Found Drowned

London, 1920. The unrecognizable body of a young boy is found in the river. Accidents happen a lot around this impoverished part of the town, but can it actually have been one? Might it have been a suicide instead? Or might his death have been a result of something much more sinister?

London in the 1920s is a difficult place to live in. Being both a woman and a Coroner's Officer makes it even more so. May Keaps, however, is not intimidated easily, and she certainly doesn't give up on the first difficulty. Having been tasked with the difficult job of finding the identity of the drowned child, she finds herself in the middle of dark secrets, politics, and dangerous people. Among those who will reach for her, who can she actually trust? Might there be a wolf in disguise among the people who claim to be helping her?

This is a fast paced and certainly well written story. As a reader, I had a hard time finding out the culprit, which speaks in volumes as far as the success of a mystery book is concerned. An elaborate plot leads the reader through ups and downs, and you can expect something new in every turn of the page. Lacking any boring or long drawn intervals, Fund Drowned is the mystery book you want to read when you need a fast, strong plot, and well built characters. A very sad, but very beautiful story nonetheless.

May Keaps is a strong, confident heroine who knows what she wants and has a very acute sense of justice. She strives for what is right, longing to protect not only the people she considers her own, but also the weak ones that she meets along the way. An admirable character, she is unique in both her passion and her courage.

She is not, however, the only admirable character. Along the story, you will meet some interestingly unique people. Smart, cunning, dangerous, vulnerable, each of them has a part to play in a plot woven elaborately, and some of them may keep more secrets than you would expect.

Found Drowned is the second book in a mystery series by author B.K. Duncan, with the first one being Foul Trade.

Wow. Very impressed with the second book in this series, I would personally say this story is miles better than the first and had me hooked throughout. A series that just gets better and better! A brilliant historical crime investigation full of suspense, set in the 1920’s. It is one of those books that makes you go THAT’S WHY ITS CALLED THAT!

Found drowned highlights how determined and strong May Keaps character really is within her job which she takes very seriously, sometimes too seriously. I would highly recommend this series to you all so far but you must read them in order as this story does make references to book number one (Foul Trade) which could ruin the first story for you.

I enjoyed reading this one. A well written story and well earned four stars. I look forward to reading more in this series and by this author.

*please note this review will be being used on the blog blitz for the 27th of feb*

This is the third May Keaps story I have read, the second full length novel, and I have to say, the more I read, the more I grow to like our intrepid heroine. She is a strong woman in a predominantly mans world and in spite of all the challenges, and threats, which fall upon her, she never backs down. She has some real guts that's for sure.

This time May is faced with trying to find the identity of a young boy whose body is found floating in the Thames. His body is badly injured, a result of his time in the water and potential clash with one of the many boats, but worst of all, no one seems to miss him. As May tries hard to learn his story, sh finds herself drawn into a whole world of deception involving slave labour, workhouses, prostitution and corruption, a world in which her very life is one more under threat.

What I like about these books is the way that author BK Duncan has captured a real feeling of the old post-war East End of London.  There is a real feeling of authenticity to the writing, the spirit of the residents of the worlds that May inhabits, the restrained and yet wholesome relationships she has with her friends and yet the gritty and sometimes heart-breaking honesty of the portrayal of the workhouses and those people who are down on their luck.

This story in particular has a really dark edge, examining some very taboo subjects but in a rather clear and yet sanitized way. We are talking about the abuse of children here,  not  y family, but by men who are able to buy everything they wish. None of it is explained in a gratuitous way but there is no ambiguity about how some of these children make their living. If they are not on the streets then they are forced into working in a sweatshop, their futures still to be determined but with only one likely outcome. It is extremely sad, but the matter of fact way in which the children deal with their lot makes it somehow easier to deal with.

