Antonia Hodgson proves with this first novel that she is (at a stroke) one of the most able of crime writers. Her territory is London in 1727, and her setting the debtors’ prison, Marshalsea. Such is the detail and atmosphere of Hodgson’s writing that she at times even rivals The Master, Dickens (but with added crime). Lovers of the historical crime genre need to keep a weather eye on Ms. Hodgson.