I have become a huge admirer of the writing of Chris Nickson . He says on his website:

“I’ve written since I was a boy growing up in Leeds. It all really began with a three-paragraph school essay telling a tale of bomb disposal when I was 11. Like a lightbulb switching on, it brought the revelation that I enjoyed telling stories. Along the way came diversions into teenage poetry, and my other great love, music, as both a bassist and then a singer-songwriter-guitarist. At 21, I moved to the US, and spent the next 30 years there, returning to England in 2005, and finally full circle to Leeds.”

I first read – and thoroughly enjoyed – his books featuring Detective Inspector Tom Harper, and relished his recreation of the smoky, noisy and turbulent city of Leeds in the 1890s. Next, for me, came his Leeds during WWII, as seen through the eyes of Womens’ Auxiliary Police Constable Lottie Armstrong. I had not, until now, gone back to the eighteenth century to investigate Nickson’s tales of the town’s Constable, Richard Nottingham. It seems that Nickson had ushered Nottingham into a well-deserved retirement but, rather like the resurrection, by popular demand, of Sherlock Holmes after his apparent demise at the Reichenbach Falls, Nottingham has returned to duty in Free From All Danger.
ou will be pushed to find better opening words to a novel even were you to search all year:

“Sometimes he felt like a ghost in his own life. The past had become his country, so familiar that its lanes and byways were printed on his heart.”

Thus we learn that Richard Nottingham has his best years behind him. With stiffened limbs and diminished vigour he has withdrawn to his home and family – although that family has been diminished by tragedy. When Simon Kirkstall, his successor as town Constable dies, he is persuaded by The Mayor to return to his old job, at least temporarily, while a suitable successor is found.

We are in the year of Our Lord 1736, November, and winter seems to have come early. As Nottingham dusts off his old working clothes he is immediately called into action when a body is pulled from the river. This is no drowning, as the savage slash wounds on the man’s throat testify all too readily. It is as if someone out there in the cobbled lanes, dank ginnels and misty river banks of the rapidly expanding wool town has learned of Nottingham’s return and is determined to challenge him. Murder follows murder, but despite their best efforts neither Nottingham nor his deputy Rob Lister are coming anywhere near to identifying either the assailants or their motives.

As the November 5th celebration approaches, with huge bonfires being assembled across the town, Nottingham is convinced that the killers – who have been identified as a man and his two sons – are going to target a significant victim while the fires blaze and the mill apprentices drink themselves stupid and taunt the forces of law and order.

In Nickson’s writing you will find neither false flourishes nor furbelows. He doesn’t show off, nor does he have time for tricks and verbal trinkets. Bear in mind that he is a songwriter, and you will understand that he knows how to tell a story with the minimum of fuss. Free From All Danger is a straightforward – but impressive – police procedural, albeit one set in a time when the procedures were based on the wisdom and intuition of the coppers, rather than a two-hundred page manual.


If you have any appreciation of good storytelling, you will enjoy this book. You will, however, need fingerless gloves, warm socks and a good woollen vest, preferably woven in Yorkshire. This November in Leeds is cold. It is a cold that gnaws at men’s bones, chills their souls, and has them heading for the hearths of home, or the fireside of a crowded inn. The cobbles glint with frost, and the mist from the rivers and becks conceals a multitude of dark deeds. Free From All Danger is historical crime fiction right out of the top drawer.

Chris Nickson embroils Richard Nottingham, constable of Leeds in 1736, in an ongoing murder spree impacting the poor and the middleclass in Leeds. An alderman and others are targeted. He arrests a cutpurse for one murder but the trail of the real mass murderer is still cold. His men are attacked. Who is targeting people? A miasma of blackmail, forgery and petty gangs impedes the search for the mastermind. Read about a real constable and life in eighteenth century Leeds, England.

Nottingham is drawn back into the role of Chief Constable working side by side with his daughter's paramour. They investigate the murder of a moneylender, and begin to see a pattern of deaths taking place with no apparent understanding of why. Rob is not sure that Nottingham detective skills are a good as they were, and yet Nottingham investigates in his slow, careful ways, mulling over each clue as they appear. This is the first book I have read in the series and I plan to go and read further in the series. The characters are well drawn and the pacing of the book is good. Especially nice is to see a family from this period open to helping others to divide their grief and multiply their joys. I received this book in return for an unbiased review frm Net Galley

1736 Leeds and Richard Nottingham has returned from two years of retirement to become Constable again. In such a short time Leeds has changed and then the first body appears. So it is up to Nottingham and his deputy Lister to solve the mystery.
Thoroughly enjoyed the mystery, it was well-written with good characterization, though I did work out the who. It can easily be read as a standalone story.

Thanks Severn House and netgalley for this ARC.

Nottingham reluctantly becomes Sheriff again- this mystery is great because I didn't see the villain coming thru the whole book. This novel stays true to its time period, details, and atmosphere.

Chris Nickson writes a great historical mystery. Keeps you guessing until the end.

A penny for your thoughts...........

Autumn of 1736 brings with it the winds of danger and the shock of mounting murders. Leeds is lined with the wares of its weavers displayed in the crowded market. But among the shop owners and the throngs of customers are the cast-outs of this society with the likes of moneylenders, the thieves, and the procurers of young women.

Some of these shifty individuals won't make it back to their warm fires, their darkened streets, and their corners of whispered business. A body is found ensared on craggy branches along the river in this city. His throat has been slashed. What is recognizable is the fact that this man was a moneylender who kept the poor in his clutches with the impossibility of repayment. And so begins the tallies on the wall for others who will join him. Like Four-Finger Jane who sold wares of the personal kind in the dark shadows.

