Tensions in Elizabeth I government are at breaking point. Catholic Spain poised to invade, a plot to assassinate Francis Drake is uncovered. Intlligencer John Shakespear (brother of William) must protect him at all costs. Very well written, alive with the context of the period in London - bloody and brutish. ( )

As an historical mystery this looked promising but it didn't follow through. While credible, the details of corruption, brutality, and sexual encounters made this simply lurid. Disappointing. ( )

Catholics v Protestants; conspiracy theory; Sir Francis Drake; 'an assassin stalks the streets of London...'; enjoyable romp ( )

1587 and John Shakespeare has been instructed to find the murderer of Lady Blanche Howard, and the assassin sent to murder Sir Francis Drake.
An enjoyable story to finish off the year. ( )

Set in Elizabethan England around the time leading up to the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, the story is set against a background of the persecution and torture of Catholics. The many plot-lines include fears of a Spanish invasion, a plot to assassinate Sir Francis Drake and the brutal murder of a young woman, a member of the aristocratic Howard family. John Shakespeare, ex-lawyer and intelligencer to Elizabeth’s spymaster Francis Walsingham (and yes, the Bard's fictional brother!) is in charge of investigating the murder. Evidence emerges which suggests that the Spanish have sent an assassin to kill Drake and there are indications that this plot and the murder are linked so Walsingham also makes John responsible for offering protection to Sir Francis Drake. In addition to feeling like a distraction, the fact that Drake believes himself more than capable of thwarting any would be assassin, also makes this a thankless task for John! With plots and counter-plots, treachery and double-dealing, the investigations are anything but straightforward. His frequent clashes with his rival Richard Topcliffe, a favourite of the queen and a firm believer that the only language Catholics understand is torture, add to John’s difficulties because he always tries to pursue his investigations in a lawful way.
The amount of historical detail makes it apparent that the author has done considerable research into the period and he evocatively captures the fear and paranoia which was rife at that time. However, I thought that there were times when his inclusion of so much historical fact, often to the point of repetition, conflicted with his development of the crime story, something I found rather irritating. As I love the C. J. Sansom series of mediaeval mystery series because I feel that these novels combine the genres in such a convincing way, it may well be my expectations were way too high!
Another irritation was the sub-plot which involved John Shakespeare falling in love with a young Catholic woman, with all the dangers this inevitably involved. I thought that this too was an unnecessary distraction from what could have been an interesting historical novel. In general, I found the characters rather superficial, never totally convincing as people who were living in the sixteenth century.
Torture and brutality permeate the story and, whilst acknowledging that the times were indeed brutal, I think that the impact of this cruelty was reduced by the author’s continual descriptions of it. However, the debate about whether torture is a justifiable method of “enhanced interrogation” when lives are threatened, is certainly one which continues to resonate in the twenty first century!
So, for me, rather a “curate’s egg” of a book – good in parts but I’m not sure that I care enough about any of the characters to read any more in the series! ( )