he Blood Covenant is the fourth Simon Westow historical mystery by Chris Nickson. Released 1st March 2022 by Severn House, it's 224 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. 

This is such a skillfully written series. Protagonist thief-takers (bounty hunters) Simon and his partner Jane are tasked with a simple re-acquisition of a pair of silver candlesticks which turns out to be a central thread in a complex web of lies, deceptions, labour and class struggles, and power plays. They're outclassed in terms of power and deceitfulness by influential men in Leeds and are in danger of losing their freedom and lives throughout the book. 

I was captivated from the first pages. There's an unusual verisimilitude to the writing which really calls the historical time period to mind. It's written around a framework of actual events so skillfully that it's difficult to tell when fact shades over into fiction. The author is technically competent and (happily) quite prolific. There are now 4 books extant in the series with a 5th due out in March 2023, making this a good candidate for a long weekend binge read. 

The books -are- quite realistic and this one is no exception. The author has a very realistic writing style and describes the less salubrious facts of life in the early 19th century unflinchingly. This book deals with the stark, brutal, and all-too-often short lives of the poor as well as discussions of sexual abuse, sexism, self harm, and life in the marginalised sectors of society. 

One of the main characters, Jane, has a very sad back-story, and much of the plot of the book revolves around her past, her present, and her (scarily competent) redemptive development. I love her character, but she's often quite frightening. I was impressed by the author's ability to write a young female character and do it very well. There are emphatically no perky anythings here, no bodice ripping, and absolutely zero flirty eyelashes to be found. 

Five stars. Definitely one for lovers of well-crafted mysteries. I would heartily recommend it to fans of Hambly's Benjamin January and Peters' Cadfael (although different time periods and settings, obviously). 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I enjoyed reading this mystery set in early 19th century Leeds during Georgian era . The author did a good job of creating the atmosphere and describing life in England at that time, particulary the prevalence of street violence and child labor. This is the first Simon Westow mystery I've read, and I can't wait to find more books in this series.

First Sentence: His footsteps rang and echoed off the walls.

Thief-taker Simon Westow remembers the years of punishment and torture he'd received as a child working in the mill, a prisioner of the workhouse. When his friend, Dr. Hey, has him read the report of two young boys dead at the hand of a mill overseer, it brings Simon back to those memories. A man is pulled from the river with his throat slit and one hand removed. Simon, and his assistant Jane, are drawn into a dark and dangerous case of fighting for justice against the town's most powerful and wealthy men.

The strength of Nickson's book, and his series, are the characters. Simon may be tough, but it's Simon's wife Rosie, and his assistant Jane, who truly stand out. One doesn't know how realistic they'd have been for the time, but they are wonderful here. Jane, in particular and the most dimensional of all the characters, while being someone truly terrifying—small reminders of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce, but far more dangerous—she also shows great compassion and love. Jane's relationship with Mrs. Shields, the elderly lady with whom she lives, and her growth at the end is heartwarming.

The story moves between Simon and Jane. Rather than disruptive, as this style can be, Nickson makes it feel seamless as there is no disruption of time.

Nickson's depiction of the time is stark. This isn't the charm of drawing rooms and balls. This shows the realities of the beginnings of industrialization, child labor, and poverty—"…a desperately poor area…a court where the piss and shit settled ankle deep. No clean air, everything coated in grime and soot…nothing was ever going to stay clean for more than five minutes around here." A time when a breath of sickness could decimate one's life; when thief-takers took the cases in which the authorities weren't interested and when "justice" was harsh and unmerciful, and when the rich and powerful were in control—"It's never going to change until the laws gives them no option. Even then they'll try to find a way around it. The rich will grow richer and the poor will stay desperate."

Beyond the harshness, the author includes an element of thoughtfulness—"All the dead. What has happened to their souls? He wondered. Where had they gone? Heaven? Hell? Or was there nothing at all?" One can tell that Nickson, who lives in Leeds, has done thorough research of his city and the time.

THE BLOOD COVENANT is a hard,violent book with excellent suspense set in a hard, violent time. After all, as Nickson says in his worth-reading Afterword: "History is cruel." However, the book is honest and the principal characters are sympathetic and compelling.

