Read an exclusive extract from The Silver Collar by Antonia Hodgson

Read an exclusive extract from the opening of The Silver Collar, Antonia Hodgson’s new Thomas Hawkins adventure. Read the extract here.

Autumn, 1728. Life is good for Thomas Hawkins and Kitty Sparks. The Cocked Pistol, Kitty’s wickedly disreputable bookshop, is a roaring success. Tom’s celebrity as ‘Half-Hanged Hawkins’, the man who survived the gallows, is also proving useful.

Their happiness proves short-lived. When Tom is set upon by a street gang, he discovers there’s a price on his head. Who on earth could want him dead – and why?

With the help of his ward, Sam Fleet, and Sam’s underworld connections, Tom’s investigation leads to a fine house in Jermyn Street, the elegant, enigmatic Lady Vanhook and an escaped slave by the name of Jeremiah Patience.

But for Tom and Kitty, discovering the truth is only the beginning of the nightmare.

A powerful, deeply immersive thriller, The Silver Collar is both a celebration of love and friendship, and a terrifying exploration of evil.

The Silver Collar is published by Hodder & Stoughton in hardback, ebook and audio on 6th August.