Book Review: The Watchmaker on Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

Title: The Watchmaker on Filigree Street
Author: Natasha Pulley
Published: 2nd July 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review

When I saw the cover for The Watchmaker, I was really very excited and the synopsis had me even more excited as it talked of a man who could remember the future, so when I got my hands on a copy I could not wait to start.
Natasha has created a brilliant, vastly different array of characters that I came to really like with their unique qualities and I could easily describe them to you as if they were real people; they stood out that much. There's of course Keita Mori, a Japanese immigrant with a Lincolnshire accent, who has the ability to remember the future, so is always one step ahead. Then there's Thaniel Steepleton is telegraphist at the home office and gets very much caught up in all the bomb threats and throws his life off kilter. And finally there is Grace Callow, who for the era is a very intelligent headstrong woman, which makes her even more commendable as as we read in the story, women of that time were very restricted in what they could and where they could go. Natasha has referenced this aspect well. So those are the three main characters who all come together with the help of Keita and as we read on we slowly uncover more about these three than we initially thought as the mystery of the bomb threats unravels.
What I enjoyed the most about this was that it felt completely original, there are other stories that it may have been similar and there are some definite Sherlock aspects to it, but it was still a unique and actually quite refreshing read.
Another great quality to this book was the Japanese culture references of the late 1800's. Although not the main focus of the story this greatly fascinated me, talks of samurai and Japanese hierarchy and how they adapted to living in London and the prejudice they faced was clearly very well researched and it just gave the story that extra substance and made it feel authentic. The only slight criticism that I have on my part, is that to keep track of the story, you do have to concentrate as there were a few times where I got a teeny bit lost and had to go back. They may just be me though.
I ultimately do love a story that throws in the unexpected as you read and this is what Natasha Pulley delivers. It's not only in the uncovering the culprit behind the bombings (which again didn't guess) but also each of the characters storylines as there is a bit more to them than you think.