Canary Keeper, The

Description: 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 savage Esquimaux stalking Victorian London and an eye witness who claims the killer had an accomplice: a tall woman dressed in widow's weeds, with the telltale look of the degenerate Irish. Branna 'Birdie' Quinn had no good reason to be by the river that morning, but she did not kill the man. She'd seen him first the day before, desperate to give her a message she refused to hear. And now the Filth will see her hang for his murder, just like her father. To save her life, Birdie must trace the dead man's footsteps. Back onto the ship that carried him to his death, back to cold isles of Orkney that sheltered him, and up to the far north, a harsh and lawless land which holds more answers than she looks to find... The Canary Keeper is a must-read historical epic, weaving suspense, adventure and romance into an exhilarating thriller.

Review: PRAISE FOR CLARE CARSON: 'Superb storytelling, clever and convoluted plotting, and a wonderful sense of time and place' Crime Review, on The Dark Isle. 'Meaty, beautifully written and original' Irish Independent, on Orkney Twilight. 'Original and absorbing' Literary Review, on Orkney Twilight. 'The writing, whether about people or places, is always excellent' Sunday Express, on The Salt Marsh. 'Intelligently written, highly suspenseful and wholly engrossing' Bookish Jottings, on The Dark Isle.


Author Biography: Clare Carson grew up in the suburbs of London. She studied anthropology at university, and lived for a while in villages in Tanzania and Zimbabwe doing ethnographic research. She has worked as an adviser on human rights and international development for nearly twenty years and has written three novels, all published by Head of Zeus. She lives by the sea in Sussex with her partner, two daughters and a couple of very large cats.


The Canary Keeper is a must-read historical epic, weaving suspense, adventure and romance into an exhilarating thriller.