THE BLOOD COVENANT (HistMys-Simon Westow/Jane-Leeds, England-1823) – VG+
Nickson, Chris – 4th in series
Severn House, Mar 2022, 224 pp.

I absolutely love these books by Chris Nickson. They are brilliantly written, completely atmospheric, and full of character. I just want more and more. Ten stars!

Simon Westow is slowly recovering from an illness that no one has been able to diagnose. He has been laid up for several weeks and is still not back on his game. He is asked to find some silver candlesticks for one of the wealthiest men in town and the job is quite easy, but as it unfolds Simon's life is upended. He finds out that two young boys were killed while working in a local mill. He is aghast and remembers well his own experiences as a mill boy and that harsh treatment he received. Meanwhile, Jane, Simon's assistant, is perturbed to discover her father has returned to Leeds. When she was young, he raped her and her mother threw her out on the street. While Jane and Simon seek justice for the two dead boys, they become embroiled in a revenge pact between Seaton, the mill owner, and Adler, his friend, who has come to believe Simon was responsible for his son's death. Jane is forced to confront her own demons, too. This series is impeccably researched by the author; 1823 Leeds comes to life, reflecting all its growing pains. The characters are very sympathetic. I highly recommend Nickson's writings.

Chris Nickson continues the Simon Westow thieftaker mysteries in nineteenth century England in The Blood Covenant. Simon and his wife have annoyed a factory owner Arden who is a power in Leeds. Every time there is a truce between them another crime or murder upsets the balance. Arden's factory is unsafe and children have died but no one will hold him to account. Can Simon keep his family alive in the face of the imbalance of power of a powerful industrial magnate? Read on.

Thief-taker Simon Westow tries to forget his brutal past in the Leeds mills but when a local doctor tells him of the deaths of two young boys at the hands of the overseers, Westow wants to help. By doing so he comes into the orbit of two violent and powerful men who will stop at nothing to ensure that their businesses remain profitable. As the body count rises Westow needs to protect those near to him whilst Jane is confronted by her own past.
I have always loved Nickson novels set in Leeds and at its heart this is no different. The setting in the early years of the Industrial Revolution is well laid out and the knowledge of the geography of the city is impressive. My only quibble with this book is that it all ended up a bit 'Peaky Blinders' for me - there is a lot of violence and manoeuvring in the last half of the story. It's still great though.

A gripping, gritty, and well written historical mystery, the fourth in the Simon Westow series. I love Chris Nickson's series as there's a strong sense of the place (Leeds) and of the historical times.
There's not a whitewashed description, we are not spared the details of the life of the poors.
There are some very sad moments in this story and there's a a very well written mystery and a well researched historical background.
Excellent book.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Heart in mouth read!

Gripping continuation of the Simon Westow thief taker series set in Leeds. Nickson’s channeled the historical injustices of the time, the brutality of the majority of factory owners and overseers towards the children who worked in the mills, the cheapness of life, the bullying of the powerful who are never called to account. Until they are!
Two young factory lads die from injuries received from brutal mill overseers at Seaton’s Mill. Simon is enraged. It brings back memories of his time in the factories. He still carries the marks.
Wealthy factory owner Thomas Arden, and his associate, mill owner Seaton have a long relationship, and Simon and his family are in their sights.
Jane is as usual slipping around the city. Some strange happenings have her on high alert and she continually senses someone following her.
When Simon’s children are targeted Simon, Rosie and Jane become a focused combination of vengeance.
Jane comes face to face with her nemesis. It’s not pretty. My heart as always goes out to her.
I am overawed by Nickson’s dedication to historical truths about his beloved Leeds, his research and the depth of his visceral reaction to the more unpleasant aspects. This is the icing on the cake that gives legs to this novel. In his Author’s Notes Nickson gives a measured explanation about the source of the energy in writing this novel.
“ Simon Westow novels have always been carried along on a wave of anger, and mine was certainly there. It was sparked by the excavation of bodies in the graveyard of the old Ebenezer Chapel. The dead factory children brought from the earth had been starving when alive, always hungry although they and their families worked twelve hours a day. Then the pandemic arrived, and the fury evaporated, replaced by sorrow and the sense of fragility and impermanence of life.”
I loved this episode in the lives of this little community.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Full disclosure, this is fourth in series, and I started out at ground zero but was still able to follow along fairly well.

