Welcome to my tour stop for The Suspect's Daughter by Donna Hatch! I've read this entire series and am looking forward to FINALLY seeing Grant get his happily-ever-after.
I've always had a fascination with Bow Street Runners. I'm sure it began and grew as I've read stories set in the Regency time period. There's just something about men who were runners. Maybe it's because they're a force to be reckoned with due to their intelligence, skill, and strength (both physically and of character). The author is sharing about the history of Bow Street Runners below, which I found quite interesting. Enjoy (and don't forget to check out the other stops and enter the giveaway)!
(Rogue Hearts, #4)
by Donna Hatch
Adult Historical Romance
Paperback & ebook, 298 pages
December 15th 2015 by Mirror Lake Press
Summary
Determined to help her father with his political career, Jocelyn sets aside dreams of love. When she meets the handsome and mysterious Grant Amesbury, her dreams of true love reawaken. But his secrets put her family in peril.
Grant goes undercover to capture conspirators avowed to murder the prime minister, but his only suspect is the father of a courageous lady who is growing increasingly hard to ignore. He can’t allow Jocelyn to distract him from the case, nor will he taint her with his war-darkened soul. She seems to see past the barriers surrounding his heart, which makes her all the more dangerous to his vow of remaining forever alone.
Jocelyn will do anything to clear her father’s name, even if that means working with Grant. Time is running out. The future of England hangs in the balance...and so does their love.
Bow Street Runners
By Donna Hatch
Untrained constables in London failed to effectively protect the innocent or bring justice to the guilty. Men in a particular district were supposed to make up The Night Watch on a rotating basis, but most working class men refused to stay up all night keeping watch, even on a rotating basis. Besides, it was a dangerous job. So they hired out others to take their turn—often elderly men who needed the money because they could no longer work. The Night Watch typically huddled in groups around the nearest light and hoped no one would harass them. Needless to say, they were too feeble to affect much of a threat to a thief.
Therefore, the average citizen who’d been wronged gathered evidence, performed the arrest, dragged the accused before the magistrate (judge) and convinced the magistrate this was the criminal. A daunting task. Since the accused were considered guilty unless proven innocent, a guilty verdict usually resulted.
Into this ineffective chaos stepped the Fielding brothers. Henry Fielding was a magistrate who operated his office on Bow Street. In 1750, he and his brother hand picked and organized an elite fighting force of highly trained and disciplined young men known as the Bow Street Runners. Later nick-named the “Robins Redbreasts” for their distinctive red waistcoats, they conducted investigations, including a rudimentary forensics and interrogations. They even carried handcuffs.While the office of a magistrate belonged exclusively to gentlemen, Bow Street Runners were working class men. They were smart, skilled and cunning. Though they typically remained in the London area, there are tales of them tracking fugitives as far as the Scottish border. They drew a modest salary from Bow Street, so most of their pay came in the form of a bounty or reward, usually paid by the victim or a group who had a vested interest in solving the crime. Runners could also be hired out to conduct special investigations, or act as body guards.
Eventually, other magistrates followed the Fielding’s example, but none achieved the acclaim of the Runners.
In 1830, when the new Metropolitan Police was organized, the Bow Street Runners became obsolete. Later, the police came to be known as Scotland Yard. Their procedures were adopted from those developed by the Runners, and I can only assume that many Runners became investigators for their replacements.
About the Author
Donna Hatch is the author of the best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series,” and a winner of writing awards such as The Golden Quill and the International Digital Award. A hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, she discovered her writing passion at the tender age of 8 and has been listening to those voices ever since. She has become a sought-after workshop presenter, and also juggles freelance editing, multiple volunteer positions, and most of all, her six children (seven, counting her husband). A native of Arizona who recently transplanted to the Pacific Northwest, she and her husband of over twenty five years are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.
Tour Schedule
12/8: Launch - Intro to the Book
12/14: Bookworm Nation & Singing Librarian Books
12/15: Release-Day Grand Finale
Tour-Wide Giveaway
$10 Amazon eGift Card
2 ebooks of A Winter's Knight
2 ebooks of Mistletoe Magic
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Ends December 19th
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