Book Synopsis:
The City of London, 1678. New Year’s Day. The body of a young boy, drained of his blood and with a sequence of numbers inscribed on his skin, is discovered on the snowy bank of the Fleet River. With London gripped by hysteria, where rumors of Catholic plots and sinister foreign assassins abound, Sir Edmund Bury Godfrey, the powerful Justice of Peace for Westminster, is certain of Catholic guilt in the crime. He enlists Robert Hooke, the Curator of Experiments of the Royal Society, and his assistant, Harry Hunt, to help his enquiry. Sir Edmund confides to Hooke that the bloodless boy is not the first to have been discovered. He also presents Hooke with a cipher that was left on the body. That same morning Henry Oldenburg, the Secretary of the Royal Society, blows his brains out. A disgraced Earl is released from the Tower of London, bent on revenge against the King, Charles II. Wary of the political hornet’s nest they are walking into – and using evidence rather than paranoia in their pursuit of truth – Hooke and Hunt must discover why the boy was murdered, and why his blood was taken. Moreover, what does the cipher mean?
The Bloodless Boy is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
My Review:
The Bloodless Boy is an absolutely fascinating and gripping read from a new author for me. The book itself is stunning to look at with beautiful end papers and special edges that make it seem like the book is in fact much older then it is.
Firstly the author has clearly done a lot of research into this period and I soon found myself transported to 17th Century London. Everything is vividly described and I really felt that I could picture it in my minds eye and even smell the grime at one point. I must admit to not knowing much about this time period so I eagerly drank in every little detail. It was especially interesting to see the arguments between science and religion at this time as science became more researched and the churches reaction as more people turned away from religion.
This story had a little bit of everything in it which helps keep the readers attention throughout the book. There are moments of in depth investigation, some very exciting chases and even some touching moments as we see how the characters are affected by all that is happening. There descriptions of some of the medical procedures they used to read were rather gruesome at times though I found it very intriguing to learn more about. I can’t believe that some people thought they’d cure anything using these methods.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I am now very excited to read the sequel. The writing is very clever with lots of twist and turns in the story which kept me on my toes. One of the things I most liked about the story was the way the author leaves subtle clues throughout the book as to who the murderer is so it felt at times like I was actually involved in the investigation myself. The final reveal was a great surprise but when thinking about it after reading I realised that actually there were moments in the book where I should have guessed who was behind it all. I’d love to re-read it again soon knowing the ending to figure out where I should have guessed earlier.
Huge thanks to Nikki from Melville House for inviting me onto the special 20 Year of Melville House Blog tour and for my copy of this beautiful book.
About The Author:
Robert Lloyd, the son of parents who worked in the British Foreign Office, grew up in South London, Innsbruck, and Kinshasa. He studied for a Fine Art degree, starting as a landscape painter, but it was while studying for his MA degree in The History of Ideas that he first read Robert Hooke’s diary, detailing the life and experiments of this extraordinary man. After a 20-year career as a secondary school teacher, he has now returned to painting and writing. The Bloodless Boy is his debut novel. He is at work on a sequel.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
This one sounds right up my street.
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