A Famine of Horses

Wonderfully adventurous historical mystery, set among the Border Reivers in the reign of Elizabeth I. Sir Robert Carey, a courtier of the Virgin Queen returns to the Scots borderlands where he was raised to take a position as a Deputy Warden for his not terribly bright but terribly well connected brother in law. A terrific collection of characters help or hinder Sir Robert in trying to discover why Jock of the Peartree and his men are stealing, buying, borrowing all the horses in the north and why Jock's son Sweetmilk has been found dead in a copse.

This was such fun! I just so enjoy books where the history is accurate and interesting but the story doesn't bog down in it. I will be looking out for the rest of this series with anticipation.

When it comes to Rakish Elizabethan heroes, traipsing around the Scot/English border my bar has been set stratospherically high by Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond. Whilst Sir Robert Carey doesn't quite get there, Chisholm has written a very fun and engaging historical/mystery novel.

Robert Carey - gilded popinjay of the Elizabethan court - is taking up a new post as Warden up at the border. But there's more to his beruffed dandy than meets the eye; dealing with dynastic feuds, old flames, and a dastardly heist will put Carey's mettle to the test. Not to mention the resentful lord whose job he just took...

Chisholm has done her research: The only anachronisms in A Famine of Horses are the kind designed to assist readers without breaking the show more spell. There are no out-of-place idioms here, but nor does she dive head-first into the accents and sytnax of the time. The result is easy-to-read but flavorsome dialogue that is a pleasure to consume.

Carey himself is devilishly beguiling, and Chisholm's light touch injects plenty of humour into the rollicking yarn.

Indeed, there are jokes, romance, danger and a splash of derring-do - none of it pitched to insult the reader or add a tick to some genre checklist. I felt the story grew organically, propelled by a coterie of engaging and three dimensional characters I look forward to meeting in future novels.

Recommended. show less

Robert Carey flees the stultifying court of his cousin Queen Elizabeth for the border town of Carlisle, where he takes up the appintment of Deputy Warden in a wild and lawless area. There he meets his sister, as well as the married woman he loves, and becomes acquainted with one Sergeant Dodd who has just discovered the murdered body of the son of a feared local reiver who blames Dodd for the killing. With horses hard to come by, somebody's planning something. Carey enacts a bold, not to say daft, plan to discover what's going on and possibly find the real killer.

Excellent start to a potentially good series. Interesting characters, authentic atmosphere and enough medieval vocabulary to keep the learning curve moving upwards.

Tudor England of the 1590s’. Chisholm steeps her story in so much 16th-century atmosphere and historical detail.

The quality of the story is superb. PF Chisholm has a fine grasp of the character’s traits.

They are all so very human and compelling. Sergeant Dodd for one is the epitome of the dour northern with a wry sense of humour and an intelligence rivaling Sir Robert Carey's.

Most of all it’s a damned enjoyable romp for anyone who likes historical fiction.

This is fictional mystery novel about a real historical person. Sir Robert Carey was a courtier at the court of Queen Elizabeth. His grandmother was Mary Boleyn, so his father, Lord Hunsdon, was a cousin, or possibly a half-brother to Elizabeth. Carey is sent to Carlyle near the Scottish Border to serve as deputy warden of the West March. This is a lawless area with nearly constant raids between the different Scottish families. Several wonderful characters emerge: Carey's sister Philadelphia, his love interest Lady Widdrington, his crusty second in command Sgt. Henry Dodd. I also loved the colorful name the author invents for the Scottish ruffians: Sweetmilk, Jock of the Peartree, etc. A sprinkling of Scottish dialect is delightful : show more "ye dinna ken" = you don't/didn't know. Fun!!! show less

This is a great book. It really gives a feeling of being there in the later part of the 16th century. The characters are interesting and it is fun that the author uses a person that was there in those times and was actually a Deputy Warden. The author did a great job resurching for this book and it ties together very nicely. Besides the mystery part of it, it is a great read to anyone who is interested in English history during the time of Elizabeth I. It is a very exciting book from beginning to end!