A gripping historical crime thriller set in the dark heart of London's slave trade

June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock, London – horribly tortured and branded with a slaver's mark.

Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham – a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career – learns that an old friend, passionate abolitionist Tad Archer, had been about to expose a secret that he believed could cause irreparable damage to the British slaving industry. He'd said people were trying to kill him, and now he is missing . . .

To discover what happened to Tad, Harry is forced to pick up the threads of his friend's investigation, delving into the heart of the conspiracy Tad had unearthed. His investigation will threaten his political prospects, his family's happiness, and force a reckoning with his past, risking the revelation of secrets that have the power to destroy him.

And that is only if he can survive the mortal dangers awaiting him in Deptford . . .

Blood & Sugar is the thrilling debut historical crime novel from Laura Shepherd-Robinson. Winner of the HWA Debut Crown and the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award, this page-turner sheds light on the brutal realities of Britain's slave trade in the 18th century.

‘A page-turner of a crime thriller . . . This is a world conveyed with convincing, terrible clarity’ – C. J. Sansom, bestselling author of Dissolution

‘Epic, harrowing, thrilling, brutal, addictive’ – C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man