A Fever of the Blood

Frey and McGray return for a second outing in de Muriel’s new novel. The story opens in January 1889 with a brutal killing at the Edinburgh lunatic asylum, and the investigative duo are immediately involved, as McGray’s own sister is also a patient there. The first in the series, The Strings of Murder, introduced the unlikely pairing of the gruff ‘nine nails’ McGray and the exiled Londoner, Frey, and in their second investigation, as before, McGray tends to speak with his fists first, while Frey is more cautious. The majority of the action in this book takes place outside the policemen’s jurisdiction as they chase a suspect onto a train and end up in Lancashire. Just as in their previous case, there is a supernatural element as the men find themselves the target of a dangerous secret society of witches and a curse that stretches back through the centuries to the time of the Pendle witch trials.

This is a fast-paced, well-researched and thoroughly spellbinding read. The mismatched pair is as entertaining as Holmes and Watson at their best, and the supernatural element brings an entertaining twist. There are a number of insightful moments of character development which hint at further episodes to come, and while the book is clearly a sequel to the first in the series it can easily be read as a stand-alone. Published by Michael Joseph and available in paperback now. 

I  reviewed this book for The Historical Novel Society magazine. You can see the original review online HERE

The Scrivener

The Scrivener is the third book in Robin Blake’s fantastic mystery series featuring Preston Coroner Titus Cragg and his good friend Dr Luke Fidelis. Although this book is part of a series it can easily be read as a stand alone as enough explanation of the back story is provided to pique the reader’s curiosity without causing any confusion. The date is 1742 and Preston is preparing for the Preston Guild a celebration held every twenty years and overseen by the town mayor; currently Ephraim Grimshaw. Cragg and Grimshaw are old adversaries it would seem and when Cragg discovers the town pawnbroker and would-be banker Philip Pimbo slumped over his desk with a bullet in his head Grimshaw immediately panics assuming that Pimbo had made bad investments and committed suicide. Cragg is not so sure and with the aid of Dr Fidelis they investigate Pimbo’s business and personal life, his connection to a shady Liverpool Scrivener, a missing civil war treasure trove and the Guinea trade in human slavery. This book is filled with a wonderful cast of characters; good, bad and everything in between and is an utterly enjoyable romp through Georgian society; high and low. Witty, mysterious and very well told, Cragg and Fidelis are the Holmes and Watson of their era. Perfect for fans of Lloyd Shepherd.

Originally published in HNR 73 HERE

The Lady of Misrule

The Lady of Misrule could be Lady Jane Grey the Nine Days Queen or it could be her newly appointed companion Elizabeth Tilney. Elizabeth volunteered to accompany Lady Jane to her new apartments at the Tower of London in order to escape her own domestic situation. A good Catholic girl had been requested and Elizabeth has tried very hard to be that but it hasn’t been easy. At first it seems the two young woman have very little in common and Elizabeth finds being shut away very dull but gradually she makes a friend of Jane and of her young husband and of those who are charged with keeping the young couple under lock and key. However the imprisonment cannot continue forever and shut away as they are they are unaware of the machinations and scheming that are happening at court and when the end comes, it is a shock to them all. Suzannah Dunn continues to build a reputation as the queen of Tudor fiction and this book is another testament to her skill, she has made the minutiae of the domestic and women’s day to day lives her canvas and despite her use of modern language in place of more archaic speech there is an intrinsic truth in the dialogue and interaction between the young people in this novel which makes it compelling reading. 

This review originally appeared in HNR 73 see it online HERE

The Silvered Heart

The Silvered Heart is Katherine Clements follow up to her critically lauded debut The Crimson Ribbon and with this new story she has returned to the civil war era once again using a real person as a springboard for her storytelling. The Silvered Heart is the fictionalised account of Lady Katherine Ferrers. Lady Katherine was a seventeenth century heiress and legendary highwaywoman who lost her land during Cromwell’s rule and was rumoured to have become a highwaywoman in order to survive. Clements makes the legend her own with this book bringing the “wicked lady” of folktale to vivid life as a real and sympathetic character as we follow her from childhood with her mother’s untimely demise and her own very young and unhappy marriage to finding friendship, love and final happiness. The research is impeccable and the storytelling first rate. You can feel the hunger of Lady Katherine and her faithful retainers through the lean years and smell the dirt and filth of the age. The book brilliantly highlights the dangerous time Lady Katherine lived in when even a king could be put on trial as we watch the political fortunes of those around her change with the wind and her husband’s often feeble attempts to switch allegiance and save his own neck. The book is a fantastic portrayal of the friendship between Lady Katherine and her lady’s maid Rachel and the close bonds that can be formed between women while their destinies are decided by the men around them. This is powerful historical fiction at its best.

This review originally appeared in Historical Novel Review Issue 73

and can be viewed online Here

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans

This review originally appeared in HNR Issue 71 Feb 2015 you can view it online here http://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/crooked-heart/

Crooked Heart is the first adult novel from Lissa Evans since the Orange Prize-shortlisted Their Finest Hour and a Half(2009). This novel tells the story of ten-year-old evacuee Noel Bostock, who leaves blitz-ravaged London to stay in St Albans. His new family consists of the scatter-brained and near penniless Vera Sedge, her ungrateful teenage son Donald and her apparently housebound mother.

Noel has had an unusual upbringing; with no family of his own, he has lived most of his life with his recently-deceased godmother, Mattie, a former suffragette who has provided an eclectic education and passed on to Noel her suspicion of and disdain for authority. Vera feels scorn for authority for different reasons; all around her she sees people making money from the war effort, and Vera is determined to get her share, but her haphazard schemes have rarely borne fruit. However, once Noel realises what Vera is trying to do, he becomes the brains behind her scam operations and together they become a team. When they meet a bewildered old woman who reminds Noel of his beloved godmother, things take a nasty turn as Noel tries desperately to help her, thinking that in saving Mrs Gifford’s belongings from a thieving air raid warden he can somehow save his beloved Aunt Mattie, for whom he still grieves.

The novel is beautifully written and very well researched. Evans brings to life the world of scammers and thieves who thrived during the War while also making the voice of the precocious Noel utterly believable.