'Perhaps there has been a little - Jiggery Pokery?' This was the first thought that crossed the mind of experienced Constable John Beddows, when he and his rookie, Constable Samson Shepherd, first set eyes on the body of a young boy in the local river.Had the Constables known then, that this was to be only a mere glimpse of what they and their colleagues would shortly have to face up to, they may have thought again, and shuddered!Rumour; folklore; legend; what place in these events? Flesh and blood was more likely to be the key to this one, in every sense!This is 1850 in Leicester, England, where the rich are getting richer and the poor are to all intent and purpose, disposable!Do Shepherd and his mentor Beddows, together with their colleagues 'The Borough Boys', have the skills and resolve to cut out the heart of this depravity?This is a tale of England at its worst. A time that meant wealth and greed to many and poverty, illness and death to many more.Industrial towns were attracting thousands of incomers from Ireland and the traditonal county industries, with the expectation of new jobs and better conditions.Leicester went from a stunning medieval town to a dark, sooty, acrid, septic cesspit of industry and its people suffered. Those that became rich moved from the squalor they created and left it to the poorest.Rookeries sprang up where people were crammed into hovels in tiny yards and alleyways, fighting with rats and beasts for what food or water could be scavenged.This was a time of desperation, where the poor had choices. Sadly this often meant death and poverty or a life of crime. Prison and transportation was no worse then the squalor in which they lived and death to some, a blessing in disguise.So, crime was a 'no brainer' and street pads, pick-pockets, robbers, burglars, cheats and prostitutes of all ages and sex, filled the small, narrow streets of the Borough.The real Borough Boys were employed in 1836 after Robert Peel created local police forces. The Leicester Borough Force covered the area of Leicester town, and its county was covered by a County Force. 50 men alone policed the town day and night, for sixteen hours at a time, seven days a week, in extraordinary conditions.These were the pathfinders of modern police, tough and at times as devious as the people they sought to arrest and convict. Rough, drunk - often - but taking on the worst crime could throw at them.Jack Ketch's Puppets is a tale about the start of the Borough Police, featuring fictional and historical (real) coppers - 'Borough Boys', such as Robert Charters, Tanky Smith and Black Tommy Haynes...who became legends!This is the first book in the series and I would encourage you to take a chance and read it.If you like Police, history, drama, fiction, murder, crime, you will love the series.It has had great reviews and in July the first two books in the series sat in the top 100 Crime mysteries on KDP free books.Of the reviews across the Amazon market place, most are 5*, and an odd, complementary 3*.Somebody out there likes them!
About the Author: Phil Simpkin is a retired Police Officer, and now writes period and contemporary crime novels, from 1455bookcompany. He is also a keen Poet. The series, 'The Borough Boys', of which 'Jack Ketch's Puppets' is the first title, has been 36 years in the making, with ideas first formulated, when he was walking the beat in Leicester, England, in 1976. Many of his characters and stories, are founded on personal experiences, and he hopes they bring a level of reality and freshness to the novels. His work can be viewed at his website: www.1455bookcompany.com and also through his blog: www.1455bookcompany.blogspot.co.uk. He will be publishing further titles later this year (2013) together with a series of Novellas, featuring a contemporary Detective, Tony Lawrence. All names and titles copyright Phil Simpkin (c) 2013