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DI Tom Harper #2
Two Bronze Pennies
The second intriguing historical mystery to feature Detective Inspector Tom Harper
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.
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.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2015
23 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Chris Nickson
69 books181 followersI'm a novelist and music journalist, the author of many books set between the 1730s and 1950s in Leeds, as well as others in medieval Chesterfield and 1980s Seattle.
Above all, though, its Leeds I love, the people, the sense of the place changing with time. Yes, I write mysteries, but ultmiateoly they're books about people and their relationships, and the crime becomes a moral framework for the story.
Above all, though, its Leeds I love, the people, the sense of the place changing with time. Yes, I write mysteries, but ultmiateoly they're books about people and their relationships, and the crime becomes a moral framework for the story.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
January 26, 2021
"Two pools of blood on his chest where he'd been stabbed......And once again, two bronze pennies covering the sightless eyes; did they mean anything?"
D.I. Tom Harper's sleep is interrupted by a pounding on the door in the middle of the night. A young Jewish man has been found stabbed to death on Christmas Eve. No one seems to know why. But the murderer leaves his calling card.
And now there is tension in the Leylands of Leeds here in 1890. The Jewish community knows its familiar surroundings of poverty. But murder? And this will not be the last time that death pulls up a chair and remains at the table. When another death occurs, Harper calls for more men on the streets. It appears that neither young nor old are safe from these attacks.
Constable Billy Reed goes undercover after the investigation leads them to suspect a gang of thugs who have swooped down into this neighborhood. His military background while serving in the British Army in Afghanistan has benefitted him in the past. But this is an elusive gang and he and Harper haven't many leads. Reed will take a step too close to their inner circle and he may not be able to take another step back.
Chris Nickson presents the second book in this series featuring Tom Harper. Each book can still be read as a standalone. Harper has recently married his ambitious bar and bakery owner wife, Annabelle, who adds a lot of snap to the storyline. There is also the undercurrent of another story thread involving Louis Le Prince who goes missing enroute to America to patent his new invention of the first motion picture camera.
Once again, Nickson delivers. He does a fine job with his research and his familiarity of Leeds. The characters are well-rounded and the dialogue befits the time period. A very satisfying read, indeed. Will be reaching for #3 in this series very soon. Keep 'em coming, Chris Nickson.
D.I. Tom Harper's sleep is interrupted by a pounding on the door in the middle of the night. A young Jewish man has been found stabbed to death on Christmas Eve. No one seems to know why. But the murderer leaves his calling card.
And now there is tension in the Leylands of Leeds here in 1890. The Jewish community knows its familiar surroundings of poverty. But murder? And this will not be the last time that death pulls up a chair and remains at the table. When another death occurs, Harper calls for more men on the streets. It appears that neither young nor old are safe from these attacks.
Constable Billy Reed goes undercover after the investigation leads them to suspect a gang of thugs who have swooped down into this neighborhood. His military background while serving in the British Army in Afghanistan has benefitted him in the past. But this is an elusive gang and he and Harper haven't many leads. Reed will take a step too close to their inner circle and he may not be able to take another step back.
Chris Nickson presents the second book in this series featuring Tom Harper. Each book can still be read as a standalone. Harper has recently married his ambitious bar and bakery owner wife, Annabelle, who adds a lot of snap to the storyline. There is also the undercurrent of another story thread involving Louis Le Prince who goes missing enroute to America to patent his new invention of the first motion picture camera.
Once again, Nickson delivers. He does a fine job with his research and his familiarity of Leeds. The characters are well-rounded and the dialogue befits the time period. A very satisfying read, indeed. Will be reaching for #3 in this series very soon. Keep 'em coming, Chris Nickson.
June 5, 2018
Very atmospheric, but I found it crashingly dull. If the intention was to show how painstakingly difficult it could be to hunt down criminals in those days, then the author succeeded.
The characters are very interesting and well-drawn so I shall try another. However, I guessed fairly early on who the person behind the crimes had to be, so the ending was not a surprise.
The characters are very interesting and well-drawn so I shall try another. However, I guessed fairly early on who the person behind the crimes had to be, so the ending was not a surprise.
August 3, 2022
Two Bronze Pennies provides a disparate set of tales. On the one hand, Detective Inspector Tom Harper has been charged with finding the perpetrator of a series of anti-Jewish murders in Leeds. This community, made up primarily of immigrants and their England-born children is tight-lipped and angry. Harper has difficulty getting the information he needs. He also worries that retaliative violence may break out at any moment.
