Determined to clear her name, he treads a wary path through the various noble coteries and finds himself embroiled in a scandal. Our features are original articles from our print magazines (these will say where they were originally published) or original articles commissioned for this site. The death of Russian asylum seeker Elena, ruled as accidental after a cursory investigation, seems the obvious choice, and Hulda – who faces a lonely future and is struggling to come to terms with personal tragedy – soon digs up new information that points to murder.

The Ashes of London: The first book in the brilliant

Property, or the smoke-blackened ruins thereof, is also at the heart of Andrew Taylor’s latest novel. The sequel to The Ashes of London and The Fire Court takes place in 1667 and finds the heirless Charles II busy “healing” the scrofulous populace – hence the title – while his court is a-buzz with aristocrats jockeying for position. His investigation brings him back into contact with tough-minded Cat – now living under an assumed name – and he turns to her for help. Although the fire is not a major focus of the story, the destruction of whole areas, and the impact on people’s lives, as well as the planning of rebuilding does play, in part, an important role. Mesmerised by the unfolding disaster, Marwood, stops a young boy from running into the doomed cathedral: this 'boy' is in fact a rather feisty girl who also has links to the men who killed Charles the First, and problems of her own, and who is not short of either courage or self belief.Hannah’s proven storytelling skills are ideally suited to depicting such cataclysmic events, but her tendency to sentimentalize undermines the gravitas of this tale. In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an Oregon nursing home on the urging of her controlling son, Julien, a surgeon. As with most historical novels like this one there are real people, like William Chiffinch, scattered amongst the invented people. The Roth Trilogy (now also available in an omnibus edition as Requiem for an Angel) was shown on ITV in March 2007. He relates much of the always believable action in the first person and his gentle, sometimes frustrated, relationship with his dementia-affected father provides a touching counterpoint to the world of envy, self-seeking, debauchery, machinations and brutality in which he finds himself.

Marwood and Lovett Series by Andrew Taylor - Goodreads

Taylor is marvelous at replicating a historical world that might otherwise be relegated to dusty history books, especially through his renditions of the era’s arch speech and his approach to class and status. It was a three-part drama series under the title of Fallen Angel, starring Charles Dance and Emilia Fox.

People in the 1600s did think differently to the way we generally do and Taylor puts in the different factors: fear of negative opinions of the aristocracy, distrust of those whom you don't know, a total inability to defend oneself against an employer, caution where different political or religious opinions might obtain and fear of long term dangers. Now, feeble and becoming senile, he is dependent on his son, and James is aware that their loyalty is being closely watched.

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor | Waterstones

The ending, although tying these events up in a perfectly satisfactory style, still felt slightly open, like a sequel might be in the offing.Fans of the novel found this to be a quick read and a great murder puzzle for everyone to put together.

best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

Andrew Taylor, author of “The Ashes of London” , has written a story about the great London fire of 1666 and it’s aftermath where members of the royal court and their adversaries are murdered at a time of revenge and retribution.Although there’s some clumsiness in the use of amnesia as a withholding device, excellent characterisation and the ability to conjure the cliquey, insecure adolescent world Kate left behind in Melbourne add up to an immersive and exciting read. The city is being rebuilt, with the eponymous fire court settling individual disputes over who should pay for what. I thought the way Cat’s actions make the reader contemplate morality was so thought-provoking, because she often does the wrong thing but for absolutely the right reason.