1585 the year of the Babington Plot and the Catholic plotting of the death of Elizabeth is being discussed in London. John Shakespeare has been instructed by Sir Francis Walsingham to infiltrate their organisation. Meanwhile an old lover of his has been accused of murder.
Thankfully I have come to this series with these prequels already written so that I can read them in the chronological order of Shakespeare's life.
Very enjoyable mystery, good characters, well-written keeping my interest to the end. I look forward to reading the next. ( )

Another book in the John Shakespeare series, falling chronologically before several of the previously published titles. One matter is confusing to me. SPOILER Two of the characters, Katherine and Jane, seem to be precursors to themselves in later books. BUT, it turns out that Katherine, and probably Jane, are not the same women whom we meet later. Why are their names the same? Is this Clements' alternative view of how these characters could have ended up, but, didn't? Murky and unexplained. ( )

I liked this book a great deal. It begins in 1585 with the main character, John Shakespeare, working for Queen Elizabeth's chief spy master, Francis Walsingham. He has been ordered to infilitrate a group plotting to kill Elizabeth and free Mary Queen of Scotts from the tower and crown her. A woman he loved, but who left him, is accused of killing her rich husband and he must try to solve the mystery of who was really behind the murder. John Shakespeare is a fictional brother to William Shakespeare. William is not mentioned in the book, but early on John mentions his father was a glover as was William's father. I had to look up a few articles on line to find that John is supposed to be William's brother. I like fictional mysteries, especially when the author has done a lot of research. The plot really happened and many of the characters were real.

This appears to the final novel written in the author's series of Elizabethan whodunnits featuring Walsingham's intelligencer John Shakespeare, fictional brother to the playwright. The action however takes place before that of all the others in the main series. It is 1586 and the year of the infamous Babington plot to murder Queen Elizabeth and free Mary Queen of Scots and place her on the throne, backed by a Spanish invasion which supposedly would have been greeted by a mass uprising of English Catholics. John Shakespeare and his trusty assistant Boltfoot Cooper face the usual array of threats and horrors in trying to foil the plot at the same time as trying to prove the innocence of a former lover of John's, who has been accused of commissioning the murder of her much older husband. The sadistic Topcliffe appears less in this novel than in most of the others, though the thief and cutthroat Cutting Ball, who forms the link between several plot strands, also delights in cruel tortures of those who cross him. This made this book unpleasant to read on a number of occasions, though for the most part it was the usual colourful page turner. ( )

The Babington Plot was the device by which Mary, Queen of Scots, was finally trapped. A group of young Catholic men smuggled coded letters to Mary and planned to assassinate Elizabeth I. The fact that Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth’s spymaster, had infiltrated the group and forced matters to a head was an example of sophisticated and successful espionage.

In this book Clements weaves the facts of the Babington plot into a fictional narrative surrounding the murder of a rich merchant and involving an Elizabethan gangland criminal. John Shakespeare is a fictional character but is to Clements credit that his role in Babington’s group is believable and that the fictional plot devices fit seamlessly. The themes of terrorism, religious hatred, corruption and greed are both historic and yet modern.

Although this is book in which Clements explores the backstory of his established character the writing is still crisp and well-researched. The original premise of the novels was that John was the elder brother of William Shakespeare, and in the later books William invariably makes an appearance. This book is set in 1585 and little or no mention is made of William which is actually to the benefit of the plot.

Rory Clements is producing an excellent series of books in what is becoming a rather crowded genre. However alongside SJ Parris and CJ Sansom, Clements cream rises to the top.
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