'A page-turner of a crime thriller . . . This is a world conveyed with convincing, terrible clarity' - C. J. Sansom, author of Dissolution.

Winner of the HWA Debut Crown
Winner of the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award

Blood & Sugar is the thrilling debut historical crime novel from Laura Shepherd-Robinson for fans of C. J. Sansom and Andrew Taylor.

June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock, London - horribly tortured and branded with a slaver's mark.

Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham - a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career - learns that an old friend, passionate abolitionist Tad Archer, had been about to expose a secret that he believed could cause irreparable damage to the British slaving industry. He'd said people were trying to kill him, and now he is missing . . .

To discover what happened to Tad, Harry is forced to pick up the threads of his friend's investigation, delving into the heart of the conspiracy Tad had unearthed. His investigation will threaten his political prospects, his family's happiness, and force a reckoning with his past, risking the revelation of secrets that have the power to destroy him.

And that is only if he can survive the mortal dangers awaiting him in Deptford . . .

'A brilliant book . . . Absolutely superb' - James O'Brien

Shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger
Shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger
Longlisted for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year

1781. An investigation into a gruesome murder on the Deptford Docks leads to a dark secret that could change the very core of British society...

About the Author
Laura Shepherd-Robinson was born in Bristol in 1976. She has a BSc in Politics from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics. Laura worked in politics for nearly twenty years before re-entering normal life to complete an MA in Creative Writing at City University. She lives in London with her husband, Adrian. Blood & Sugar is her first novel.

Reviews
Laura Shepherd-Robinson has written a story that is not only a page-turner of a thriller but, to an extent unusual in historical novels, where you feel you really are listening to a voice from the eighteenth century. This is a world conveyed with convincing, terrible clarity' -- C. J. Sansom, author of Dissolution, Tombland and Winter in Madrid
A novel of astonishing skill * Financial Times *
A tightly plotted crime story with vivid details of Georgian England * Sunday Times *
Stunning . . . Blood & Sugar is a harrowing and brutal epic [that] shocks and thrills in equal measure * Express *
A striking historical thriller . . . Few first novels are as accomplished as this -- Andrew Taylor, author of The Ashes of London
Epic, harrowing, thrilling, brutal, addictive. I read it flat out in one day -- C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man
Enthralling * Daily Telegraph *
Magnificent . . . A tense and gripping historical thriller that shines an unwavering light on a dark period in British history. Unmissable. -- Antonia Hodgson, author of The Devil in the Marshalsea
Phenomenal . . . A shoo-in for one of the books of the year -- David Young, author of Stasi Child
A searing, ingeniously constructed story * The Times *
Extraordinary -- Caz Frear, author of Sweet Little Lies
Truly addictive -- Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl
A passionate indictment of British involvement in the slave trade but it never neglects its duty to chill and thrill * Sunday Express *
With a hugely likeable hero at its heart, this rich and beautifully written debut marks out Laura Shepherd-Robinson as a major new talent -- Fiona Cummins, author of Rattle
The finest Georgian intrigue * The Times Crime Club *
A remarkably assured debut -- Elizabeth Fremantle, author of The Queen's Gambit
A page-turning dive into the torrid depths of London in the 1780s -- Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker
Gripping and original . . . I absolutely loved it -- Karen Hamilton, author of The Perfect Girlfriend
Immersive and exhilarating . . . I was completely swept away -- Holly Seddon, author of Love Will Tear Us Apart
Extraordinary, immersive, addictive and moving -- Olivia Kiernan, author of Too Close to Breath
I can't recommend it enough -- Jo Jakeman, author of Sticks and Stones
Utterly compelling . . . The next star of historical crime fiction has arrived -- R. N. Morris
The most absorbing, intelligent and breathtakingly atmospheric novel I've read in a long time -- Chris Whitaker
I haven't read such an accomplished historical novel since I was introduced to C.J. Sansom. -- Jo Spain
A gripping mystery . . . I loved it -- Laura Marshall, author of Friend Request
One of the best historical novels I've read in ages. -- Kaite Welsh, author of The Wages of Sin
Deptford, a gateway to and from Britain's expanding empire, is evoked in pungent detail. The British slave trade was an appalling episode in our history and the novel is unflinching in its refusal to sentimentalise motives or to row back on the savagery of the times. * Daily Mail *
A brilliant book . . . Superb . . . Absolutely superb' -- James O'Brien, presenter of LBC Radio and bestselling author of How To Be Right
One of the most sophisticated crime novels of the past few years * The Critic *
Read Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson, but read Blood & Sugar first: a) because it's brilliant, and b) because the characters overlap. They're both murder mysteries set in a meticulously and hyper-vividly drawn 18th-century London. The first is eye-opening about slavery, the second is about prostitution, or rather the first is about race and the second is about woman. Total page-turners -- India Knight * Sunday Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9781509880799
Author Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Format Paperback
Page Count 464
Imprint Pan Books
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Weight(grams) 296g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 130mm * 34mm