Richard Nottingham, former Constable of Leeds, is called into the mayor's office. Nottingham is feeling the aches and the sluggishness of the onset of aging. No one is more surprised than he when the mayor offers him the constableship once again. Nottingham's daughter, Emily, lives with the Deputy, Rob Lister. By right it should go to Rob. But the city of Leeds demands experience. Rob accepts the news, but resentment does stick in his craw. Will this be the makings of a dynamic duo or a mixture that just doesn't gel?

Free from All Danger has quite the historical flavor of 18th century Leeds. Chris Nickson infuses his storyline with the spark of dastardly crimes along with the budding attempts of early police procedures of the time period. Nickson wraps the character of Nottingham in a tale of fiction while drawing out snips of information from the actual Constable Richard Nottingham of Leeds. I found this well-developed character to be a walking dychotomy of strength and cutting determination with a counterpart of gentleness and family allegiance. It is my hope that Nottingham will peer around the corner once again in a future offering.

Free from Danger promises to light a fire of the past with situations that still occur here in the present. Strange how surroundings change over time, but human nature still holds tightly to all that turns hearts to shades of black.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Severn House Publishers and to Chris Nickson for the opportunity.

Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for the eARC.
Leeds, 1736. Richard Nottingham agrees to temporarily return as Constable of Leeds, after a 2-year retirement.
The city has changed considerably after an influx of people looking for work has flooded the area, creating an increase in crime. Richard and his deputy, Rob Lister, investigate the murder of a moneylender as well as the disappearance of 3 pimps. Soon more bodies are found, including a prostitute who had information for Richard. Despite Rob's misgivings, Richard believes these cases are connected. To add to the pressure, a boy and girl are robbing well to do citizens, becoming increasingly violent. Can Richard navigate his job in this new Leeds? The group who hired him are already complaining about the lack of results.
I loved Richard and found the relationship between his daughter and Rob (living with Richard in his house) very sweet. Their so far unsuccessful attempts at becoming parents and the subsequent scenes tugged at my heartstrings.
This is such a good book; the miasma and sounds of Leeds put you right there, wonderful...
I hadn't read any of the previous books in the series (soon to be remedied!), but this one is an excellent standalone which will compel the reader to read the others.

Richard Nottingham retired as the Constable of Leeds in the north of England two years ago. He doesn't particularly enjoy his retirement after a life of fighting crime, so when he's asked to take up his old post on a temporary basis, it doesn't take long for him to make his decision, although he does have some reservations, he's feeling his age, and he's not entirely sure he's up to the job any more.

It's October 1736, and in the two years since Richard retired, things have changed. There has been a huge influx of people into Leeds, all seeking to cash in on its increasing prosperity, due mainly to the manufacture of wool, which at the time was the lifeblood of Leeds. Sadly, it also brings more than its fair share of criminals determined to make some easy cash from this increasing wealth.

When the body of a moneylender is found floating in the River Aire with his throat cut, Richard will discover that he's dealing with someone who is utterly lawless - someone to whom human life is without value, and not only that, but he appears to be one step ahead of the police force too.

When the body count starts to increase, Richard has to turn to an eclectic group of people in order to bring this killer to justice, however, Leeds is becoming a place of fear, and witnesses are reluctant to talk, creating a wall of silence.

This storyline had real atmosphere with the swirling mists around the River Aire adding to the fear factor, along with the dark and filthy alleyways and mean cobbled courts where sunlight never penetrated. At times it seemed as if Richard would never discover the identity of this vicious killer, as the few clues he gained, persistently came to nothing. I have to say though, it was a pleasure to accompany this fair and compassionate man on his investigations around the streets of 18th century Leeds ( incidentally the city of my birth ) although I no longer live there.

Richard Nottingham actually existed, and he did hold the post of Constable of Leeds, though little documentation is in existence, with very sparse mention of him in official records. However, this worked well for author Chris Nickson, as it allowed him to create a fictional police procedural series, bringing Richard and his family to life, and allowing him to live on, solving cases that would have been relevant during this period in history. Though part of a series, 'Free From All Danger' read perfectly well as a standalone, and I for one thoroughly enjoyed it.

* Thank you to Netgalley and Severn House for my ARC in exchange for an honest review*

An 'edge of your chair' 18th century police procedural that kept me guessing until the very end. It was wonderful to meet the new characters, and to catch up on the changes to existing ones. Overall a very satisfying read, and one that left me hoping for further books in the series.

4 stars


It’s 1736 and Richard Nottingham reluctantly accepts the position of Constable of Leeds. Rob Lister, his daughter’s lover, is the Deputy Constable. Rob is not at all happy about Richard’s appointment. He feels he earned the position for having carried the previous Constable for two years until his sudden death.

Nottingham and Lister respond to a call about a body found in the river. It is a man whose throat has been cut. Standbridge was the man’s name and he was a moneylender. Lister quickly rounds up the other local moneylenders as they might have seen Standbridge as competition.

While investigating, Nottingham speaks to a witness who says that three pimps have also disappeared. Nottingham and Lister talk to many witnesses and other who knew the murdered man. They painstakingly follow the clues.

The name of the murder came as a surprise to me.

This book is both well written and plotted. The suspense begins immediately and continues throughout the story. It is a police procedural, albeit one set in a long ago time. The descriptions of the inhabitants and atmosphere in the village of Leeds were brilliant. I felt like I was there in person. I liked Richard Nottingham. He seemed honest and decent.

I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this most engaging book to read and enjoy.

Review will be released on publication date
"Free From All Danger - A Richard Nottingham Mystery - Chris Nickson - Intense ~Riveting"
"An incredibly exciting mystery was presented in this book, as well as a nostalgic visit with Richard Nottingham, who again is serving as Constable in Leeds. "