Reviews

One of my favourite writers Denise Mina is primely known as crime writer and though this is historical fiction it is based on true events. The murder of David Rizzio, Mary Queen of Scots secretary and confident.

Set just after the reformation in Scotland; where a Catholic Queen is seen both as a threat and feeling threatened. Her Catholic consort Darnley feels emasculated and powerless as Mary refuses to acknowledge him as King. He easily allows himself to fall into the schemes of the nobles who prey upon Darnley's jealousy of Rizzio as a rival for Mary's affections. But was Darnley merely a pawn in this murder. A murder that could have easily become regicide and infanticide.

Seen through a modern lens this is a cautionary tale when you mix jealousy,religious intolerance and lust for power into a combustible mix.

andreastopit's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

bookbound2019's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced

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

4.0

cheye13's review against another edition

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dark tense 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? Yes

2.0

This was a case of mismatched expectations. The synopsis implied a fast-paced thriller-style murder conspiracy when it was ultimately a pensive character study of a few political figures. For such a short book, it read painfully slowly, and the dispassionate tone did nothing to evoke a response. The point of fictionalizing this specific narrative is to evoke some emotion or attachment and the writing style failed to do so. The entire book boils down to "wasn't that fucked up?" in which case. I could've probably read the wikipedia article.

nischen's review against another edition

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funny informative fast-paced

4.5

dr_oligo's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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