May Keaps is a brilliant character, full of life, confidence, bravado and insecurity all at once. I love to see the way her relationship with journalist Jack Cahill is developing. They play off each other perfectly, the chemistry clear to see and yet something, quite often their investigations, keeps coming between them. May is independent, infuriatingly so at times. Jack is patient and clearly infatuated. I am interested to see where this takes them. As for May's boss, Braxton Clarke, there is also something there, hard to put a finger on what, but certainly something more than simply a boss/employee relationship.

The nature of the story means that this is not always the fastest paced read. Don;t let that fool you though. There are some moments of real tension, times when you feel that May might have taken one chance too many, her life at great risk as is that of those around her. Those are the heart in your throat moments, captured perfectly and still in keeping with the time and setting. And it is nice to see Brilliant Chang back. There is something about the man who I like and he is a truly fascinating character. Skirting on just the right side of the law, he is influential and enigmatic and yet clearly dangerous too. Love him.

This is a brilliant book and if you like your thrillers and mysteries with a more historical setting then I urge you to give this a go. Try out Foul Trade first to get a flavour for the key characters, but make sure you pick up Found Drowned too. Great characters, great story. What's not to enjoy?

This is the second mystery crime novel by BK Duncan featuring May Keaps who works as a Coroner's Officer in Poplar in the East End of London in 1920. I had not previously read the first book in the series "Foul Trade" from which several of the characters reappear and incidents from it are referenced here but this did not detract from the enjoyment and understanding of the story which begins with the discovery of the body of a drowned boy in the Thames. Was this an accident or is there a far more sinister reason for this death?

This is extremely well written and the author really does convey a sense of what it must have been like being in the Docklands area of London during a period of intense poverty and social deprivation. It is a vivid portrayal and I could clearly imagine in my mind the dirt and noise out on the streets as the story takes us to street markets, dockers pubs and the ubiquitous work house. I liked how real life names and events from the past were interwoven into the story giving it an extra feel of reality.

But it is above all the central character of May herself that makes this story so enthralling as she seems to be on a mission to achieve justice no matter what impediments are put in her way. There is partly inspired by her father who's previous death in somewhat mysterious circumstances will no doubt be addressed and solved in subsequent books. I liked also the fact that in order to solve the mystery a conspiracy needed to be confronted and destroyed emanating from high places in society.

Fast paced throughout, the novel races along and there is also time for some character development as well, A really enjoyable read which I have no hesitation to recommend. To get an appreciation of the character of May Keaps and some of the events that have influenced her I can also recommend a short novella called the "The Last Post" which takes place during her time as an ambulance driver during the First World War.

When a local young boy is discovered to have drowned, it is May Keaps' job, as Coroner's Officer to find out what happened to him and organise an inquest for him. However, she cannot do this without knowing his name, and her search for answers leads her to the streets of London, where poverty, prostitution and murder are commonplace. Can May discover what happened to the boy before her own life is in danger?
I was pleased to be reunited with May for the second instalment in this series, and once again enjoyed her determination, intelligence and wit in Found Drowned. It is clear that the environments she investigates are far removed from those to which she is accustomed in her own life, and this helps to highlight her commitment throughout the novel.
Found Drowned, like its predecessor, is set in 1920, and I enjoyed the opportunity the novel gave me to step back in time and familiarise myself with the East End society in that period. Duncan has researched the historical aspects of the novel incredibly well, and every description and exchange within the novel felt authentic.
The plot of Found Drowned is complex, and as the pieces come together, the novel is very tense as May learns who she is able to trust. It is more fast paced than the prequel, and I appreciated this as I was constantly intrigued by where the plot would go next.
I look forward to reading more as the series continues.

I love this series and for me it just keeps getting better and better!

I loved the plot in this one and I was intrigued straight from the off and I thought the whole book was addictive, I didn't want to put it down at all and read as much as I could in one sitting.

The characters are great as always and I do love the writing style in this series, it is such an easy read, well paced and well researched.

4.5 stars from me for this one rounded up to 5 stars for Amazon and Goodreads - another great addition to what is turning out to be an excellent series in one of my favourite genres - I loved it!

