Review this Book   Kindle Edition Amazon www.gjgriffithswriter.com Amazon Category:  Historical Fiction Publisher: GJG Type: Fiction Pages: 303 Copyright: Nov 2021 ISBN-13: 9798760488985 Price: $0.99 (eBook) Detective Inspector Button is investigating gangland crime in Angel Meadow, Manchester, England. Now only 0.99 from Amazon All 5 ebooks in Quarry Bank Tales may be bought for under $5 if you click this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CKS5SYTW?binding=kindle_edition&ref=  When Detective Inspector Walter Button, of the 19th century Manchester police force, is ordered to take charge of the investigations into the massive spread of crime in Angel Meadow he has little idea of the size and spread of the task ahead of him. A simple burglary at a church where two teenaged boys are the suspects will lead Button into a world of gangland murders and political rebellion. The dedicated and practical detective also finds an even bigger challenge ahead when his rare romantic side begins to surface, confronting and confounding his professional aims and objectives.  Excerpt Excerpt: INFORMATION HAD reached Superintendent Goodby that the Chartists were about to carry out military drills on the outskirts of Manchester and he wished to know why Button had not told him. Was he unaware of this? Too many days had gone by and Button had not come up with anything, or so he thought, not even the arrest of the juvenile burglars. The detective inspector felt a tiny bit smug inside when he was able to tactfully disavow his boss of that accusation. “I have arrested the two boys, sir, and they are helping me already in the case against the publican at the Lamb and Duck. They told me about a shipment of smuggled corn aboard a craft on one of the canals.” “Oh, oh! Yes, yes, I see – good, good! Well done, Inspector, and what vessel, a ship? Which canal? I assume it’s the Rochdale or the Bridgewater canal, eh?” “The boys were not too sure of that, Superintendent. Could be a barge rather than a ship. I’ve spoken to Looker in Deansgate, on my way up here, and he’s sent a couple of constables to both quays. They can snoop about and ask questions, speak to the harbour authorities while they’re there.” “Hum! It’s a start I suppose… But at present our main objective is to quell whatever’s going on with the damn Chartists that are gathering over in Tinker’s Gardens. Do you know it, Button?” “I have to say I don’t, unfortunately, with being stationed in the south of the city for the past few years. Why? Do you need me there, sir? Only, I was hoping to ride over to the wharf on Castlefield Junction first and speak to the constables there. But, then I was going to meet up with Looker down at Broadheath, check the warehouse. We both think that’s more likely since it’s bigger and connects to the Runcorn junction.” “I see, I see, hum, quite! Well, we don’t really need you regards the Chartists; just thought it’d be good experience for you, Inspector. Political protests and all that sort o’ thing. But, I don’t want to spoil what you and Alf Looker are up to. Never can tell, eh? Never can tell… No, no, you get on over to the docks and see if we can catch this Tingle feller in the act.” “Is it all in hand over there, sir? Tinker’s Gardens?” “Pretty well, fifty or so police and special constables, and a brigade of cavalry, should send ’em packing. I’ve got others at the ready should we need them. We’ll clear out all o’ those Irish from Manchester soon. They’re my orders from the Home Secretary, Button. Clear them all out and deport them; off to America, or else we’ll be adding a few more graves to St Michael’s Flags, eh?” Walter was shocked to hear this; as if it was an unofficial strategy or policy, from the government. “Sorry, sir, do you mean all of the peasants that were sent over from the famine areas in Ireland?”

