Seven for a Secret (Timothy Wilde Novel)

by Lyndsay Faye

In 1846 New York six months after the formation of the NYPD, officer Timothy Wilde investigates a ring of "blackbirders" who kidnap free people of color in the North and sell them to Southern plantations.

• ISBN10: 0399158383
• ISBN13: 9780399158384
• Publish Date: 17 September 2013
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Amy Einhorn Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 444
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Set in 1845 New York, when the potato famine in Ireland was flooding the city (and a few others in the US) with poverty stricken Irish and at the same time the US hadn't dealt with slavery, yet. It was perfectly fine to kidnap a person of colour and claim that they were an escaped slave, I have seen mention of it before in Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January Series but didn't realise that this happened in New York. Of course Timothy gets involved and of course things get complicated by politics and enemies.Entertaining series.

[Beth C.]

What would it have been like to live in New York before the Civil War? When it was normal to know that your black neighbor, free or not, could disappear at any moment. When people couldn't decide which was worse - the blacks or the Irish, newly arrived to escape the potato famine. When it was considered legal to round up "slaves" and "return" them to the South. For Timothy Wilde, a copper star of the still-new NYPD, it's a brutal and eye-opening world he enters into when he takes it upon himself to rescue two kidnapped blacks.

The follow-up to 'The Gods of Gotham', 'Seven for A Secret' was a great sophomore entry into what promises to be a fantastic series. With two kids and a small home-based business, rare are the times that I sacrifice sleep to continue reading a book. In fact, I honestly cannot remember the last time I did so - until now. The story grabbed me and wouldn't let go, so it was almost 2AM by the time I finally sank back into my mattress for a night's rest.

I sincerely hope that Faye continues to follow the trials and tribulations of Timothy Wilde, his brother, and the NYPD. It's a fascinating fictional look into the true history that helped to shape one of the largest cities in the nation. For me, this book is a keeper!