Reviews

Cat Lovett (Hawksby) and James Marwood battle through 1670 London’s Bawdy Riots to uncover a mysterious plot against the King. Rip-roaring and highly addictive.

bananatricky's review against another edition

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4.0

A friend of mine recently recommended this series as he knows I enjoy the [a:C.J. Sansom|80212|C.J. Sansom|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1236778813p2/80212.jpg] Shardlake series so when I saw this ARC available for request on NetGalley I immediately clicked the button.

Despite not having read the first three books I found it quite easy to follow the plot which relates to Charles II, the Duke of Buckingham and Richard Cromwell (son of Oliver and the Last Protector of the title).

Our hero/detective James Marwood is occasionally required to act as a spy for the King. His master, Joseph Williamson, the Under Secretary of State to Lord Arlington and Lord Arlington are desperate to find evidence (cough, manufacture) against the Duke of Buckingham and send James to spy on a duel between Buckingham and Lord Shrewsbury, which leaves one man dead and Lord Shrewsbury seriously injured.

Our heroine, Cat Hakesby, is married to an elderly architect and seems to be prospering when she runs across an old acquaintance, Elizabeth Cromwell, a meeting which turns out to be anything but coincidental. Drawn against her will into intrigue involving her husband, Buckingham and the Cromwells, Cat's world collides with James' (and not for the first time I understand).

Based on certain historical facts Andrew Taylor has woven a gripping tale of plots, favours and the sheer wretchedness of life for women, servants and the underclass. Learn about the Bawdy House riots, the half-life of the last Protector, the mazer-scourers, and how absolutely foul people can be to others.

A cracking read, I will get the previous books and read them shortly!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

booktwitcher23's review

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adventurous hopeful informative mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

libertyclaydon's review

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

alexandra_a_a's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

navik's review

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mysterious medium-paced

4.0

breazy_reader_724's review

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4.0

As with the prior volumes in the series, I enjoyed being part of the Lovett and Marwood world. These protagonists, a strong-willed and capable woman trying to escape her own history and make a life for herself, and a man who has served as an agent of several aristocratic factions in 1660's England, are both basically very decent people. In this book, there was another interesting plot, and a solid backstory with good character development. Having said that, I was disappointed a little that we didn't see more of (spoiler alert) Stephen, who joined the cast since the preceding story "The King's Evil." Aside from a little involvement early on, he was relegated to an afterthought. Perhaps this will be rectified in subsequent stories. I also didn't like the way Master Hakesby was portrayed in this story, as his behavior was uncharacteristically foolhardy- perhaps they author intended to convey that he had begun suffering from some type of dementia, but he seemed like a different character from the prior books. Finally, the mysterious Ferrus- I really don't know what to say about this poor soul, but there was something flat and one-dimensional about the character as well- he basically existed only to serve a part of the plot. I did like the involvement of the Duke of Buckingham, as his character was fleshed out a bit. The working women characters in the story felt somewhat cliche as well, but were not as unimaginatively portrayed as I've seen in some stories. These minor complaints aside, I am looking forward to see what will happen next- as I read all 4 of the published books in this series during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, I have to appreciate the comfort and escape they provided during this time. I eagerly look forward to the end of the COVID-19 plague, and the next chapter in the series.

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