F. Parker
The sub title of Dean Kirby's book about the Angel Meadow area of Manchester is "Victorian Britain's Most Savage Slum". Graham Griffiths, in his latest book set among the cotton mills of Lancashire, takes the reader into this cauldron of crime and poverty. His principle protagonist first appeared in "The Mule Spinner's Daughter", where he was engaged in solving a robbery at Quarry Bank mill. His task in "Seeking Angels" is to unravel the complex web of crime centred on a public house called the Lamb and Duck. In the course of that task he encounters a woman with whom he falls hopelessly in love.
There is much more of a Dickensian feel about this novel when compared to the Quarry Bank trilogy. The characters and the settings are reminiscent of some of Dickens's darkest works. Like Dickens, humour and romance are never far from the surface. Nor is comment on the social and political concerns of the time.
I have praised Griffiths in previous reviews of his books for his ability to create entirely believable characters, characters drawn with sufficient depth to show their doubts and fears, their flaws and foibles. Sometimes those foibles can become irritating, but isn't that how it is in real life?
On the other hand, when those foibles involve a stereotypical trope like the frequent ending of statements spoken by Irish men or women with variations of "so it does" or "so I will" it runs the risk of turning the character into a stereotype. Fortunately not all of the Irish people in this novel are stereotypes, although the majority of the men are criminals.
Most of those criminals cannot help themselves and Griffiths reminds us that most begin with petty crime, that being the only way they can feed their families. Just as is the case today, that often leads them into a web of fear and blackmail that traps them into serving the ends of the leaders of organised crime.
We are shown, too, the problems faced by an embryonic police force faced at the same time by murder and mayhem in the slums and by political protest and rabble-rousing in Manchester city centre. Among all of this, Griffiths provides an introduction to the early days of forensic pathology, involving the so called 'anatomists' and those who sustained them with the illegal supply of cadavers.
If this is beginning to sound as though there is, in this book, far more gruesome reality, based on the savagery of life in nineteenth century Angel Meadow, than was to be found in some of Griffiths's earlier works, do not let that put you off. Griffiths's usual affirmation of the innate decency of the majority of human beings, like that of Dickens, is also strongly represented. Detective Inspector Walter Button, ably assisted by his friend and fellow Inspector, Alf Looker, are eager to rescue and protect those of the petty criminals who have yet to fall completely into the clutches of the gangs.
Here, then, is another work of fiction based on the lived experience of ordinary people at the height of the industrial revolution. If documentary history is sometimes too dry for the general reader, the alternative is fiction which accurately reflects historical events as experienced by those who participated in and were directly affected by them. Graham Griffiths is fast joining the ranks of those who have mastered that art.


Patricia Walker
An excellent read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 December 2021
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I thoroughly enjoyed meeting up with Inspector Button again!

With his well meaning yet bumbling sense of duty and honour he works diligently through the evidence in his new case, never missing a trick from the people he is observing and investigating. All among the distractions caused by a very worrying and demanding case he frets over the realisation that he is harbouring never before felt feelings for a woman and her young sons who he helped escape a life of undeserved hardship and fear.

The pace of the story is tremendous - from picking the book up to turning the last page the storyline is compelling and made even more riveting given some of it is based on true events. Knowing this it is very evident that the author has put in a vast amount of research hours which ensures the continuity of the storyline and the believability of the rich and varied character base that has been developed.


Robbie Cheadle
Reviewed in the United States on 29 March 2022
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Seeking Angels is the latest historical novel by talented author GJ. Griffiths. His main Character, Inspector Button, featured briefly in his Quarry Bank trilogy and it was lovely for me, as an avid admirer of that series, to see him pop up again in his own book.

Inspector Button is a bachelor who lives in Manchester with his widowed sister and her two sons. He is asked to investigate a case of theft from a Catholic Church in Angels Meadow, a very rough area inhabited by poverty stricken Irish immigrants. The perpetrators are known to be young boys, one of whom seriously injured the caretaker in his panic about being caught.

Through these young lads, inspector Button is introduced to an Irish gang who are involved in disposing of stolen goods and selling illegal fire arms. The gang is operating from a local pub. Button also meets the boys widowed mother, an admirable woman named Kathleen.

Button is an entertaining fellow with his strong principles and devotion to work. He puts himself in the line of fire by acting rashly and is badly injured. Despite his injuries, he steps up and helps hide Kathleen and her sons from the evil gangsters. He is a little over zealous, but his hearts in the right place and he pities the poor Irish who are general badly treated and given no opportunities.

Button’s attraction to Kathleen causes him to relook at his life and reassess his choice to remain unattached. Kathleen is a wonderful and determined character who has you rooting for her success. She is a devoted mother to her sons and determined not to let them sink into a life of crime due to their poor circumstances. She has an injury to her foot that has never healed properly and this has limited her work opportunities. When opportunities arise due to her relocation at the instance of Inspector Button, she certainly seizes them and works to improve her lot in life. Kathleen is honest, hard-working, and kind.