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The Poisoned Island: A Novel Paperback – January 14, 2014

by Lloyd Shepherd (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 97 ratings
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A brilliant young police officer discovers a series of bizarre deaths are connected to the cargo of a research vessel bound for Kew Gardens in this fantasy-tinged historical thriller set in early nineteenth-century London.

Tahiti 1769. English sailors arrive on the shores of the Polynesian paradise— a place of staggering beauty where magic and ancient myths still hold sway. But they soon devastate the island with disease, war, and death, planting deadly seeds that will be carried back to England forty years later.

London 1812. On a gray June morning, the Solander docks, her hold containing hundreds of exotic plants from Tahiti for the King’s Gardens at Kew. The apparently successful expedition soon takes a horrifying— and inexplicable—turn: The crew of the Solander starts dying one by one. Thames River Police Chief Charles Horton can find no signs of murder or suicide to explain the deaths, and the ship’s surviving crew seems intent on hampering his investigation. When one of the plants begins to show frightening changes, it is up to Charles Horton to determine how it might be stopped.
Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 4
    Charles Horton Series
  2. Print length
    416 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    January 14, 2014
  5. Dimensions
    5.33 x 1.1 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1476712867
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1476712864
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When the British ship Solander returns to London from Tahiti in 1812, it carries a deadly secret as well as its cargo of tropical plants and botanical specimens. Within days, six of the ship’s crew have been murdered, their rooms and sea chests ransacked but their wages left untouched. Intuitive Constable Charles Horton of the River Police, who finds three of the victims soon after their deaths, is puzzled by smiles on some of their faces as he searches for connections and motive. Meanwhile, Horton’s boss, magistrate John Harriott, must play political games with prominent naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, who financed the Solander expedition for reasons of his own. While Shepherd artfully blends history and fiction, as he did in his highly praised first novel, The English Monster (2012), the supernatural is less a factor here, and frequent allusions to the crimes in the earlier book do more to impede than advance the plot. Still, the Tahitian locales and the keen detecting of Horton, a character to watch, are likely to capture interest. --Michele Leber

Review

“A spirited evocation of an era when roving botanists could also be blithe sexual predators, and 'savages' could be both admired and exploited... Georgian London is vividly brought to life... A gutsy, involving yarn.” ― The Guardian

“Memorable prose, tight plotting, and complex characters." ― Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Shepherd adroitly blurs fact and fiction with a hint of the fantastic, creating his own superior blend of historical crime fiction.” ― The Financial Times

“I loved it. Very stylish, very ingenious, and very well written.” -- Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

“Pulls you in… Clever… Shepherd delivers the goods.” ― Kirkus Reviews

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books; Original edition (January 14, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1476712867
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1476712864
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.33 x 1.1 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

About the author

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Lloyd Shepherd

Lloyd Shepherd

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My name's Lloyd. I live in South London in England. I'm the author of four acclaimed historical fiction novels - The English Monster, The Poisoned Island, Savage Magic, and The Detective and the Devil - which are set in London in the early 19th century. They feature a detective who's never heard the word detective - a constable called Charles Horton - and his boss, magistrate John Harriott. Horton and Harriott are from the River Police Office in Wapping, London's second police office after Bow Street. The crimes they investigate are not quite what they seem to be.

My latest novel, After London, is a change of direction. It's a speculative mystery thriller set in Wales, a decade after a terrible terrorist incident in London. In this timeline, Britain is policed by a surveillance system of drones, cameras and machine intelligence called Witness. Crime has virtually ceased, and the police have become little more than administrators. But there has been a killing, and Witness did not see it.

If you're interested, I enjoy reading literary fiction and stuff at the more speculative end of the spectrum - horror, fantasy and science fiction. My favourite book is The Portrait of a Lady. My favourite author - possibly by virtue of how many of his books I've read - is Stephen King. The best novels I've read recently were Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and The Last Blade-Priest by WF Wiles.

Amazon won't let me put my website address in here, but search for me online and you'll find it. Do pop in. The kettle is always on!

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
97 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Elaine
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2014
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A thriller based on a botanical expedition to the South Seas: what a unique and interesting premise! And Sir Joseph Banks as a behind-the-scenes manipulator of English politics and history.... Well-written and a real page turner.
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Cathy G. Cole
4.0 out of 5 stars Lloyd Shepherd knows how to write an atmospheric, Dickensian thriller
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2014
Once again Lloyd Shepherd has written a deftly plotted and richly detailed book that will bring all your senses to life. Part murder mystery, part social commentary, The Poisoned Island is filled with creepy atmosphere, intriguing characters, and one very puzzling mystery. Although Harriott and Horton appear in Shepherd's previous book, The English Monster, both books can easily be read as standalones.

In The Poisoned Island, there are several flashbacks to past voyages to Tahiti, especially in 1769. The island, the weather, the native people, the plant life... everything has combined to form a paradise that lives on in the minds of those who have been there-- and once they've been there, they want to go back. Unfortunately the fabric of Tahitian life is ripped apart as European customs and behaviors spread like poison. But Tahiti isn't the only island that has been poisoned.

Constable Charles Horton is a marvelous character who feels tainted by his past, but he's found the perfect wife to love and support him-- and she isn't the frail flower that Horton likes to think she is. Horton has also fallen on his feet with his employment. Magistrate John Harriott has had the foresight to see that policing is changing; it's no longer a matter of merely having a police presence to deter villains, men who are capable of investigating crimes are the people who are needed now. Charles Horton is the perfect man for Harriott's needs, even though almost every other magistrate in London would heartily disagree.