Taking place in 1823 Leeds, Simon (married with 2 children) and Jane (his young assistant) are very successful thief-takers. However they are pulled into investigating a series of murders that seem related to abuses found in local mills owned by untouchable powerful men. This becomes personal as Simon grew up in those same conditions himself.

While the plot was for the most part fine and the setting/murders appropriately dark, the writing I found rather simplistic with repetitive sentiments (poor Simon was invariably tired during the entire book) and characters that felt one-dimensional. Slow parts with not a lot of action didn’t help either. I did feel with some editing and more depth, in both character and storyline, it could be a more enjoyable book.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #SevernHouse for providing me the free early arc of #TheBloodCovenant for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

If you have connections in Leeds in the early nineteenth century, you do not want to get on the wrong side of Simon Westow. The same is to be said for his wife Rosie, and especially of his assistant, Jane. Simon is a thief-taker; if you’ve stolen something chances are he’ll be hired to find you and return the property to its rightful owner. Rosie might seem to be an ordinary mother of two boys, but appearances can be deceiving. As for Jane, you probably won’t even have the opportunity to form an opinion on her appearance because she has ways to make herself invisible. Their creator, Chris Nickson, writes them in such a way that readers like this trio, but they aren’t nice people to those who cross them.

Welcome to the Simon Westow Mysteries, of which The Blood Covenant is the fourth title. It starts with a bleak first chapter: Westow is recovering from illness when he hears about the deaths of two child mill workers. Then he comes upon the recovery of a dead body from the river. At first, they don’t seem connected, but there are people in Leeds who know other people, and who don’t like it when thief-takers start asking questions. The mill owner and his overseer have a long history together, to the point where they’ve formed a blood covenant. An attack on one is considered an attack on the other. Westow has now become their enemy.

Although The Blood Covenant is set during the Regency Era, this is not for the faint of heart. This is not Jane Austen’s Regency. This is, as Nickson calls it, Regency Noir. It’s the dark side of a time when the ton danced, and girls wore pretty dresses and giggled innocently. There’s more than one brutal scene ending with blood. Knife fights are common, and more than one person brings a gun to one of those fights. The tension builds slowly, and anticipation makes it difficult to put the book down. You want to believe the trio will prevail, but will there be collateral damage? You’ll be wondering until the end, a very disquieting end.

On a lighter note, there’s a beautiful dedication to all essential workers at the front of the book. This is a novel written during the pandemic.

Disclaimer: Although I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher, the opinions above are my own.

This is complex historical fiction with an interesting protagonist in Simon Weslow, a man who makes his living finding and retrieving stolen items and people. Leeds in the 1820s was not a positive or pretty place, especially for those who worked in the mills. Simon is present when a body is pulled from the river and is compelled to look for answers, This quest takes him into the darkness but his partner Jane is facing a more difficult personal issue when her father- a truly odious man- arrives in town. Animal lovers know that there is a difficult scene. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

Chris Nickson’s Simon Westow series just keeps getting better.

The series is set in Leeds in the early 19th century and features Simon Westow, a thief taker, his wife Rosie, and his assistant Jane.

In this, the third in the series, the trio find themselves on the wrong side of the most powerful men in town. Simon is recovering from a strength-sapping illness, and Jane and Rosie are watching his back as he takes on what looks like the simple recovery of a pair of stolen candlesticks. But when Simon takes a personal interest in the death of two factory children, the case turns more complicated, and exponentially more violent.

A subplot involving Jane’s background uncovers more about this particularly interesting character; I can’t wait to watch her continue to develop.


