The Unseeing
by Anna Mazzola
Buy on Amazon"In 1837, a woman's dismembered body is found scattered across London. Sarah Gale, a seamstress and fallen woman, is sentenced to hang for her alleged role in the murder; although she professes her innocence, she is hiding darkness in her past. Edmund Fleetwood is the young, idealistic lawyer tasked with Sarah's case. The stakes for both are high: Edmund has untold gambling debts he must urgently settle, and Sarah is desperate to escape the gallows. But as the two grow closer, the barriers between confessor and penitent start to blur, and Edward can't be sure if Sarah is a victim or a murderer" --
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"The Unseeing is a fictional novel about truth and deception based on the historical murder of Hannah Brown in 1836, and the subsequent trial. The fact that the victim’s body parts turned up in different places in London ensured the case’s notoriety. Hannah Brown’s fiancé was swiftly convicted of the murder, and so was his lover Sarah Gale. At her trial, Gale said very little to counter the accusations against her, and this forms the mystery of the novel: what would keep someone silent, when speaking out could help her avoid a death sentence? In the novel, a young lawyer is appointed to review the extent of Sarah Gale’s guilt, to find out what she is hiding and understand her motivation. The author’s background as a criminal justice solicitor and the careful location research combine to give the story an authentic feel. The world around the characters, particularly the notorious Newgate prison, is really well built."
Historical Mystery Novels · fivebooks.com