Beautifully distilled prose. Vividly depicted scenes of eighteenth Century England, brimming with scandal, subtle humour and intrigue. Leonora Nattrass has a real talent for dialogue, which I found utterly convincing. The visceral narrative doesn't feel dated. The cast of characters was very useful as a crutch for moments when A Level History lessons eluded me. I found the novel to be a good length, which is important for historical fiction. Each chapter was a palatable and exhilarating dose.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Black Drop in exchange for honest feedback.

Set in the Georgian era of 1794 and a political/spy thriller I had really looked forward to reading this book. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me as I found some parts of it somewhat elongated and not so thrilling. Sorry, just not really for me this one.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to leave an honest and unbiased review.

I was drawn to this book by the title "Black Drop" - The protagonist takes "Black Drop" which is a "medicinal" tonic which contains opium or laudanum.. Set at the time of the French Revolution but told from the perspective of Georgian London, and the war the English were having with the French, it is certainly interesting in parts. The crowd scenes were very descriptive as were some parts set in Parliament. However I wasn't overly interested in some of the characters or the relationships they had with each other.

When a letter is leaked to the press there are two suspects. One is Laurence Jago the other is discovered dead, suspected suicide but Laurence doesnt belive it and is in search of the killer. A very gritty, politically led murder mystery.

I enjoyed this book. Im not norone to read anything political but this exceeded my expectations and I was hooked from the beginning. I really connected to Laurence and quite enjoyed his quirkiness. Brilliant read for fans of historical fiction.

Black Drop is a Georgian political crime thriller so already I’m interested. A sensitive letter has been leaked to the press which could have disastrous consequences for the British army and the last person who supposedly had anything to do with it is our hero, Laurence Jago. He’s in the soup and he’s the only one interested in clearing up the mess. Laurence Jago is an excellent protagonist and my main star earner. He’s got it all: a rockstar name, a pair of sexy green lunettes, a murky past, complicated love life and increasing drug dependence. He’s also tall, dark and sort of handsome thanks to his Inconveniently french mama. Hot AF. He loves his mother and his girl done him wrong what more do we want in our new Georgian gumshoe.
Black Drop is supremely enjoyable with vivid characters to both love and hate, a plot that’s just complicated enough and multiple minor threads seeding the plots for future books I look forward to reading more about Laurence. But please could we get some variety in the cursing “god damn” was used allllllll the time and has an American twang that doesn’t sit right. What’s wrong with a good “damn your eyes sir!”

This is an accomplished book, and a rather bleak read, that I found I admired more than I actively enjoyed.

Given its themes—government in all grubbiness, power and privilege, treason and spycraft—it feels fitting that it’s not the most emotionally accessible story. Its narrator is very flawed: sympathetic in the main, but socially vulnerable, and not always the most insightful. So vast and abstract are the forces against which he very nearly pits himself, that his attempts to seize agency are futile and somewhat frustrating. However realistic, his narrative passivity is a bitter pill for the reader to swallow. As are the ways that this story of corruption, misinformation and exploitation set at the end of the 18th century still feel relevant.

I think I would have appreciated the book more had I more specific knowledge of the period. As it was the political complexities left me, occasionally, a little out of my depth. Regardless, recommended for anyone with a bit more historical nounce than me looking for a grimdark Georgian political thriller.

It’s the year 1794, and right from the start, we know that Laurence Jago (clerk to the Foreign Office) has secrets - the kind of secrets that, (should he be found out), would result in his head being placed on a spike at Temple Bar, for all to see, that being the punishment for treason!

In 1794 the war against Revolutionary France was a year old, and there were always suspicions that spies were afoot in the Foreign Office with the potential to leak important information about the tactics to be used by the Allies - France by this time was seeing a massive rise in troop numbers - the English couldn’t afford to give secrets away.

Amidst the machinations of Georgian politics, a highly sensitive letter has been leaked to the press, that happens to coincide with the suicide of a colleague of Laurence Jago’s, and though suspicion falls on Jago and another man, it’s easier and less messy to place the blame on the one who can no longer speak for himself. Jago believes his colleague was murdered, and he’s determined to discover who the murderer is - but he needs to keep his own secrets from the powers that be!

Jago isn’t perfect but I liked him, and the storyline was interesting, with the Georgian Era brought wonderfully to life - The rich, only a tiny minority of the population, lived luxuriously in lavish, elegant mansions and country houses, which they furnished with comfortable, upholstered furniture, whilst for the poor, it was a noisy, dirty and overcrowded city. A very enjoyable read.

A fascinating time period that is often neglected yet so much happened. A good read with some very intriguing characters, and some great twist and turns along the way.