The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd

 

This novel moves back and forth between 1564 and 1811 and is based, in part, on a true story.  In 1564, a young man leaves his wife behind to become a sailor to make enough money that they might be able to purchase a farm and live better.  He sails with a fleet that goes to Africa to imprison slaves.  Although he was innocent when he left England, the brutality he is exposed to soon makes him the same.  At one point, he and another man are left on an island where they have an encounter that changes them forever.

The other story is about a series of murders in London.  Two families are totally annihilated from husband to baby and any servants in residence.  Several groups investigate the murders from the river patrol to the start of the formal police force.  Each hears of a tall dark man with a limp.  A man is found, arrested and hung, but is the right man?

This historical novel is interesting.  The reader learns of the naval life, the slave trade, piracy, and the beginnings of English policing.  True figures such as Francis Drake, Henry Morgan, the various policemen and Billy Ablass, the young man who features so prominently in both stories were used.  The switching back and forth between times was sometimes confusing but the story was one that was well told.  This book is recommended for historical fiction and suspense readers.