Excerpt from The Hocus Girl by Chris Nickson, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

'Taken him?' He didn't understand. 'Who?'

'The government.' Her hands gripped him tight, holding on to him like an anchor. 'They said they're going to charge him with sedition.'

'Let's go inside,' Rosie said quietly. She put an arm around Emily, guiding her down the hall and into the kitchen, sitting her on one of the chairs then pouring a glass of French brandy. 'Drink that.'

She swallowed, coughed. But a little colour came back to her face and the wildness began to fade from her eyes.

'What's he supposed to have done?' Simon asked. It was strange; people should have been talking about it at the market, the gossip moving from mouth to mouth. But he'd heard nothing.

'They wouldn't tell me.' She began to cry again. 'Just pushed me out of the way and marched him off. A magistrate and soldiers with bayonets.'

Davey Ashton read books. He went to meetings and talked into the night with other men about a better world. About reform. Words and hope.

Sedition ...

The government had passed their Six Acts just two years before, after the Peterloo massacre in Manchester, a way to muffle all criticism and rebellion. But it hadn't worked. Fury still simmered constantly, boiling over as demonstrations flared and faded across the North.

Sedition.

Guilty, and Davey could be sentenced to spend the rest of his life as a convict in Australia.

'They went through the house,' Emily continued. 'Took some of his papers and his books.' She started to rise, eyes wide with panic. 'I need to go home and clean it all up. You know how he likes everything in order.'

Rosie put her arms around Emily's shoulders and eased her back down.

'Stay here tonight. You'll be safe with us. Tomorrow,' her voice was soothing, 'we'll go over there in the morning. Together.'

He watched them, but this was a place where he wasn't needed. His wife would look after Emily. Quietly, Simon left, back into the street with its noise and stink.

Why in God's name would they arrest Davey? He wrote, he spoke, but only words and thoughts were his world. He was harmless, a gentle soul who believed in justice. Nothing more. Or perhaps that was enough these days, with a government so scared of its own people.

Someone would have seen, must have heard. Were they all so terrified that they were keeping silent? What had happened to this town?

Excerpted from The Hocus Girl by Chris Nickson. Copyright © 2020 by Chris Nickson. Excerpted by permission of Severn House. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.