spoko 's review for:

Martyr by Rory Clements

4.75

adventurous informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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It’s a genre book, so my expectations were not outsized. But within that, it was surprisingly good. The exposition and character development were well done, and the suspense was maintained throughout. It was interesting having one of the main characters be a real historical figure (Sir Francis Drake), such that you always knew what his fate was going to be. But still, you had to wonder what would happen to others. It was also fun to have William Shakespeare pop up as a minor (but still significant) character!

I got this recommendation from a list of the top 50 spy books/series as recommended by real-life spies. It’s the first I’ve read from the list; it bodes well for the rest!