‘The Sterling Directive’ by Tim Standish is a book that combines so many things together and emerges triumphant! The author has managed to weave Historical fiction, thriller, fantasy and mystery together to create a book that, makes you think it will be a crazy mix, but in reality becomes almost sublime in it’s telling.

Captian Charles Maddox has been in exile and returns to Victorian London, I say Victorian but it definitely isn’t what we think of as Victorian. This is Victorian on an alternative timeline, transport is not only horse and carriages. There are the beginnings of the internet, computers and everything that gives it a truly different take on the period. He is brought to London and given a new identity and a directive from a shady government organisation named The Map Room. Here he has a choice: Go to prison or become what they want and follow their orders. The directive is to investigate the murders that Jack The Ripper so famously did.

This is such an exciting story and one that I was totally engaged with. Victorian England has never been so interesting to me! Charles narrates this story, so we see everything through his eyes and we know his motivations. We also see his resourcefulness throughout the story, this is self-taught, from his odd life and also from his time spent in exile. I would love to see more of the Map Room and Charles in the future, this was a fantastically entertaining tale.

Thank you to Random Things Tours and the publisher for my copy of the book so I could give you my review today on the blog tour.