For fans of Anne Perry and Charles Finch.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had not read Chris Nickson before The Blood Covenant. Although not technically taking place in the Regency period, I would call this Regency Noir like Jeri Westerson's books are medieval noir. The Blood Covenant does not romanticize this period of time. Nickson presents the city of Leeds as corrupt, violent, dirty, diseased, etc. Into this setting we meet Simon Westow, a thief taker, and his assistant Jane. Simon is put in the crosshairs of two corrupt and powerful factory owners when he investigates the deaths of two children at one of the factories. There are several ancillary characters (Simon's wife, the widow who Jane lives with, Jane's abusive father, an American who wants Simon to investigate his brother's death, and more, This is an incredibly atmospheric book and very well written.

Another series that keeps getting better and better with each new title!

This latest Simon Westow Mystery set in Leeds in 1823 is a dark and violent tale of corruption, greed, vengeance and murder, as we follow the winsome and talented thief-catcher Simon and his knife wielding partner, the silent but lethal Jane, as they confront two powerful but ruthless men responsible for a string of murders around the city.

As usual, this novel is full of marvellous historical details about the bleakness and harshness of urban life in Leeds at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the social conditions of its inhabitants such as the appalling issues around child labor.

An adrenaline-fueled murder mystery, cleverly plotted from start to finish with lots of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat and blessed with a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters.

Highly recommended and to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Severn House for this wonderful ARC

1823 Leeds. Simon Westow, thief taker, has retrieved items for local businessman Thomas Arden, but becomes concerned when the thief turns up murdered. Meanwhile he is investigating the death of local man Sebastian Ramsey, clerk in Seaton's mill. But what of the deaths of the young boys who worked at that mill. But soon there will be more deaths to solve. And why is someone trying to kill him. Events soon escalate.
An entertaining, well-plotted, and well-written historical mystery with its cast of varied and likeable characters. A another good addition to the series, which can be read as a standalone story.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “The Blood Covenant.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Evil is as evil does in “The Blood Covenant,” the fourth in the Simon Westow series set in Georgian Leeds. Simon is a veteran thief-taker, someone who recovers stolen items for a fee. He’s been ill, sick from a mysterious illness that has sapped his strength. His helper, Jane is doing well, calmer, still deadly with a knife.

Simon is out walking when he comes across the Night Watch with a dead body. Doesn’t know the man. Soon the dead man’s brother seeks out Simon and wants him to find the killer. Simon declines, doesn’t feel this is a job he wants or needs. That won’t be the end of it, of course. Our author, Chris Nickson has other ideas.

Another job looms; find some missing candlesticks that belong to the son of a very rich man, one that no one crosses, one that everyone in town is afraid of. They retrieve them, and this simple act leads to a whole lot of trouble in “The Blood Covenant,” and a lot of blood there will be. These books are not for the faint of heart.

A real word of warning for readers; there is one scene that was tough to take -- a pig is slaughtered, and you are taken through every step. It’s meant as a warning for Simon, and it’s a wake-up call for readers, too.

Simon also concerns himself with the death of two mill boys, and this factors in the plot. The stories of what happened in factories and mills is horrendous, and reform didn’t start happening until late in the 19th century. The author has Simon trying to change the world. Noble, but impossible, but we do get to see him making a bit of an impact.

We have more bodies. Jane realizes her hated father has come to town, and he becomes involved. How are the deaths all connected? Because of course they are. Are you working it out? Good mysteries want you to do that by giving you pieces of the puzzle: good plotting, and a reason to put them all together, good writing. “The Blood Covenant” has it all; just be prepared for a whole lot of violence. The is not a cozy mystery series.

It becomes a cat and mouse game. There’s a confrontation whereby everyone’s involved. “Everything was death,” as the book tells us. But no one will ever know the truth of what actually happened, which is good for Simon and Jane. And through it all the city of Leeds is a character, the snow, for it is winter, blanketing everything, alternatively pristine white and then dirty with the soot from the factories, filled with unappetizing sights and smells. A place where murder is almost a matter of course.

An afterword explains the author’s thoughts as the novel came together, “carried along on a wave of anger” to be replaced by sorrow, as this was written during the pandemic. Themes resonate in the book then as they do now. As. Mr. Nickson says, history is cruel. This is not a happy book. But you should enjoy his writing of it.

