Ratcatcher ~ James McGee

Ever since I saw a theatrical production of Oliver Twist, in an outdoor theatre of an evening in the dead of winter, when I was 6 or 7 years old, I've been fascinated by the people fully immersed in the underground economy because of characters like Dodger, Fagan, Sikes, Nancy and their nemeses - the Bow Street Runners. I wanted to meet these people who roamed in the alleys of my city, until the librarian tried very hard not to laugh when telling me that Pentonville, Newgate and Islington were in the other London. Though completely deflated regarding my inability to meet with these people it did not dissuade me from my love affair with The Artful Dodger, Dickens and the men of the law.

With the exception of a couple of online games, I did not realise there were fictions about the Bow Street Runners, therefore, when it appeared in a group read monthly poll a while back I was beyond excited. It didn't win, but I made sure to add the Matthew Hawkwood character to my reading list anyway.

What I like about McGee's characters is that they have strong convictions and stand by them. Sometimes an author will define a character as having particular characteristics but when challenged, it becomes muddled. McGee doesn't do that. That isn't to say that there aren't weaknesses. I truly enjoy Matthew Hawkwood as a person generally; but I'm not sure how an intelligent man with such obvious physical talents ends up needing to be rescued whenever he gets into a sticky spot. I fail to understand how these characters survive. I expect that this was by design, as generally speaking, Bow Street Runners were not known to have partners. Usually there were about six of them working for the magistrate and that was it. What McGee has done is made room for Hawkwood to have a partner handy who he trusts and can depend upon. I am hoping that Hawkwood is able to get himself out of most future scrapes in future instalments.

The story itself is quite interesting with Napoleon and his interest in the East and tapping into that American revolutionary spirit all the while giving Wellington nothing but grief. As a result Hawkwood is more of an early incarnation of MI5 than a Runner. The novel features the required elements for a good detective mystery with treachery and deception, accidents and street urchins along with everything else one expects from 19th century London, with the added benefit of new naval technology. I also found that the author was able to impress how someone not from The Rookery might have felt, being that it's an obvious location for any number of shady goings-on, every corner fraught with danger, creating a sense of urgency and fear. For that, I'll be reading the next in the series.

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.