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JAMES McGEE
THE HAWKWOOD SERIES
( To read a review, click on the jacket images)
THE RECKONING (Matthew Hawkwood 6)
Nominated for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger Award 2018
Home from the war in America, Matthew Hawkwood’s return to Bow Street is marked by a summons to a burying ground and the corpse of a young woman, murdered and cast into
an open grave. At first, the death is deemed to be of little consequence but when Chief Magistrate James Read receives a direct order from the Home Department to abandon
the case, Hawkwood’s interest is piqued. When Hawkwood’s hunt for the killer leads him from London’s squalid backstreets into the heart of a government determined to protect
its secrets at all costs, his one recourse is to turn to​ his contacts within the criminal underworld for help. As the truth behind the girl’s murder emerges, setting in motion
a deadly chain of events, Hawkwood learns the true meaning of loyalty and that this
time the enemy is much closer to home than he ever imagined…
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THE BLOODING (Matthew Hawkwood 5)
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1812: Matthew Hawkwood, soldier turned spy, is stranded behind enemy lines; in America, a country at war with Britain. Heading for the safety of the Canadian border, Hawkwood’s route takes him to Albany where the chance sighting of a former comrade-in-arms - Major Douglas Lawrence - within a consignment of British prisoners puts paid to his plans. For as the two men make their escape they uncover an American plot to invade Canada. If it is successful, the entire continent will be lost. The British authorities must be warned. Pursued by a relentless enemy, Hawkwood and Lawrence set off across the snow-bound Adirondack Mountains; the land the Iroquois call ‘The Hunting Grounds’. But they are not alone. Buried deep in Hawkwood’s past is an old alliance – one that could save both their lives and help turn the tide of war…
Nominated for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger Award 2015
REBELLION (Matthew Hawkwood 4)
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October 1812: Napoleon and his Grand Army have advanced to the gates of Moscow but the deadly Russian winter is closing in fast. Back in France, food supplies are running low and the country is on the verge of bankruptcy. Even Bonaparte’s senior generals grow weary of the fight. Meanwhile, in London, former soldier Matthew Hawkwood has been seconded to a shadowy Home Office department. His chequered past makes him dangerous and unpredictable, but his superiors believe he is perfect for a crucial mission. For the British have an undercover agent in Paris, with a daring proposal that requires Hawkwood’s unique expertise. If the plan succeeds, it could lead to peace between old and bitter enemies. Failure would mean prison, torture and a meeting with the guillotine…
RAPSCALLION (Matthew Hawkwood 3)
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For a French prisoner of war, there is only one fate worse than the gallows: the hulks.
Former men-o'-war, now converted to prison ships, their fearsome reputation guarantees a sentence served in the most dreadful conditions. Few survive. Escape, it's said, is impossible. Yet reports persist of a sinister smuggling operation within this brutal world – and the Royal Navy is worried enough to send two of its officers to investigate. But when they disappear without trace, the Navy turns in desperation to Bow Street for help. It's time to send in a man as dangerous as the prey he hunts. It's time to send in Hawkwood…
RESURRECTIONIST (Matthew Hawkwood 2)
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A new term at London’s anatomy schools stokes demand for fresh corpses and the city’s resurrection men vie for control of the market. Their rivalry takes an even grimmer turn when a grave robber is brutally murdered and his body displayed as a warning to other gangs. To hunt down those responsible, Hawkwood must venture into London’s darkest corners, where ever more gruesome discoveries await him. Nowhere, though, is as grim as Bedlam, notorious asylum for the insane and scene of another bizarre killing. Sent to investigate, Hawkwood finds himself pitted against a formidable adversary, Colonel Titus Hyde, an obsessive genius hell bent on advancing the cause of science at any cost.
RATCATCHER (Matthew Hawkwood 1)
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Hunting down highwaymen is not the usual preserve of a Bow Street Runner, which makes former soldier turned peace officer, Matthew Hawkwood, wonder why his superiors are so concerned by what appears to be a relatively mundane case, even if it did involve the murder and mutilation of a naval courier. Soon, Hawkwood finds himself pursuing a trail that leads him from the squalor of St Giles Rookery to the brightly lit salons of the aristocracy and the heart of the British establishment. It is only with the discovery of a corpse on the banks of the Thames that the true agenda behind the robbery begins to emerge and a dark conspiracy is revealed. Bonaparte’s agents are preparing to launch an assassination attempt that would crush British morale and bring terror to the seas for years to come…
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Long-listed for Theakstons crime novel of the year 2007