On the other hand, Harper is also charged with assisting Capitaine Bertrand Muyrere, a French detective investigating the disappearance of Louie LePrince, the French inventor of “moving pictures” (sorry, Edison). LePrince was a historical figure and did disappear on September 16, 1890.
Harper is aided by his wife Annabelle, a self-sufficient pub owner with a bit more tact than the detective possesses. As a pub owner, she has an income significantly greater than Harper’s, which makes for some interesting moments between the pair.
If you enjoy historical mysteries, especially those carefully grounded in fact, Two Bronze Pennies will provide you with satisfying reading, taking you beyond the usual depictions of Victorian England to a complex, volatile time.
On the other hand, Harper is also charged with assisting Capitaine Bertrand Muyrere, a French detective investigating the disappearance of Louie LePrince, the French inventor of “moving pictures” (sorry, Edison). LePrince was a historical figure and did disappear on September 16, 1890.
Harper is aided by his wife Annabelle, a self-sufficient pub owner with a bit more tact than the detective possesses. As a pub owner, she has an income significantly greater than Harper’s, which makes for some interesting moments between the pair.
If you enjoy historical mysteries, especially those carefully grounded in fact, Two Bronze Pennies will provide you with satisfying reading, taking you beyond the usual depictions of Victorian England to a complex, volatile time.
December 27, 2016
The second of the DI Tom Harper crime novels. This one caused me no end of confusion as one of the bad guys shares a name with a work colleague. However the work colleague is a big steampunk fan and like to dress as such, has ginger hair and is a union guy such as another character Maguire. So in the end all three ended up as one person with my work colleague being chased around Victorian Leeds by the police!
Real life people confusions aside this is another excellent book in the Harper series. Following on from our introductory book Nickson continues to build his characters and they start to feel almost real. I now have very clear images of characters just by the mention of their names. As mentioned before I managed to read book 4 before the others so I've now got a clearer idea on how relationships happened and became as they are. Book 3 will fill in the final gaps. Without giving away any spoilers the strained friendship of Harper and Reed in book 4 is explained in this books and I found it really sad. I can see why it had to happen but I guess that's a testament to the writing when you're routing for things not to happen.
It's another good book, fast paced. I could see parallels between the trials of the Jewish population and current events of today with displaced refugees of Syria and other countries. And as usual as a life long resident of Leeds it's fun to work out where the richly described streets and landmarks once were.
Another great story; thumbs up
Real life people confusions aside this is another excellent book in the Harper series. Following on from our introductory book Nickson continues to build his characters and they start to feel almost real. I now have very clear images of characters just by the mention of their names. As mentioned before I managed to read book 4 before the others so I've now got a clearer idea on how relationships happened and became as they are. Book 3 will fill in the final gaps. Without giving away any spoilers the strained friendship of Harper and Reed in book 4 is explained in this books and I found it really sad. I can see why it had to happen but I guess that's a testament to the writing when you're routing for things not to happen.
It's another good book, fast paced. I could see parallels between the trials of the Jewish population and current events of today with displaced refugees of Syria and other countries. And as usual as a life long resident of Leeds it's fun to work out where the richly described streets and landmarks once were.
Another great story; thumbs up
March 6, 2016
Very happy to have found new author of historical police procedural genre.
The events take place in 1890 - Leeds. Detective Inspector Tom Harper faces many challenges in the cold winter resolving murders that take place in area where the Jewish population has settled without welcome.
I enjoyed reading this second book of a well written series featuring Harper and will go get the first book so I can backtrack to the beginning. I only lost my patience a couple of times while wishing things could have been done differently -- my typical reaction while reading police procedurals. I always have a better way to catch the culprits sooner, of course!
The events take place in 1890 - Leeds. Detective Inspector Tom Harper faces many challenges in the cold winter resolving murders that take place in area where the Jewish population has settled without welcome.
I enjoyed reading this second book of a well written series featuring Harper and will go get the first book so I can backtrack to the beginning. I only lost my patience a couple of times while wishing things could have been done differently -- my typical reaction while reading police procedurals. I always have a better way to catch the culprits sooner, of course!
July 18, 2023
Another excellent read from Chris Nickson. The story revolves around anti-Semitism in Leeds during the late 1800s, involving the first generation of Eastern European Jews born in England after their parents fled anti-Semitism in their native countries. Shows that racism is not just a 20th or 21st century problem. The story revolves around the murder of two young Jewish men, one being a Rabbi, and Detective Inspector Tom Harper's endeavours to catch the killer or killers of these young men, with the help of his Sergeant Reed who goes undercover with serious repercussions. A great read and highly recommended.
