Billy Reed in Victorian Leeds. Start with "Gods of Gold" Book 1 ,why don't you? You will enjoy this series.

I received an ARC via Netgalley, and Severn House for an honest review.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

Responding to a murder on Copper Street in 1895, Detective Inspector Tom Harper and Sergeant Ash find the body of Henry White. He was just released from prison the day before his murder occurred. He was convicted for receiving stolen items.

Returning to the station, Harper receives a report of an acid-throwing incident at a local bakery. A young boy and girl, both just thirteen, were splashed with acid while the perpetrator ran away. The young people were well liked so the reason for the attack seems to be inexplicable. Harper has his old friend Inspector Billy Reed investigate the incident under his review.

Harper is interviewing witnesses and those who knew Henry White. He seems to be getting nowhere until he sees a copy of White’s will. He became suspicious when White’s attorney wouldn’t let him see it. Finally, he has a lead at last.

More murders, one a copper, bring the tension to a fever pitch. The clues are coming more quickly now, but what to make of them? The pace of the novel picks up.

The murderer comes as a surprise. I did not see it coming at all.

The descriptions in this book bring to life the 1895’s in England. They are colorful and evocative. You are there in the little city of Leeds, seeing what Harper sees, feeling what he does. Mr. Nickson does a remarkable job writing the “color” in this book.

This book is very well written and plotted. It all fit together beautifully. This is the first of Mr. Nickson’s books that I have read and it certainly won’t be my last. I truly enjoyed this book.

I want to send a big thank you to Netgalley and Severn House/Severn House Publishers for forwarding to me a copy of this most excellent book to read.

"On Copper Street" is a mystery set in 1895 in England. It's the fifth book in a series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this story, and this book didn't spoil the previous mysteries.

The main character was a police detective who's offered a chance at promotion (involving mainly office work) while he's in the middle of several stubborn cases. It's a grim, gloomy story. Several of his friends died from natural causes, the death-by-murder body count was high, and several innocent people were disfigured, disabled, or died in an accident.

The detectives carefully followed up each lead, but the clues were so vague that they didn't clearly point to anyone. In the end, it was a lucky accident that raised Harper's suspicions. Though this wasn't a puzzle-mystery, whodunit was the only person that I (mildly) suspected. The historical details were a backdrop to the story and involved things like his wife's political activities.

There was no sex. There was a fair amount of bad language (including British bad language). Overall, I'd recommend this story.

"Times are changing," Tollman said with regret. "And not for the better."

Yet some things never do seem to change in retrospect. Crime, greed, fabrications, and brutality still line the streets of many a city, town, and village no matter where the century's shade does fall.

The frenetic buzz inside the City Police station of Leeds, England ushers in the latest news. The body of a newly released criminal, Henry White, has been found stabbed to death in his own bed. It's March of 1895 and these "coppers" wonder why someone would want White dead after only being out of jail for 24 hours.

D.I. Tom Harper and Sergeant Ash investigate the murder that leads them on a trail of stolen goods. Henry White was fencing silver articles of the highest quality. Exactly to whom was White delivering his stash? And why was his criminality short-lived?

A frantic call comes into the station later in the day. Someone burst through the door of a local bakery and splashed acid on a young couple. The young girl was disfigured and the teenage boy was blinded. Who would have done such a dastardly deed and why to these innocent individuals?

Chris Nickson presents quite the exciting read that encompasses the Industrial Age, newly scientific police procedurals, the birth of the Independent Labour Party, and the budding Suffragist Society.

We are introduced to Annabelle Harper, Tom's wife, and his three year old daughter, Mary. Annabelle is an outgoing, demonstrative woman who is active in women's rights and, in particular, the determined movement for the women's right to vote.

Nickson transports you through the winding streets of ol' Leeds and the plight of the poor and desperate. His characters are interspersed with the honorable along with the criminally flawed. The dialogue is crisp and laced with the jargon of the time period. Nickson's storyline is multi-layered and multi-pronged. It beckons you to open the creaking doors of these rundown tenements in search of more fatalities. And are there any connections from one door to the next?

On Copper Street reads as a standalone while being part of an entertaining series. Bravo, Chris Nickson!

I received a copy of On Copper Street through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Severn Books and to Chris Nickson for the opportunity.

28/2/17 On Copper Street

****

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for an advance copy of On Copper Street, the fifth Victorian police procedural set in Leeds to feature DI Tom Harper.

The novel opens with the death of Henry White, a small time crook who was released from jail the day before. Harper had wanted to question him about the silver he had been caught with when he was arrested but finds him stabbed to death. Unraveling the mystery leads to more deaths and plenty of headaches. In the meantime 2 teenagers have been the victims of an acid attack in fire brigade Inspector Billy Reid's wife's bakery. Again no one knows anything.

On Copper Street is a good read. It has an ingenious plot with plenty of mystery and puzzles, not all of which are totally resolved. I know this is realistically what happens in most investigations but I find it a bit disappointing in fiction. It has a linear plotline, which I always prefer, and works in the traditional way with the detectives making progress as each meagre piece of information adds to the overall picture. There are some surprises in the plot which I didn't expect.

Tom Harper is a good protagonist. He is a man of the people so doesn't always get on with the police hierarchy but is learning how to get his own way. I think he is probably an unusual man for his times in that he supports his wife wholeheartedly in her politicking for both the Labour Party and the suffragette movement, again not causes dear to the heart of the hierarchy. He is also a smart detective and highly regarded by his peers.

The city of Leeds also has a starring role in the novel and Mr Nickson does a sterling job in describing the hard working conditions for manual labourers and the even harsher existence of those not working.

I enjoyed On Copper Street and have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

Love Victorian mysteries and now I have to add Chris Nickson to my list of authors that I follow.
This is the first book that I read by him. Liked the fact that it takes place not in London but in another city in England. He captures the feelings and the atmosphere of Leeds during the 1890.s so well that one could actually feel like they are living in that period of time. The reader feels the utter frustration of Harper and his police force in trying to capture the unknown killer or killers and the acid thrower's name and motive. There are a lot of should have, could have, would have moments in the lives of the police and of their wives.