A Tom Harper Mystery
5 primary works • 10 total works
Book 2
Leeds, England, Christmas Eve, 1890. DI Tom Harper is looking forward to a well-earned rest. But it's not to be. A young man has been found stabbed to death in the city's poverty-stricken Jewish district, his body carefully arranged in the shape of a cross, two bronze pennies covering his eyes. Could someone be pursuing a personal vendetta against the Jews?
Harper's investigations are hampered by the arrival of Capitaine Bertrand Muyrere of the French police, who has come to Leeds to look into the disappearance of the famous French inventor Louis Le Prince, vanished without trace after boarding a train to Paris.
With no one in the close-knit Jewish community talking to the police and with tensions rising, DI Harper realizes he'll have to resort to more unorthodox methods in order to unmask the killer.
Book 3
Leeds, England. October, 1891. An unclaimed parcel at the Central Post Office is discovered to contain the decomposing body of a baby boy. It's a gruesome case for DI Tom Harper. Then a fire during the night destroys half the railway station. The next day a woman's body is found in the rubble. But Catherine Carr didn't die in the blaze: she'd been stabbed to death - and Harper has to find her killer.
The estranged wife of a wealthy industrialist, Catherine had been involved with the Leeds Suffragist Society, demanding votes for women, the same organization for which Harper's wife Annabelle has just become a speaker. Were Catherine's politics the cause of her death? Or is the husband she abandoned behind it? But when her brother escapes from the asylum and steals a shotgun, Harper has to race to find the answers.
Book 4
Leeds, England. July, 1893. D.I. Tom Harper is witnessing the demonstration of a devastating new naval weapon, the torpedo, at Roundhay Park. The explosion brings up a body in the lake, a rope lashed tightly around its waist.
At the same time, dredging operations in the River Aire are disrupted when a woman's severed leg floats to the water's surface, still clad in its stocking and boot. Could the two macabre discoveries be connected?
Harper's investigations will lead him right to the heart of the criminal underworld that underpins the city - and into the path of a merciless killer.
Book 5
"An outstanding entry in an excellent historical-mystery series that deserves more attention" - Booklist Starred Review
Detective Inspector Tom Harper finds answers hard to come by in his latest, most challenging, investigation to date.
Leeds, England. March, 1895. The day after his release from prison, petty criminal Henry White is found stabbed to death at his terraced home on Copper Street. Pursuing enquiries in a neighbourhood where people are suspicious of strangers and hostile to the police, DI Tom Harper and his team find the investigation hard going. If anyone knows anything about Henry White's murder - or the robbery that landed him in gaol in the first place - they are unable or unwilling to say.
At the same time, acid is thrown over a young boy in a local bakery in a seemingly unprovoked attack. Praying for a breakthrough, Harper knows that he must uncover the motive in each case if he is to have any chance of catching the culprits. Of one thing he is certain: if he doesn't find answers soon, more deaths will follow.
Book 6
Leeds, England. October, 1897. Superintendent Harper is proud of his wife Annabelle. She's one of seven women selected to stand for election as a Poor Law Guardian. But even as the campaign begins, Annabelle and the other female candidates start to receive anonymous letters from someone who believes a woman's place lies firmly in the home.
The threats escalate into outright violence when an explosion rips through the church hall where Annabelle is due to hold a meeting - with fatal consequences. The only piece of evidence Harper has is a scrap of paper left at the scene containing a fragment from an old folk song. But what is its significance?
As polling day approaches and the attacks increase in menace and intensity, Harper knows he's in a race against time to uncover the culprit before more deaths follow. With the lives of his wife and daughter at risk, the political becomes cruelly personal .
"Thoughtful characterizations and a plausible, heartrending plot add up to a winner. Nickson stands in the front rank of historical mystery authors" - Publishers Weekly Starred Review
"Nickson's latest and perhaps finest is a breathless race for the truth from start to finish" - Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
When an old friend asks Superintendent Tom Harper for help, he finds himself drawn into a deadly web of intimidation, corruption and misery on the streets of Leeds.
Leeds, England. July, 1899. The hot summer has been fairly quiet for Detective Superintendent Tom Harper and his squad, until a daring burglary occurs at an expensive Leeds address. Then his friend and former colleague, Inspector Billy Reed, asks for his help. Billy's brother, Charlie, a shopkeeper, has committed suicide. Going through Charlie's papers, Billy discovers crippling rent rises demanded by his new landlord. Could these have driven him to his death?
As Harper investigates, he uncovers a web of intimidation and corruption that leads back to the mysterious North Leeds Company. Who is pulling the strings behind the scenes and bringing a new kind of misery and violence to the people of Leeds? Harper is determined to unmask the culprits, but how much blood will be shed as he tries?
"Superior . Even minor characters are fully fleshed out in this trip down the mean streets of early 20th-century Leeds. Nickson's consistent high quality across multiple series continues to impress" - Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Detective Superintendent Tom Harper senses trouble ahead when the prime minister plans a visit. Can he keep law and order on the streets while also uncovering the truth behind a missing child?
Leeds, September 1908. There's going to be a riot. Detective Superintendent Tom Harper can feel it. Herbert Asquith, the prime minster, is due to speak in the city. The suffragettes and the unemployed men will be out in the streets in protest. It's Harper's responsibility to keep order. Can he do it?
Harper has also received an anonymous letter claiming that a young boy called Andrew Sharp was stolen from his family fourteen years before. The file is worryingly thin. It ought to have been bulging. A missing child should have been headline news. Why was Andrew's disappearance ignored?
Determined to uncover the truth about Andrew Sharp and bring the boy some justice, Harper is drawn deep into the dark underworld of child-snatching, corruption and murder as Leeds becomes a molten, rioting city.
A dangerous American is in town, but is he really responsible for a deadly crime spree in Leeds?
Leeds, June 1913. Deputy Chief Constable Tom Harper is a busy man. He's overseeing a national suffragist pilgrimage due in Leeds that his wife Annabelle intends to join, and his daughter Mary has exciting plans of her own. Then a letter arrives from police in New York: Davey Mullen, an American gangster born in Leeds, is on his way back to the city, fleeing a bloody gang war.
Despite Tom's best efforts to keep an eye on him, Davey's arrival triggers a series of chilling events in the city. Is he responsible for the sudden surge in crime, violence and murder on Leeds's streets? Facing a mounting workload, Tom must hunt down a cold-blooded killer while also confronting danger and tragedy close to home.
Tom Harper must catch a traitor intent on disrupting the war effort and bringing terror to the streets of Leeds in this page-turning mystery.
"Nickson does his usual superb job of evoking the period and . . . reinforces his place in the front rank of historical mystery authors"- Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Leeds. December, 1916. Deputy Chief Constable Tom Harper is called out in the middle of the night when a huge explosion rips through a munitions factory supplying war materials, leaving death and destruction in its wake. A month later, matches and paper to start a fire are found in an army clothing depot. It's a chilling discovery: there's a saboteur running loose on the streets of Leeds.
As so many give their lives in the trenches, Harper and his men are working harder than ever - and their investigation takes a dark twist with two shootings, at the local steelworks and a hospital. With his back against the wall and the war effort at stake, Harper can't afford to fail. But can he catch the traitor intent on bringing terror to Leeds?