January 31, 2022
3.7. This is an historical fiction mystery novel. While online reviews suggests you read the series in order, I started on book 2 and had no issues. Good snow day read.
May 10, 2015
Thoroughly enjoyable. This was a thrilling mystery set in Victorian England. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there were also some historical events included in this story, which made it come to life even more.
I have always been a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes which made me love reading any type of Victorian Era mysteries. I was not disappointed in this story. While not set in Victorian London it was great to see another setting such as Leeds for Tom Harper. It's nice to read about other great detectives besides Sherlock.
Tom Harper and his wife Annabelle are both very likable characters. I found myself holding my breath for Billy Reed from the moment he took on his dangerous assignment and felt as though I was right by Tom's side as he worried for his friend's life. The scenes where he experiences intermittent deafness in one of his ears also had me biting my lip and wishing he could find a cure. Even now, I find myself hoping that in future novels something will transpire that helps him retain his hearing.
I was able to picture Victorian Leeds clearly as I read and it was as if I took a step back in time. Chris Nickson did a fantastic job with this story and I will be reading more of his books.
An exciting read that has earned four stars from me.
My review can be found on www.wordgurgle.blogspot.com
I have always been a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes which made me love reading any type of Victorian Era mysteries. I was not disappointed in this story. While not set in Victorian London it was great to see another setting such as Leeds for Tom Harper. It's nice to read about other great detectives besides Sherlock.
Tom Harper and his wife Annabelle are both very likable characters. I found myself holding my breath for Billy Reed from the moment he took on his dangerous assignment and felt as though I was right by Tom's side as he worried for his friend's life. The scenes where he experiences intermittent deafness in one of his ears also had me biting my lip and wishing he could find a cure. Even now, I find myself hoping that in future novels something will transpire that helps him retain his hearing.
I was able to picture Victorian Leeds clearly as I read and it was as if I took a step back in time. Chris Nickson did a fantastic job with this story and I will be reading more of his books.
An exciting read that has earned four stars from me.
My review can be found on www.wordgurgle.blogspot.com
April 19, 2015
This is the second book in the series featuring Inspector Tom Harper working in Leeds in the late nineteenth century. I enjoyed the first book in the series so I was looking forward to this one and I wasn't disappointed. Harper is settling into his marriage to the capable Annabelle and he still can't believe his luck. It is nearly Christmas and what he hopes will be a peaceful holiday is interrupted by the murder of a young member of the Jewish community.
Harper soon realises he is dealing with a rising tide of anti-Semitism and there is a lot of pressure on him to solve the crime and nip the potential violence in the bud but identifying the criminals proves much more difficult than he expected it to be.
This is an interesting and exciting story with some very likeable characters and what feels like an authentic background of Leeds in the nineteenth century. The author has done his research well and I think the city really comes to life in this series. I recommend this book to anyone who likes historical crime. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
Harper soon realises he is dealing with a rising tide of anti-Semitism and there is a lot of pressure on him to solve the crime and nip the potential violence in the bud but identifying the criminals proves much more difficult than he expected it to be.
This is an interesting and exciting story with some very likeable characters and what feels like an authentic background of Leeds in the nineteenth century. The author has done his research well and I think the city really comes to life in this series. I recommend this book to anyone who likes historical crime. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
May 30, 2015
I received this book on my Kindle from Net Galley in return for an honest review.
As a fan of the books of Alex Grecian and as someone with an interest in Victorian crime, this book grabbed my attention from the outset. The characters are well-written and likeable and the author manages to give a real insight into issues affecting Victorian Leeds. I particularly enjoyed the character of Annabelle as, in many Victorian novels, wives are hidden away in the background - it was good to see a woman of independent means who also manages to support her husband's career.
Based on this book, I would definitely read more books in the series. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
As a fan of the books of Alex Grecian and as someone with an interest in Victorian crime, this book grabbed my attention from the outset. The characters are well-written and likeable and the author manages to give a real insight into issues affecting Victorian Leeds. I particularly enjoyed the character of Annabelle as, in many Victorian novels, wives are hidden away in the background - it was good to see a woman of independent means who also manages to support her husband's career.
Based on this book, I would definitely read more books in the series. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
October 16, 2018
I hope to be able to read the first book in this series having now read the second and the second for me. Like many of the books I've read lately, this one addresses religious animus, this time toward Jews immigrating into England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They, too, take the brunt of the English disdain for anyone not English and the Jews are accosted just as are the Irish. Sad commentary on the Empire for one whose roots are in England and Ireland.
