The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins

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What to expect

Spring, 1728. A young, well-dressed man is dragged through the streets of London to the gallows at Tyburn. The crowds jeer and curse as he passes, calling him a murderer. He tries to remain calm. His name is Tom Hawkins and he is innocent. Somehow he has to prove it, before the rope squeezes the life out of him.
It is, of course, all his own fault. He was happy with Kitty Sparks. Life was good. He should never have told the most dangerous criminal in London that he was 'bored and looking for adventure'. He should never have offered to help Henrietta Howard, the king's mistress, in her desperate struggles with a brutal husband. And most of all, he should never have trusted the witty, calculating Queen Caroline. She has promised him a royal pardon if he holds his tongue but then again, there is nothing more silent than a hanged man.

Based loosely on actual events, Antonia Hodgson's new novel is both a sequel to The Devil in the Marshalsea and a standalone historical mystery. From the gilded cage of the Court to the wicked freedoms of the slums, it reveals a world both seductive and deadly. And it continues the rake's progress of Tom Hawkins - assuming he can find a way to survive the noose...

(P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton

Critics Review

  • She is one of the most impressive practitioners of the historical crime genre.

    Independent online
  • A fast-paced adventure that places Hawkins amongst criminals, court intrigue and conspiracies.

    Woman & Home
  • A rattling, rakish romp through Georgian London. More please!

    William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier
  • Dark, twisting and witty. Dripping with 18th century intrigue – from the slums to the palaces of London.

    S D Sykes, author of PLAGUE LAND
  • Hodgson has again married immaculate research to the rip-roaring pace of the modern thriller and come up with a triumphant slice of historical fiction.

    The Independent on Sunday
  • [A] rip-roaring historical thriller . . . I look forward to seeing what scurries out of the dark and grimy streets in Hodgson’s next masterpiece.

    Daily Express

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