Antonia Hodgson

I'd describe this book as a romp. Half-hanged Thomas Hawkins (read the book to find out what 'half-hanged' means) is dispatched by the queen on a mission to Yorkshire, to the disgraced but wealthy John Aislabie of Fountains Abbey. Aislabie is being threatened with murder, by persons unknown. Blackmail is in the air. There's a lot of death, brutishness, and dangers seen and unseen. There's also a lot of humour, and the story of Tom, his lover Kitty and his ward Sam Fleet fairly races along. Hodgson has done her research, and the backdrop of Fountains Abbey and the Aislabie family, which as a volunteer at Fountains I know well, adds to the period detail of this drama. This book is lively, engaging and vivid, and I read it is double-quick time. You may too.… (meer)

This is the fourth in this series of adventures featuring Thomas Hawkins in early 18th century London. This isn't really a whodunnit in the usual sense, as the villain is pretty quickly established as Lady Emma Vanhook who, in turns out, is actually, the mother of Thomas's common law wife, Kitty. Vanhook is a cold-hearted and manipulative person who kidnaps Kitty and wants to use her for her own ends. The silver collar of the title refers to a device worn by a young black slave girl Nella/Affie, whom Emma brought back from Antigua where her husband owns a plantation. Thomas and his friends., especially young Sam and Jeremiah, Affie's father, eventually track Emma and Kitty down to a farmhouse in Essex, encountering the usual range of colourful characters en route. The addition of the slavery element gave this story an additional poignancy.… (meer)