England in the 1630s – an unsettled country in turbulent times. People are gripped by fear: fear of crime, or foreign invasion, of Catholic conspiracies, of the vagrant poor. In a town in northern England, a group of Puritan reformers tightens its hold on the lives of its inhabitants.

John Brigge is the local coroner, a respected man who wants nothing more than to work his farm and be with his wife, now expecting their first child. But when he is called to investigate an infanticide, Brigge finds himself drawn unwillingly into a vicious power struggle. Katherine Shay, a fiery Irishwomen, stands accused of killing her baby. The Puritan faction demands her immediate execution. Brigge suspects their haste has little to do with justice. What are they hiding? Does he really want to know? Against a background of looming crisis, Brigge struggles between his desire to protect his family and the need to see justice done. And he is haunted by the mystery of Katherine Shay.

Powerful, dramatic and utterly gripping, this is a superb novel, justly long-listed for the 2004 Man Booker Prize. Its canvas is large, its characters full-blooded, its atmosphere apocalyptic. Like the best historical novels, it vividly captures the period yet resonates with the present. (Also available in Hardback at 27 Euro)