The Canary Keeper

'What a joy! Reads like a classic nineteenth-century mystery with a twist, richly dark and full of gaslit menace' LESLEY THOMSON. They will see me hang for this. London, 1855. In the grey mist of the early morning a body is dumped on the shore of the Thames by a boatman in a metal canoe. The city is soon alive with talk of the foreign killer and his striking accomplice: a young woman dressed in widow's weeds. Branna 'Birdie' Quinn's sleeplessness led her to the river that morning, but was it only thoughts of her drowned husband that kept her awake? She has always been wilful, haughty, different... but is she a murderess? To clear her name, Birdie must retrace the dead man's footsteps to Orkney and the far north. A dangerous journey for a woman alone, but one she must make in order to save her neck from the hangman's noose. This gripping, richly layered historical thriller is perfect for fans of The Familiars, The House Between Tides and The Confessions of Franny Langton. Reviews for Clare Carson: 'Superb storytelling, clever and convoluted plotting, and a wonderful sense of time and place' CRIME REVIEW. 'Meaty, beautifully written and original' IRISH INDEPENDENT. 'Original and absorbing' LITERARY REVIEW.