Edwardian England, Sofia Logan has just lost her husband. With two young children to look after, rent to pay, and mouths to feed, she doesn’t have too long to grieve before she has to set out to find work.

Her deceased husband’s boss, Emmet Vinsant makes her an offer to work at his gambling venues of an evening so that she can spot cheats or those that are on a winning streak. At first she tells him no as the venues are no place for a female, however, with no-one willing to hire her she has to accept his offer. The money might be good but Emmett knows all about her past, which seems to be coming back to haunt her.

One thing is for certain her children come first and she will do everything and anything in her power to keep them safe, make sure they are fed and that they have a roof over their heads, no matter the cost to her or others.

Earlier this year I read my first Helen Field’s novel, ‘Perfect Kill‘, and loved it. It is a modern-day thriller, whereas this book is set in 1905. We also hear about Sophie’s younger life as she was brought up in a travelling fair and is a bit of a card shark.

From the very first page, I was hooked on this book. Sophie is a woman who has lost the only man she has ever loved and the only man she has ever trusted. She didn’t have a great start to life and her husband gave her the will to put her life back together and change the direction she was going in. With him no longer on the scene, Sophie finds herself in a hard predicament, the perfect example of between a rock and a hard place. Yes she is cunning and sly at times, but she needs to be to survive.

Emmet is one of those characters that comes across as kind but a little creepy at the start but progressively throughout we see a darker side to him. My favourite character was Sophie’s new neighbour and police officer, Charlie.

The book covers lots of historical subjects from the era and Edwardian England was easily recognisable. The setting of dowdy London, the mannerisms of the residents, and the whole atmosphere of the book had me transported back in time with each chapter.

Sometimes you just connect with a book and lose track of time whilst reading and you don’t want to put it down. For me, this was one of those books. There is so much intrigue, mystery, and action set within this historical fiction that I didn’t want it to end. Sophie was certainly a woman ahead of her time!

An international and Amazon #1 best-selling author, Helen is a former criminal and family law barrister. Every book in the Callanach series claimed an Amazon #1 bestseller flag. Her next book, the sixth in the series, ‘Perfect Kill’ was released on the 6th February 2020.

Helen also writes as HS Chandler, and last year released legal thriller ‘Degrees of Guilt’. Her previous audio book ‘Perfect Crime’ knocked Michelle Obama off the #1 spot. Translated into 15 languages, and also selling in the USA, Canada & Australasia, Helen’s books have won global recognition.

Her first historical thriller ‘These Lost & Broken Things’ comes out in May 2020. A further standalone thriller published by HarperColllins will come soon. She currently commutes between Hampshire, Scotland and California, where she lives with her husband and three children.