The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

Timothy Wilde is a barman in a New York oyster bar, in 1845. He's good at his job and his tips have allowed him to save almost enough to buy a piece of land outside the city and, perhaps, marry the girl of his dreams. That was before the fire.

With his savings gone up in smoke, his face scarred and his job gone, Tim has only his brother and a job in the newly formed New York police force, the 'copper stars' to fall back on. Neither pleases him.  Tim finds, however, that he has a natural gift and soon finds that the reality of being that new thing, a policeman, helps him lay to rest the ghosts of his past, even whilst it also robs him of the dreams he has for his future. A new future beckons and he recognises that it could fit him better than the one he believed, for so long, that he wanted. Angels become villains and villains remain villains in this tale of layer upon layer of the unexpected. This is a clever crime story peopled with vivid characters.

New York was, at this time, inundated with immigrants from all over Europe, Russia and the Baltic countries but none more so than 10s of thousands fleeing the potato famine in Ireland. New York was rife with tension between Protestant and Catholic religions, fuelled by the poverty and crime rates that exploded with this starving tide.


Lyndsay Faye's research and scholarship into the history of mid-19th C New York is meticulous and her writing is vivid and glorious. She empathises with the maelstrom of this period of New York's history perfectly; her language crackles with vigour and leaps with the slang of the period.

Highly recommended, for lovers of both gritty crime and historical novels.