It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Blackbirds of St Giles by Lila Cain.
About the Author/s
LILA CAIN is the pseudonym for two authors writing together.
Kate Griffin won the Faber/ Stylist Magazine competition with Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders and went onto to write three more novels in the series before writing her first standalone novel, Fyneshade. Follow @KateAGriffin on X
Born to Windrush-era Jamaican parents, Marcia Hutchinson worked as a lawyer before founding educational publishing company Primary Colours and was awarded an MBE for services to Cultural Diversity in 2010. Her solo debut novel Mercy is due for publication in summer 2025. Follow @marciathewriter on X
About the book
Some things are earned. Some things are worth fighting for…
It’s 1782, Daniel and his sister Pearl arrive in London with the world at their feet and their future assured. Having escaped a Jamaican sugar plantation, Daniel fought for the British in the American War of Independence and was rewarded with freedom and an inheritance.
But the city is not a place for men like Daniel and he is callously tricked and finds himself, along with his sister Pearl, in the rookeries of St Giles – a warren of dark and menacing alleyways, filled with violence and poverty.
The underworld labyrinth is run by Elias, a man whose cruelty knows no bounds. But under his dangerous rule is a brotherhood of Black men, the Blackbirds of St Giles, whose intention is to set their people free.
Can Daniel use his strength, wit and the fellowship of the other Blackbirds to overthrow Elias and truly find the freedom he fought for…?
Review
Daniel's story begins with loss and simultaneously the severing of vicious ties to embark on a path to freedom. The version of the freedom he encounters is just another type of oppression and slavery. Tyranny comes in all shapes, sizes and colours, because surviving often means becoming what you despise the most.
It's a story that is sure to anger and infuriate, especially because of the injustice, the threats, the constant state of danger and battle to stay alive. The kindness and friendship that sets Daniel on his path to St Giles is rarely experienced gain after the death of his friend and comrade. The truth is the world is full of racists, thieves and cutthroats.
I couldn't connect to the core atmosphere of naiveté, the lack of self preservation and inability to have a realistic take on the majority of situations. The past experiences of both of them, but especially Daniel, should have instilled a greater sense of survival and definitely a lack of trust. It makes for great drama, but surely prior experience, trauma and life lived under extremely dire circumstances would give the majority of people a better instinct for survival.
Given the ending I think it's possible we might be hearing more about Daniel and Pearl in the future - The concept would make great tv by the way. Here's to vindication, retribution and a little more justice for Daniel, Pearl and the Blackbirds in general.
Buy The Blackbirds of St Giles at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Simon & Schuster UK, pub date 30 Jan. 2025. Buy at Amazon com.
