1800 - Two years have passed since the bloody uprising in Ireland and Prime Minister Pitt looks to Catholic emancipation to heal the wounds. But feelings are running high and there are those who will go to any lenglths to stop him - including murder. When details a plot begin to emerge, Emanuel, a Jew with a secret that threatens his future must risk everything to save the life of one of the plotters; a man who wants to see him dead
September 1799. Treacherous waters threaten to engulf policeman Tom Pascoe when a politician's body is found floating in the Thames.
October, 1799. A century is coming to an end, but river policeman Tom Pascoe's work is never done. A new case in London's Docks holds danger not just for Tom but for the nation. Sailing master Robert Cox cannot pay his gambling debts. But he has information about a ship which has arrived in British waters carrying a precious cargo. Selling that information to one of London's most feared men might be Robert Cox's salvation - or his damnation. Elsewhere in the warren of streets and waterways, Tom and his assistant Sam Hart are tipped off about a robbery. Their inquiries take them to London's secretive Jewish community, where a dealer admits to being told that a quantity of silk is about to come on the market. When Robert Cox goes missing and powerful men from London's underworld and beyond begin to hunt for the silk, Tom finds himself investigating not just a crime but a conspiracy that will threaten his life, his family and his country.
River Surveyor Tom Pascoe of the Marine Police finds the bodies of two men entombed in the crew cabin of a sunken lugger. Suspicion falls on a third member of the crew seen fleeing the scene. He had a known motive for murder. Against the background of a nation at war with Napoleon, Tom Pascoe finds his own life under threat as he digs deeper into the case. He uncovers the existence of French agents whose task is to undermine England's ability to continue the war. Tom's job is further complicated by the presence of a new member of the police crew with a shocking secret of his own...
In the dark and slimy streets of Wapping a prostitute is beaten half to death, a not uncommon fate in late 18th century London. So begins this gripping tale set in 1798 in the Port of London: a cruel villain holds sway over the underworld. His name is Boylin. His face is scarred by lime and his back by the two hundred lashes he received following a naval court martial. He holds Captain Tom Pascoe responsible for his suffering. They meet again when Pascoe becomes River Surveyor for the newly formed marine police. They've had orders to investigate a sudden fall in government revenue that is affecting the nation's ability to fight the war against Napoleon and stem the rising tide of Irish rebellion. Pascoe knows that Boylin is behind it, but he can't prove anything, yet. THE WATERMEN follows these two adversaries across London as they try to outwit one another. Working alongside Pascoe is Sam Hart, a Jewish immigrant with his own agenda, Pascoe throws the rule-book out the window, scouring East London and the docklands in search of information. But fate takes a cruel twist when the two men find themselves involved with the same woman - there's much more at stake than the fate of the nation.