The Bloodless Boy by Robert J Lloyd

Synopsis
The City of London, 1678. New Year’s Day. Twelve years have passed since the Great Fire ripped through the City. Eighteen since the fall of Oliver Cromwell and the restoration of a King. London is gripped by hysteria, and rumors of Catholic plots and sinister foreign assassins abound.

When the body of a young boy drained of his blood is discovered on the snowy bank of the Fleet River, Robert Hooke, the Curator of Experiments at the just-formed Royal Society for Improving Natural Knowledge, and his assistant Harry Hunt, are called in to explain such a ghastly finding–and whether it’s part of a plot against the king. They soon learn it is not the first bloodless boy to have been discovered.

Meanwhile, that same morning Henry Oldenburg, the Secretary of the Royal Society, blows his brains out, and a disgraced Earl is released from the Tower of London, bent on revenge against the King, Charles II.

Wary of the political hornet’s nest they are walking into – and using scientific evidence rather than paranoia in their pursuit of truth – Hooke and Hunt must discover why the boy was murdered, and why his blood was taken.

The Bloodless Boy is an absorbing literary thriller that introduces two new indelible heroes to historical crime fiction. It is also a powerfully atmospheric recreation of the darkest corners of Restoration London, where the Court and the underworld seem to merge, even as the light of scientific inquiry is starting to emerge …

Review
The Bloodless Boy was inspired by research when author Robert J Lloyd was researching for his MA in’The History of Ideas’ and came aross Robert Hooke, now the protagonist in his debut novel. Set in 1678, the New Year opens with the body of a young boy found on the banks of the river Fleet, drained of his blood. Justice Sir Edmund Bury Godfrey calls on the knowledge of Robert Hooke, Curator of Experiments at the newly established Royal Society for the Improving of Natural Knowledge. With his assistant, and former protege Harry Hunt they are drawn into political intrigue to find out what happened to he young boy and why his blood was drained. With conspires aplenty and talk of a Catholic plot against the King, Hooke and Hunt find themselves drawn into the murkier side of London an pit science against rumour and the continued ripples from the Civil War.

The Bloodless Boy grabbed my attention from the very first page; a murdered young boy, drained of his blood and with a coded message attached. This is just the start of a complex and mysterious plot about murder, Catholic plots, Ciphers and political intrigue. Into this come scientists Hooke and Hunt, recommended by King Charles II, to help discover why young boys are murdered in this horrific way. Hooke and Hunt, both historical figures, live by the motto of the Royal Society Seek the truth from what is known, and what can be shown to be true bringng their unique set of skills to the investigation. As the plot twists and turns, and politics come into play Hooke has doubts about their investigations, fearful of where it may lead with threads leading back to the Civil War. Hunt, however wants to continue, to finally come out of Hooke’s shadow and be his own man and ultimately prove himself to those around him. Robert J Lloyd also weaves in the story of The Earl od Shaftesbury, recntly released from the Tower after disagreeing with the King. He is determined to cause an uprising, to scare the King into believing that there was a Catholic conspiracy to kill him and the bodies of the young boys feed into that.

Robert J Lloyd’s writing is simply sublime, using language from the late Seventeenth Century, and paying attention to the smallest details adding authenticity to the characters and setting. I loved the atmosphere his writing created, the sights and sounds of London, the snow turning black, the smells of the tannneries,the food and drink, like cowslip pie and the changes made after the Great Fire. This was such a fascinating period in history with the rise of science in explaining why things are the way they are, a move towards empirical study, what can be proved, and an understanding of the body, mind and our environment; the chapters were even titles Observations, like a scientific journal. Robert J Lloyd cleverly builds the tension, weaving the many layers together of murder, politics, religion and ciphers, whilst maintaining the underlying menace, and the suspicion between the characters.

The Bloodless Boy is an exceptional debut novel that works on so many levels. I loved learning about Hooke and Hunt, their studies for the Royal Society and how those studies could help in the investigaions of the young boy’s death. The seamless weaving together of the different plot lines, the blend of fact and fiction and a gripping historical mystery make for an intriguing and fascinating read, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

I would like to thank Nikki Griffiths from Melville House for the invite to be part of the blog tour in return for my honest review.