This is becoming a must read series for me as I am more than taken with May Keaps, my heroine of the past. May is a gutsy young woman who has seen tragedies first hand during the first World War and now works as a Coroner’s Officer, in 1920’s London. The thing is, May isn’t a pen pusher, May is a hands on get her sleeves rolled up type of woman, that gives every dead person, that comes her way, as much peace and dignity as she can.

When the body of a young body is dragged out of the river Thames and signs of abuse become apparent, May is determined to find out who this child was and how he died in such terrible circumstances. It isn’t long before May is up to her neck asking questions in places that she is in danger of going to. She is like a kid poking a hornets nest with a stick and you just know that before long she is going to be running for her life.

I just love not just the stories that BK Duncan creates but the whole package. The dialogue is just superb with phrases and accents flowing of the pages surrounding me and dragging me back in time. There are some hard pages to read of how things use to be back then, when a child could be turned out because the family just couldn’t afford to feed them. There wasn’t a lot to protect the vulnerable members in society.

The more that May does in her job, the more she is becoming accepted for the talents she brings to her role, not her gender. It is lovely to see her get the respect that is due to her and demanded by her boss. Lovely bloke and the police are softening too. So looking forward to the next book in this series to see where May barges in next.

This is first of the two full length books in the series featuring May Keaps, the Poplar Coroner's Officer. set in 1920s East London that I have read. I enjoyed reading the book it has a well written story line and is hard to put down but I think you need to read the first book to get know the characters better because there are references made to the events in the first book which had me feeling a bit lost at times . So I will definitely reading the first one and then coming back to this one with a clearer picture.

Found Drowned is the second of B. K. Duncan's novels featuring May Keaps, a young Coroner's Officer working in the East End of London shortly after the Great War.

Set in 1920, the novel opens with a young boy's body being pulled from the Thames. Was it an accident or foul play? Tasked with trying to learn the boy's identity, May gets drawn into a far more sinister case than she could've possibly imagined; one that involves child abuse, child/slave labour and prostitution, smuggling, corruption and deadly secrets. The more May uncovers, the more intriguing her investigation becomes. Who is the man bearing a yellow and blue nautical star tattoo that keeps turning up unexpectedly and what, if any, is his connection to the drowned boy? It isn't long before May's own life is threatened and she finds herself in need of rescuing from the murky depths of the River Thames.

I thoroughly enjoyed B. K. Duncan's writing; she's done a wonderful job of researching and describing London's East End post-war, conveying the intense poverty and deprivation in a way that gives both her novel and her characters a truly authentic feel.

Determined, independent and with a strong sense of justice, May makes for a likeable heroine. Reunited with journalist Jack Cahill, the duo bounce off one another brilliantly. Jack's clearly infatuated with May but so far something always prevents their relationship from developing beyond friendship. May's boss, Braxton Clarke, plays a fatherly-figure, her own father having died not too long ago. And the fascinating Brilliant Chang is also back. Some of the scenes between these characters are heart-warming, a few depart wisdom, others are just outright amusing.

That said, the novel has a dark undercurrent running through it involving the children who appear as secondary characters. Almost all of them have had it rough: some have been orphaned and make their living on the streets, others have found themselves in the workhouse or working in a sweatshop; a few have been abused by wealthy men whose position and power have often enabled them to get away with almost anything. In each instance the author has approached the topic in such a sensitive manner that while being terribly sad, I didn't find it difficult or uncomfortable to read about. The matter-of-fact, down-to-earth character of Smudger, one of the boys May and Jack meet during the investigation, also went a long way to making each taboo topic that little bit easier for the reader to bear.

While Found Drowned is the second book in the 'May Keaps' series, it isn't essential to've read the previous book (Foul Trade) as it can easily be read as a stand-alone.

Fast-paced and with a complex plot, if you're a fan of historical mysteries I wouldn't hesitate in recommending you add this book to your 'to-read' list.

Note: Thanks to the author, Bloodhound Books and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A very good book, well researched and entertaining. It's well written and well researched, with interesting characters and a very good plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bloodhound Books