A Coin for the Hangman

A Coin for the Hangman

Author: Ralph Spurrier

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2024-01-11

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 1504090721

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A bookseller finds an old diary containing a condemned man’s last words—but can they be trusted? “A compelling book, superbly plotted” (Peter Lovesey, author of The Last Detective). Browsing through a collection of old volumes, a bookseller comes across a diary—contained in it, the final words of a man sentenced to die for murder, addressed to his executioner. But after reading the journal, the bookseller wonders if there was a miscarriage of justice? Did the wrong man go to the gallows? And is there any way to prove it? A Coin for the Hangman is a “mesmerising and thought provoking” work of historical fiction, rich in detail and character, that delves into questions of duty, war, innocence, and guilt (Crime Fiction Lover). A Recommendation of the Walter Scott Prize Academy “A fiendishly clever plot set in the aftermath of World War II. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” —Minette Walters, Edgar Award–winning author of The Sculptress “Capital punishment seems so alien to modern Britain that it is a shock to be reminded that just over fifty years ago there was a middle-aged man in a middle-ranking job in a London office who, two or three times a year, was paid six guineas to visit one of Britain’s prisons and kill one of the prisoners. . . . A disturbing and poignant little novel.” —Historical Novels Review “A very moving piece of fiction.” —Crimesquad


A Coin for the Hangman

A Coin for the Hangman

Author: Ralph Spurrier

Publisher: Hookline Books

Published: 2016-04-05

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9780993287466

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When our man finds the tools of one of England's last hangmen, along with the diary of a condemned man he executed - a diary that points the finger in a disturbing direction - he knows he has a mystery to solve. Was there a miscarriage of British justice? Did the wrong man die at the noose? And just who is telling the truth? A mystery that has readers guessing to the very last page.


The Hangman's Hymn (Canterbury Tales Mysteries, Book 5)

The Hangman's Hymn (Canterbury Tales Mysteries, Book 5)

Author: Paul Doherty

Publisher: Headline

Published: 2012-11-27

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 0755350529

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Even death itself cannot keep three witches at bay... Paul Doherty relates the Carpenter's tale in The Hangman's Hymn - a tale of mystery and murder as he goes on pilgrimage from London to Canterbury. Perfect for fans of Ellis Peters and Susanna Gregory. Stumbling upon an execution, Chaucer's pilgrims witness a hanging that leaves the carpenter in a dead faint. That evening, he narrates the tale of a Gloucester hangman whose involvement in the secretive punishment of three witches unleashes a vicious spate of revenge killings. When homeless and jobless, Simon Cotterill joins a hangman's crew replacing a man who was himself sent to the gibbet, he feels rejected even by the desperate men he now works with. Until he learns the secret of how a hanged man can walk away from his own grave... Meanwhile from the forest paths around Gloucester, young women are disappearing. When a disfigured corpse is found, the mayor suspects a coven of witches is preying on vulnerable souls, and arrests three hideous hags. Afraid the town's prosperity could suffer from a reputation for witchcraft, he holds a midnight trial that condemns the women. They are taken to be hanged. But the unearthly sounds of the forest at night frighten even the hangmen, and a violent storm drives them to seek shelter, leaving the witches swinging from the gibbet tree. The next morning their bodies are gone. Then, one by one, every person who took part in the trial is found dead, and Simon is forced into hiding to save his own life... What readers are saying about Canterbury Tales Mysteries: 'Never fails to have me sitting up until way past my bed time wanting to know what happens next' 'You can almost feel yourself there' 'Spellbinding'


The Hangman's Hymn

The Hangman's Hymn

Author: P. C. Doherty

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2004-12-10

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9780312300906

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Having witnessed a murder with possible supernatural ties when he was an apprentice, the Carpenter works to solve an intricate mystery involving a purported witch coven leader who would avenge the deaths of her sisters.


Hangman's Lullaby

Hangman's Lullaby

Author: JoAnn Wendt

Publisher: Belgrave House

Published: 2021-02-04

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1947812289

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London. Christmas, 1653. The king has been beheaded. Oliver Cromwell rules England. Cromwell’s Puritan Parliament has banned Christmas, declaring it a pagan holiday. Anyone caught celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas risks arrest. Strong-willed and kind-hearted, Merry O'Cork is a young midwife with big problems. She is called late one night in a snowstorm to deliver the baby of Captain Javier’s wife. Tragically, his wife dies giving birth to a healthy baby boy. Merry suspects foul play. She must also fight off her ne’er-do-well husband, a gambler and rogue, face her growing attraction for the captain, and defend her reputation as a midwife. Follow the mystery that unfolds during the 12 days of Christmas revealing many suspects with motives that keeps you guessing until the very end.


The Hangman's Replacement

The Hangman's Replacement

Author: Taona D. Chiveneko

Publisher: Chiveneko Publishing Inc

Published: 2013-01-15

Total Pages: 490

ISBN-13: 0991852400

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If you had to interview the candidates for a country's new hangman, what questions would you ask them? If your family was on the verge of starvation, and becoming a hangman was the only job available, would you apply? If you were hired, what would you do if the prisoners looked like your loved ones? If you knew that another good man was taking the job out of desperation, would you do anything to prevent him from getting it? What if that man's recruitment would somehow guarantee your own survival, would you encourage his candidacy? All these questions were asked of people who never thought they would find themselves in such a position, until they became mired in the chaos surrounding the hangman's replacement.


Alias: The Hangman From Hell

Alias: The Hangman From Hell

Author: Franklin D Lincoln

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2012-07-17

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1300068477

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The nowhere man continues to roam the west eluding posses and lawmen. This time around he hides behind the mantle of a famous hangman faced with abominable duties that he wishes he could avoid. To do so would reveal his true identity and give him away to the law. In a desperate attempt to escape, he runs afoul of a woman bounty hunter who may prove to be his salvation or his ultimate downfall.


Hangman's Journal

Hangman's Journal

Author: Shashi Warrier

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2009-02-20

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9352141547

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They say that the hangman's job is an art. Positioning the knot under the prisoner's ear is the most important part of the job; get it exactly right and there's not a quiver from the rope except for that little jerk at the drop, when his neck breaks. A few millimetres off, and the man's neck does not break; he dies of strangulation, slowly painfully. Written with rare power and unflinching directness, this is a compelling, often unsettling account of a life of great psychological and moral complexity. The real life story of the Hangman working for the king of Travancore, a small pre-independence South Indian kingdom unfolds in full detail. Each time he returned from the gallows, he told himself that it would be the last time. But he went back, a hundred and seventeen times. He did what he was ordered to do and shut out difficult memories, till an encounter with a writer almost a quarter century after his last hanging forced him to confront his past. This Book takes us into the mind of a Man struggling to come to terms with his Dharma, his conscience, and his shame.