These Lost & Broken Things

These Lost & Broken Things . Historical fiction at its absolute best !

The book has so much atmosphere, you feel like you are there in 1905 and it is not a world for the poor. The Suffragettte's are marching in the background for women's rights.

I am so tempted to give the plot away with spoilers but I wont. Sofia has a past that leads to her being easily manipulated into the evil ways of Emmett Vinsant, a man to avoid ! How far will Sofia go to raise and protect her children.

There are characters to hiss at , to yell at and those to love.

I found myself cheering Sofia on (not sure what that says about me)

Don't miss this book ! Its a great story with twists and turns.

I am a great fan of Helen Fields, this was quite the departure for her but she carried it off so well. Cant wait to get my copy.

Thanks to Net Galley, Wailing Banshee Limited for allowing me to escape into Sofia's world. So glad I did.

Helen Fields does it again another Historical Thriller to take your breath away, cancel all appointments you won't want to be disturbed unlike Sofia who could become very disturbed.

It all starts when Tom, Sofia's husband is ill and she goes to the home of his employer to get help it's 1905 so no app or mobile phone or health service certainly not as we have today. He seems reluctant to help then he has a change of heart but why ..... Whatever the reason it doesn't help poor Tom, or his family he's dead before sun down. This leaves Sofia and their two young children to survive on their own but Tom's former boss seems very keen to help and well this is where the story takes off in earnest although I was already hooked by then. There are also flash backs to her childhood her parents where of Romani origin & traveling with a fairground company or family as I think they prefer to be called.

This is a different era the big war they remembered and talked of was the Boer war not the World Wars of many books and films but it's 1905 so I'm stating the obvious. The characters are the sort I find very credible for this time and the settings are well researched it is the time that the suffragettes we're just getting going Keir Hardie had just entered parliament and we had a liberal government.

I want to recommend this thriller to you I enjoyed it, I was gripped from the beginning and think you may also be as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Wailing Banshee for a copy of These lost and broken things by Helen Sarah Fields. I was intrigued to get a copy of this as I am aware of her D.I. Callanach series but, I wasn’t aware that she wrote historical crime. So, I was curious to see how this book pans out.
It’s 1905 in London, Sofia Logan’s husband dies, and she left penniless with two children. She is desperate for a job to provide for her children when she meets Tom’s old boss Emmett Vinsant who is a local dignitary and a sinister character who gives her a job in a gambling den. But, things don’t go well for Sofia ends up getting into further debt. So, Emmett gives her a chance to clear her debt by asking her to commit murder.
I must admit that I have not read any of the authors novels and I really enjoy historical crime novels of this type and this is no exception. The was well written dark, atmospheric novel set in Victorian times. With a backdrop story about the suffragette movement. A story about one woman and mother. How far she will go to provide for her children. I really enjoyed this 5 stars from me.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a big Helen Fields fan, which is probably the only reason I went for this book as it’s not my typical genre. I’m glad I decided to try because it was very good.

Sofia’s husband dies and leaves her with no money to feed her children. She asks for help from his boss, but he knows about her past and uses it to his advantage. Soon she is playing a dangerous game, one which turns her into an assassin!

Can’t beat a strong female lead in a book and Sofia doesn’t let us down. I really enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone.

Helen Fields is an accomplished writer and I devoured her outstanding DI Callanach series.

So I was intrigued but hesitant to read this stand alone historical piece of fiction, These Lost and Broken Things. Had Fields created a plot that would keep me engaged as intently as her previous work? Absolutely she did. It was quite removed from the shocking cases that DI Callanach had to deal with, this story is written from the opposite perspective, more about how and why the perpetrator did what she did.

Written in two timelines, Sofia had a cruel start as a Romany fairground traveller, putting herself at risk with her wayward behaviour. Her father saved her from an horrific attack, which was extremely uncomfortable for me, and made her pay heavily for her misdemeanour. Eventually she was sent away as she couldn’t be controlled.

Sofia’s experiences from the age of 12 sealed her fate to a certain extent as when her husband died and left her penniless with two children her past was used against her. Addicted to gambling, she was a card shark learning to read the cards at a very young age, to pay a debt to her husband’s employer she worked for him in his gambling rooms. Unfortunately she couldn’t resist and got into more debt when she wasn’t on her game.

In time she was coerced into murdering at his beck and call as she got entangled in his web of deceit, corruption, greed and need of power.

As well as being addicted to gambling she became addicted to killing too, becoming an assassin with a need to kill, but with a conscious too.

Excerpt: ‘Every life she’d taken had already been mired in life’s muck, thieves, deviants or in debt beyond saving, but Beatrice did not belong in the same category.’

The way in which Fields writes takes you back to the Victoria era, the novel is very atmospheric, you can smell, feel and imagine how it was back then. She has researched her quarry well and has produced yet another outstanding piece of work.

Most definitely 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Wailing Banshee Ltd for this ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.