July 1, 2018
Too bad that half-stars are not available on Goodreads. This book falls (for me anyway) between a 2- and a 3-star rating.
It was interesting to read about Leeds, England around the turn of the 20th century, when it was a mill town that ran on coal, which, especially in the dense Midlands fogs, made the air especially foul and unhealthy. The denizens coughed their way through their days, as the soot rained down on them. Even the snow did not come down white, as the author describes it.
A community of Jews had emigrated there to escape the pogroms of Central and Eastern Europe, but it did not seem that conditions in Leeds were that much better, as the main plot thread concerns the murder of a young, somewhat rebellious Jewish man at the hands of an anti-Semitic gang – to be fair, similar attitudes existed towards the Irish at the time, but that is touched upon much less, as the action swirls mainly around the impoverished Jewish neighborhood of Leylands.
Detective Inspector Tom Harper's job is to find the killer or killers and to keep the peace, as we follow him as he attempts this, along with some subplots – which is where some of the trouble set in, as these are distracting and extraneous. It was pretty clear who the main culprit was early on in the plot ( no twist ending here), and while Harper, his wife, his sergeant/deputy and his fiancee are likeable enough, there are a lot of clichés in the portrayal of the Jews.
And then there is the title, Two Bronze Pennies. This refers to the pennies placed on the eyes of the murder victims (yes, more than one) in the novel but is not explained in it at all. In ancient times (Greek and Roman), coins were placed on the eyes of dead as fare to the next world, but that seems odd here. Heavy-handed symbolism by the author? Hard to say what his intention was.
The author is a British music critic (rock and other music) who is from Leeds, so the atmosphere and details of the setting is the real appeal here. Surprisingly, he has published quite a few detective novels (six with this lead character) so he must have a following. I can't say I'll try him again.
It was interesting to read about Leeds, England around the turn of the 20th century, when it was a mill town that ran on coal, which, especially in the dense Midlands fogs, made the air especially foul and unhealthy. The denizens coughed their way through their days, as the soot rained down on them. Even the snow did not come down white, as the author describes it.
A community of Jews had emigrated there to escape the pogroms of Central and Eastern Europe, but it did not seem that conditions in Leeds were that much better, as the main plot thread concerns the murder of a young, somewhat rebellious Jewish man at the hands of an anti-Semitic gang – to be fair, similar attitudes existed towards the Irish at the time, but that is touched upon much less, as the action swirls mainly around the impoverished Jewish neighborhood of Leylands.
Detective Inspector Tom Harper's job is to find the killer or killers and to keep the peace, as we follow him as he attempts this, along with some subplots – which is where some of the trouble set in, as these are distracting and extraneous. It was pretty clear who the main culprit was early on in the plot ( no twist ending here), and while Harper, his wife, his sergeant/deputy and his fiancee are likeable enough, there are a lot of clichés in the portrayal of the Jews.
And then there is the title, Two Bronze Pennies. This refers to the pennies placed on the eyes of the murder victims (yes, more than one) in the novel but is not explained in it at all. In ancient times (Greek and Roman), coins were placed on the eyes of dead as fare to the next world, but that seems odd here. Heavy-handed symbolism by the author? Hard to say what his intention was.
The author is a British music critic (rock and other music) who is from Leeds, so the atmosphere and details of the setting is the real appeal here. Surprisingly, he has published quite a few detective novels (six with this lead character) so he must have a following. I can't say I'll try him again.
February 4, 2020
Mr. Nickson so effectively described the freezing cold in Leeds during the winter of 1890-91 that whenever his characters drank hot cups of tea, I felt like having a cup myself. And it was 90 degrees and humid outside when I read the book in early September! I was intrigued by the history of the Jews in Leeds and the violence they faced. All in all, I enjoyed the book. However, one part of the plot just didn't seem to fit in and that was the disappearance of Louis Le Prince. That secondary mystery was distracting to the overall plot about violence against the Jews and I wonder why the author included it. He may have wanted to emphasize the role Leeds played in Mr. Le Prince's life, but it just seemed padding to me, as was the character of the French detective who eventually drowned in a fictitious ship crossing the Atlantic from New York to Brest. I tried to find if such a ship as the Vincennes actually sunk in January 1891 but could find no such event.
June 27, 2017
DI Tom Harper is getting ready to spend his first Christmas with his new wife. Unfortunately, he's called out on Christmas Eve to a case that is rife with religious and ethnic hatred. A young man has been found murdered, his body laid out in a cross with two bronze pennies placed over his eyes. Tom knows he only has a short time to find the killer before the city explodes into violence. This is an excellent book both for the mystery itself and the depiction of the period, in particular the town of Leeds in the 1890s. This is a great read-alike for fans of Anne Perry and Victoria Thompson.
