The King's Evil

I am not a mystery fan in general but I am rapidly becoming an Edward Marston fan. I have read one other of his books in the Christopher Redmayne series titled The Frost Fair and loved it so now I am reading them in order with King's Evil being #1.

I like historical fiction and Edward Marston has the talent for painting a picture of life in England during the reign of Charles II that rings so true. It starts with the language he uses in his conversations...no modern day slang that corrupt many historical novels that I have read and when you are taken to a new scene you feel as though you are placed in the setting.

You are introduced to Jonathan Bale, the Quaker constable, in this book and observe how two opposite men in social class show more develop professional respect for each other as they sift through the clues to this murder. The book never stagnates as each page leads to revelations that occasionally are red herrings but that is the nature of a mystery, isn't it?

A fast read, a page turner, well developed characters, and a glimpse of life in historical times....I shall read as many of his books as I can find. show less

This historical mystery is set mainly in 17th century London, against a background of the Great Fire's aftermath and political and religious tension. Christopher Redmayne secures his first commission as an architect, but his job becomes more complicated when he has to deal with theft and then murder. Constable Jonathan Bale is involved from a different angle, and the two men are forced to pool their efforts.

I'm not normally keen on lavish descriptions, but I thought they worked well here to give a good sense of the historical period. The plot moved along nicely. I felt towards the end that the author was being obtrusively coy with concealing things from the reader (ie being vague about something specific a character noticed when it was show more right in front of them). Additionally, although the banter between characters was fun, it became a bit overdone towards the end.

Overall, an enjoyable light read with some interesting historical details. show less

I really enjoyed this book - but there is one howler, I'm afraid. Remember, this book is all about the Fire of London in 1666:

'And how long did it rage?'
'Four days.' Jacob sucked in air through his few remaining teeth. 'Four long, terrible days. It would still be burning if the wind had not dropped on Wednesday. Rain fell and slowed the blaze down. They were able to fight it properly for the first time. Rows of houses were blown up with dynamite to make fire breaks.[...]'

I'm glad that they were able to obtain a loan of a time machine (probably from the gentlemen of the newly-established Royal Society) so that they could jump forward 200 years to get supplies... :)

Light murder mystery set in Restoration London with an Odd Couple of investigators set up....one a "Roundhead" type constable, the other a member of the nobility who is making his living with a natural talent in architecture and design.
Probably more a 2.5 star. The protagonists were set up too obviously to be antagonists due to political and social positions but it was obvious where it was going. The bad guys, too obviously nasty.