
A Dickensian murder mystery. A brutal modern-day gang. Can Helen Oddfellow outwit an old enemy – or will she be his next victim?
When literary researcher Helen Oddfellow finds an old newspaper clipping in an antiquarian bookshop in Rochester, she uncovers a Dickensian murder mystery. The 200-year-old report of a woman’s murder on the steps of London Bridge provides clues to the real-life inspiration for Nancy, one of Charles Dickens best-loved characters.
As Helen investigates, she discovers the woman died because she knew a secret that the British establishment was intent on covering up. Now Helen knows… On the bleak shore of the Thames estuary, she comes face to face with an old enemy. Can she keep Nancy’s secret from him, without sharing her fate?
I’ve been a fan of Anna Sayburn Lane’s Helen Oddfellow mystery series since reading the first book, Unlawful Things, back in 2019. Two sequels – 2020’s The Peacock Room and 2021’s The Crimson Thread – saw Helen embroiled in more adventures, all combining a literary mystery with contemporary political concerns to provide page-turning thrills.
Sayburn Lane’s latest book, Folly Ditch, finds Helen in new academic territory. Persuaded by her new Head of Department to schmooze potential donors at a new exhibition about Dickens’ connections to Rochester, Helen stumbles across an old book, London and Londoners, containing a faded newspaper clipping. When it transpires that the book might have been owned by Dickens himself, and that the clipping offers clues as to the real murder mystery that inspired one of Dickens’s best-loved characters, Helen is excited to have another literary revelation to research.
When her hotel room is ransacked, and the book stolen, Helen reassures herself that it’s just an unfortunate break-in. But when the bookseller who sold her the book mysteriously vanishes – and an unwelcome face from her past is seen in Rochester – she begins to suspect that there are sinister forces at work. Calling on the aid of investigative journalist Nick Wilson, Helen sets out to uncover the truth once again. But what – or who – links Helen’s Dickensian murder mystery with Nick’s investigation into the links between modern-day slavery, human trafficking, and a dangerous new far-right political movement?
As with previous books in the series, Folly Ditch, offers a standalone mystery but with character call-backs to previous novels in the series. Although there aren’t spoilers for the mysteries of previous books, the fates of some characters and major incidents from prior instalments are made explicit in Folly Ditch so, whilst it is possible to dive in with this fourth book, I’d urge new readers to begin with Unlawful Things and work their way through the series for maximum enjoyment. All four books are excellent page-turners!
Returning characters – both friend and foe – make an appearance in Folly Ditch, although there is one notable omission whose absence allows for a poignant reflection upon the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, both upon individuals and upon wider society. References to the recent pandemic also ensure that the novel feels wholly contemporary, as do somewhat chilling allusions to recent political debates, and Sayburn Lane does an excellent job of integrating these elements with Helen’s historical research and of drawing out the parallels between past and present eras.
As with previous novels in the series, there are some scenes of both psychological and physical abuse in Folly Ditch which, although not explicit, are distressing to read. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, however, Sayburn Lane always ensures that her antagonists are brilliantly realised and that their actions, however gruesome or sinister, feel in-keeping with their characterisation.
Combining a page-turning literary mystery with a contemporary thriller and plenty of intellectual puzzles, Folly Ditch is another successful outing for Helen Oddfellow. Fans of the series will be delighted by her return, as will anyone who enjoys a literary mystery-thriller in the vein of Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s The Flanders Panel or Charlie Lovett’s First Impressions.
Folly Ditch by Anna Sayburn Lane is available now from all good booksellers and online retailers including Hive, Waterstones, and Wordery.
If you can, please support a local indie bookshop by ordering from them either in person or online! Some of my favourites include Booka Bookshop, The Big Green Bookshop, Sam Read Booksellers, Book-ish, Scarthin Books, and Berts Books.
My thanks go to the author for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review and to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for organising and inviting me onto this blog tour. The tour continues until 23 September 2022 so please do check out the other stops for more reviews and content!
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