The story has a sense of rhythm in its written style, calling forth images of the wild and mud-soaked lands, dwelling on local names and places. Bodies are easily disposed, out on the moor.

As the pressure escalates on the Clippers, it becomes apparent that violence is a familiar tool. In extracting aid and confessions his system of law does not play entirely fair but, then, his opposition isn’t kind-hearted either. Sent to investigate growing awareness of this criminal gang, Deighton investigates, finds, and exploits weaknesses in the men of the Craggvale Coiners. Both characters are entirely real historical figures who were, indeed, to cross paths. On the side in opposition to David Hartley is the lawman William Deighton. The local entrepreneur, source of new wealth, criminal baron, and dangerous thug. Certainly, the main protagonist, David Hartley, is seen throughout the novel as ‘King’ David Hartly. It helps the gang see themselves as part of the community, breaking the laws of a distant and aloof government to help their own people. Questions of currency devaluation are far past the concerns of the locals. In the story, this helps to generate local wealth as suddenly there is more financial prosperity and money to be spent. In this time, and this place, a criminal counterfeit gang operated out of Cragg Vale, clipping tiny slices from the edge of coins and smelting them together to form new ones. A slow and inevitable event, it promises to bring change to the region even as it eliminates what little wealth the villages can accrue through their own laborious works. In a written style that I found unusual at first, before embracing it for the value it added, the book presents the bare face of poverty in rural Yorkshire of 1760s, setting the body-breaking work of the manual weaving community in contrast to the encroaching industrial revolution. A gloomy, grimy, and sodden tale, this story looks at how the criminal gang saw themselves, and how, in turn, the forces of justice saw them. Historical fiction, based on the real activities of the Craggvale Coiners in 18th Century Yorkshire, England.

Ben myers the gallows pole