It's a pleasure to watch these characters walk the streets and dockyards of a London that seems straight out of Dickens. Sights, smells, sounds-- Shepherd knows how to immerse readers in them all. He also knows how to put together a fascinating mystery. At first, none of crime scenes make sense. It appears that all the victims were killed in their sleep. They have huge smiles on their faces, their throats have been slashed, and their sea chests have been gone through. But how can the killer have gotten into or out of their lodgings without being seen-- and why were none of their wages taken? Horton's investigation takes him from boarding houses to pubs, from the Solander to Kew Gardens, and many other places besides, and as he begins to piece things together, he realizes that the seeds of murder were sown in faraway Tahiti.

If I have anything negative to say about this book amidst its rich language, atmosphere, plot and characterization, it's that the pace bogs down repeatedly. As it is, I can recommend The Poisoned Island wholeheartedly. If it had been trimmed and tightened a few degrees, I'd be singing and dancing and thrusting copies of it in your hands. Ah, do it anyway-- I can still feel those Tahitian breezes caressing my skin and feel the chills running down my spine as I walk the London docks at night.
3 people found this helpful
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Books and Lesser Evils!
3.0 out of 5 stars Good but slow
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2014
The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd is a tense atmospheric Victorian Murder mystery. It is well written and deftly plotted. The characters are suited to their time and setting. Shepherd plays the air of English superiority heavily in the interaction with the islanders, even with the crew who are obviously uneducated and working class.

The sailing vessel the Solander has arrived in London after a voyage to the island of Tahiti in June of 1812. Aboard it brings home a treasure of botanical oddities. Plants unknown to the British but their rarity is immeasurable in value. The highest minds want to study them but the voyage was funded by Sir Joseph Banks and he has his own plans for the bounty the ship has brought. Banks does not just have the desires of science in mind, no he has something else in mind altogether.

It is not only the plants that come ashore from the Solander, but murder as well. As one by one a group of sailors die.

"You have no thoughts yourself?"
"None at all. The man's neck was bruised, I am told, confirming the analysis of strangulation. But he had a confoundedly happy grin on his face, which struck Horton as most odd. He seems to have died happy, in any case."
Graham, ruefully, looks at his fork.
"We should all like to die happy," he says.
"Indeed. But what does an illiterate sailor with grim lodgings and a fat old mistress have to be happy about?"
"I sometimes think an ordinary life would be more desirable than the one I lead."

It is something else the Solander has brought back from Tahiti than just exotic plants. It is a leaf when brewed becomes a powerful opiate. It is up to Constable Horton to unravel the mystery and the murderer before the danger reaches him or his family.

The Poisoned Island is a well crafted mystery that at times may be slow but still moves along at a good pace. A notable read in a genre teeming with poorly researched tales.
2 people found this helpful
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60sgirl
5.0 out of 5 stars Murder by Greens
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
This book is written with such detail that you feel as if you are walking the streets of Wapping and seeing what Detective Horton and his boss, Harriet, are seeing.
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Top reviews from other countries

K. Mayfield
5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2014
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I was willingly swept away to and by the The Poisoned Island. Lloyd Shepherd's evocative prose and gift for storytelling is evident in the first chapter of this page turning tale set in the early nineteenth century. The way in which he melds history with his splashy imagination makes for a thrilling read.

The fully fleshed character team of magistrate Harriott and River Police Constable Horton have several new murders with which to contend in the ever interesting area of Wapping in the east end of London. But first the author takes us out to sea as he did in his brilliant début novel, The English Monster.

In the romping and breathless second storyline in The Poisoned Island we are transported to the exotic Tahiti where the secrets and troubles of this tale originate.

When the ship Solander returns to London there is botany, there is addiction, there are politics and royalty. Every where you look there is murder.

I love the way Lloyd Shepherd writes and look forward to reading his next novel, Savage Magic.
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H. Lacroix
4.0 out of 5 stars Good....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 21, 2015
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Another good offering from an author who knows how to write. He knows so well that from an infinitesimal thread he is able to weave a story of more than 370 pages. It's amazing when you've reached the end and try to organise your thoughts about the book how few actual facts and elements he actually needs to create a well crafted tale. The sum total of plot elements could be written down on a postage stamp and yet Lloyd Sheperd spins and spins, uses diversions and circuitous routes in his circumlocutary prose so that by the end of the day, just like the magic tree in his opus, a whole world has emerged. I'm not sure I don't usually prefer a more substantial story but it works nevertheless.
2 people found this helpful
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Newthorpe Buyer
5.0 out of 5 stars Far flung lands, scary plants and a great murder mystery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2015
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Having always been fascinated by Captain Cook and Joseph Banks ( no, my son is not called Endeavour!) and being a devotee of historical whodunnits I thought I'd give this a try. Really glad I did. The plot centres around a ship full of botanical specimens being brought back to London from Tahiti - destination Bank's Kew Gardens, and an outbreak of ferocious murders. The twists and turns and the characterisations keep you turning the page. Yes, I could work out what was coming next but that didn't affect my enjoyment. It was a great read for a horrible rainy day. Nice to find a whodunnit that was set in a time other than the Tudors. I'll certainly look out for other books by this author.
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S. O. Butler
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2015
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not as good as the first book, but a good page turner
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H. M. Kingston
4.0 out of 5 stars Superior crime fiction
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2013
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I love the way the author blends fact and fiction in his crime writing. There is the immaculately researched early 19th century London, especially the burgeoning dock areas of the East End and Deptford as well as forays further west. The investigations into a series of curious murders of seamen just returned from the South Seas involves Shepherd's introduction of certain magical/supernatural elements that help explain motivation.

This novel is more tightly focused than The English Monster. I really enjoyed it. More please Mr Shepherd.
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