The Pursuit Of Justice…
The fourth Simon Westow mystery finds him deep amidst a distressing case of brutal death. What will he discover in his latest pursuit of justice and truth? An intriguing plot, a wonderful sense of time and place is evoked in the writing with characters that are credible and a narrative peppered with historical facts and atmosphere. A worthy series addition.

I received a review copy of this novel through netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is my first Christ Nickson novel, and I actually heard about this novel through twitter and honesty was sucked in from the premise I read.

I was not let down. I fell in love with his characters and the surroundings truly made me feel like I was in Leeds walking stride for stride with Westow and Jane. Speaking of Jane, she was by far my favorite of the whole novel. Such a strong character who really makes you feel her strength.

I completely enjoyed this read and could not put it down. This is a highly recommend for me. I will be looking into reading more from Nickson.

One of my sons was at Leeds University, and my impression of the city during visits either to move house or to bring food and supplies, was of a city very much sure of itself, embracing the past while relishing a vibrant future. But this was largely Headingly, the university quarter, full of bookshops, trendy cafes and largely peopled by the offspring of comfortable middle class people like me and my wife.

Chris Nickson's Leeds is a very different place. In the Tom Harper novels (click link) and in this,  the latest account of the times of Simon Westow, thief-taker, things are very, very different. This is Georgian England (1823, in this case) and Westow - in an age before a regular police force - earns his living recovering stolen property, for a percentage of its value. He has no judicial authority, save that of his quick wits, his fists and- occasionally - his knife. Recovering from a debilitating illness, Westow is back on the streets, and is juggling with several different investigations. A man has been hauled out of the river. His throat has been fatally slashed, and one of his hands has been hacked off. His brother hires Westow to answer 'who?' and 'why?'.

A rich and powerful Leeds entrepreneur called Arden sets Westow the task of recovering a pair of valuable candlesticks, stolen from his son. But when the investigation is concluded, all too easily, Westow is forced to wonder if he is not being used as a dupe in some larger scheme. To add to his workload, Westow sets out to avenge the deaths of two lads, apparently starved then beaten to death by brutal overseers at a Leeds factory owned by a mysterious man named Seaton.


Westow's assistant is deceptively fragile young woman called Jane. Raped by her father and then thrown out on the street by her mother, she has learned to survive by cunning - and a fatal ability to use a knife, without a second thought, or her dreams being haunted by her victims. She has, to some extent, 'come in from the cold' as she no longer lives on the street, but with an elderly lady of infinite kindness.

As Leeds is cut off from the rest of the world by deep snow, there are more deaths, but few answers. The only thing that is clear in Westow's mind is that there is that - for whatever reason - a blood covenant exists between Arden and Seaton. Two rich and powerful men who have the rudimentary criminal justice system within Leeds at their beck and call. Two men who want ruin - and death - to come to Westow and those he loves.

Before we reach a terrifyingly bloody finale at a remote farm in the hills beyond Leeds, Nickson demonstrates why he is such a good - and impassioned - novelist. He burns with an anger at the decades of of injustice, hardship and misery inflicted on working people by the men who built industrial Leeds, and made their fortunes on the broken bodies of the poor strugglers who lived such dark lives in the insanitary terraces that clustered around the mills and foundries. In terms of modern politics, Chris Nickson and I are worlds apart and there is, of course, a separate debate to be had about the long term effects of the industrial  revolution, but it would be a callous person who could remain unmoved by the accounts of the human wreckage caused by the huge technological upheavals of the 18th and 19th centuries.

There is. of course, a noble tradition of writers who exposed social injustice nearer to their own times - Charles Dickens, Charles Kingsley, Robert Tressell and John Steinbeck, to name but a few, but we shouldn't dismiss Nickson's anger because of the distance between his books and the events he describes. As he walks the streets of modern Leeds, he clearly feels every pang of hunger, every indignity, every broken bone and every hopeless dawn experienced by the people whose blood and sweat made the city what it is today. That he can express this while also writing a bloody good crime novel is the reason why he is, in my opinion, one of our finest contemporary writers. The Blood Covenant is published by Severn House and is out now.