July 6, 2019
A binge worthy page turner series with a likable protagonist inspector in 1890’s Leeds. Good stories, some history in each book, and so descriptive that I find myself checking the air quality index after reading about the characters walking around in the air polluted from gas, coal, and other plants in Leeds. In the books I’ve read so far, the endings haven’t been predictable, the characters are developed, and the stories are engaging. The author has a few more series based in Leeds at different times in history as well as some other series. If I can find them in the library, I’ll be looking for them when I’m done binging this one.
May 6, 2021
A book about nothing in which nothing happens... except many many miles of plodding through the "soot black" village of Leeds in the frigid cold. Over and over and over again. Day after pointless day in which Tom hopes beyond hope that something will happen. If I ever again read the two words "not yet", it will be too soon. The 5 star reviewers can only be personal friends of the author. The writing is not bad, technically speaking, it's just like from page one the needle's stuck at the end of the 45 (for those of you old enough to understand the metaphor). I just wanted it to end. Without question, the longest 215 pages I have ever read.
September 12, 2017
I like this author a lot, and have thus far enjoyed all the historical series of his that I've read. The only one I wasn't crazy about was a modern-day mystery...he does historical much, much better. This one takes place that is definitely not my favorite time period (it's 1890's...I much prefer a medieval setting) but his writing and stories are good enough that I'm hardly bothered, and again with the excellent balance between the main character's personal life and the mystery at hand. Well done!
January 3, 2019
When Jewish men are targeted in Victorian Leeds, England, police inspector Tom Harper tries to uncover who is behind it. This book makes you shiver as the author describes the difficult police investigation over an icy Christmas holiday. Tom has a great relationship with his wife, who runs a pub and several bakeries. Even though she has much more money than he, it doesn't bother him.
The descriptions of the time and the people are the best part of this mystery. It was a little disappointing that the villain wasn't more developed.
The descriptions of the time and the people are the best part of this mystery. It was a little disappointing that the villain wasn't more developed.
April 11, 2020
I'd not read a police procedural before. I never quite appreciated the writing style and only found a natural rhythmn to the book as the story drew to a conclusion.
One part of the book did strike me and I wrote briefly on it as linked: https://ozhamada-observes.blogspot.co...
One part of the book did strike me and I wrote briefly on it as linked: https://ozhamada-observes.blogspot.co...
March 22, 2022
This is an interesting look at Leeds and the troubles the Jewish segment of the population experience.
There are a series of murders but DI Tom Harper has trouble interviewing the community. Luckily he has some dear friends from his childhood who help get the information he needs to solve these crimes.
I borrowed a copy from the public library and will read further in the series.
There are a series of murders but DI Tom Harper has trouble interviewing the community. Luckily he has some dear friends from his childhood who help get the information he needs to solve these crimes.
I borrowed a copy from the public library and will read further in the series.
April 6, 2022
This second installment of the Tom Harper series focuses on the violence against Jews in a Leeds neighborhood during the 1890s. While the mystery was a good one, I enjoyed the historical details even more. The author also does a good job of portraying the humanity of his characters as well.
March 13, 2018
3+ . Enjoyed it as much as 1st one. New characters brought in.
December 20, 2018
Great second Tom Harper mystery this one takes place during the Christmas holidays. Where murders take place in the Jewish community during Victorian era.
January 24, 2019
Good Story
This is a good story but at times it seemed to "bog down". Seemed a little to repetitive as the book went on.
This is a good story but at times it seemed to "bog down". Seemed a little to repetitive as the book went on.
June 7, 2019
Good read. Historically accurate with respect to the attitude towards immigrants.
Enjoyed it. Plot wasn't 'wowee', but good.
Enjoyed it. Plot wasn't 'wowee', but good.
July 25, 2022
Atmospheric and with convincing characters. Spoiled somewhat by the inclusion of a highly unlikely coincidental sighting.
April 5, 2023
Tom Harper must solve who is killing the Jewish in Leeds in 1891.
January 5, 2024
Loved it, fast read, adventure.
August 5, 2024
Unputdownable!
A fascinating insight into the old streets and goings on of Leeds. The old mystery of Louis Le Prince's disappearance an added treat.
A fascinating insight into the old streets and goings on of Leeds. The old mystery of Louis Le Prince's disappearance an added treat.
October 23, 2024
Leeds very well envoked during g late 1800s
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews