Author: whatcathyreadnext

Rags of Time by Michael Ward #BookReview @RandomTTours

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Rags of Time BT PosterWelcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Rags of Time by Michael Ward, the first in a series of historical mysteries set in 17th century London. My thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour and to the author for my digital review copy.

Rags of Time Final CoverAbout the Book

London, 1639. Spice merchant Thomas Tallant returns from India to find his city in turmoil – overcrowded, ravaged by crime and seething with sedition. A bitter struggle is brewing between King Charles I and Parliament as England slides into civil war.

A wealthy merchant is savagely killed; then his partner plunges to his death in the Tallant household. Suspicion falls on Tom, who soon finds himself being sucked into London’s turbulence. As he struggles to clear his name, he becomes entranced by the enigmatic Elizabeth Seymour, whose passion for astronomy and mathematics is matched only by her addiction to the gaming tables. Can her brilliance untangle the web of deceit that threatens to drag Tom under?

Format: ebook (318 pages)             Publisher: Sharpe Books
Publication date: 23rd June 2020 Genre: Historical fiction, crime, mystery

Find Rags of Time on Goodreads

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My Review

Rags of Time is a historical murder mystery set during the latter part of the reign of Charles I. Spice merchant Thomas Tallant is forced to turn investigator when he is implicated in the mysterious deaths of two wealthy businessmen who just happen to be prominent figures in the rival wool trade.

The author does a great job of conjuring up the sights, sounds and smells of 17th century London: its bustling, crowded streets full of traders selling their wares; the pungent aromas of brewing, tanning and other industries; the narrow, tenement-lined alleyways where trade of an entirely different nature takes place.

Thomas’s investigations take place against the backdrop of a time of unrest as relations between King and Parliament deteriorate and rumours of Papist plots abound. London is a city driven by fear.  Apprentices are rioting on the streets, seditious pamphlets are circulating and war with the Scots is looming. “King or Parliament? King or Parliament? It’s time to choose” is the oft-heard cry.

Sir Ralph, Thomas’s father, performs the role of keeping the reader informed of wider events both at home and abroad. Meanwhile, Thomas finds himself drawn into the murky world of spies and informers, forced to make risky bargains to gain the information he needs to clear his name and restore his family’s reputation. However, he’s not the only one interested in getting to the bottom of the two deaths.

The spirited, pipe-smoking Elizabeth Seymour makes a great addition to the cast of characters. She’s a woman out of her time in many respects with an interest in astronomy, mathematics and the latest scientific theories. (Fast forward to the 1940s and she might well have been employed at Bletchley Park.)  As well as knowing her poetry and loving the theatre, she,  like Thomas, has experienced the thrill – and the consequences – of financial speculation. Cue the flowering of an instant mutual attraction between the pair.

The trade rivalry between the different merchant fraternities adds a sprinkling of spice to the mix, meaning there is no shortage of possible suspects and motives. But just what caused the two men’s deaths – was it the work of demons or of human hand? I’m pleased to say it’s Elizabeth’s logical mind that helps to provide the first key to unlocking the mystery.

Rags of Time is a well-crafted historical mystery with a satisfyingly intricate plot and plenty of period detail. I, for one, look forward to reading more of the adventures of Thomas Tallant.

In three words: Lively, intriguing, mystery

Try something similar: A Murderous Affair by Jonathan Digby

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Mike Ward Author picAbout the Author

Writing has been central to Mike Ward’s professional life. On graduating from university he became a journalist, working in newspapers and for the BBC. He then went into journalism education, teaching and researching journalism practice before becoming head of the UK’s prestigious Journalism School at UCLan. For the last eight years he has run his own content creation company.

Rags of Time is Mike’s debut novel. Its sequel is due to be published late in 2020.

Connect with Michael
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#WWWWednesday – 15th July 2020

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WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

A book for a blog tour, a NetGalley ARC and a book from my 20 Books of Summer list

Paris SavagesParis Savages by Katherine Johnson (eARC, courtesy of Allison & Busby)

Fraser Island, 1882. The population of the Badtjala people is in sharp decline following a run of brutal massacres. When German scientist Louis Muller offers to sail three Badtjala people – Bonny, Jurano and Dorondera – to Europe to perform to huge crowds, the proud and headstrong Bonny agrees, hoping to bring his people’s plight to the Queen of England.

Accompanied by Muller’s bright, grieving daughter, Hilda, the group begins their journey to belle-epoque Europe to perform in Hamburg, Berlin, Paris and eventually London. While crowds in Europe are enthusiastic to see the unique dances, singing, fights and pole climbing from the oldest culture in the world, the attention is relentless, and the fascination of scientists intrusive. When disaster strikes, Bonny must find a way to return home.

9780241404799Belladonna by Anbara Salam (eARC, courtesy of Fig Tree and NetGalley)

It is summer, 1954, when fifteen-year-old Bridget first meets Isabella. In their conservative Connecticut town, Isabella is a breath of fresh air. She is worldly, alluring and brazen: an enigma.

When they receive an offer to study at the Academy in Italy, Bridget is thrilled. This is her ticket to Europe and – better still – a chance to spend nine whole months with her glamorous and unpredictable best friend.

There, lodged in a convent of nuns who have taken a vow of silence, the two girls move toward a passionate but fragile intimacy. As the year rolls on, Bridget grows increasingly fearful that she will lose Isabella’s affections – and the more desperate she gets, the greater the lengths she will go to keep her.

Belladonna is a hypnotizing coming-of age story set against the stunning and evocative backdrop of rural Northern Italy. Anbara Salam tells a story of friendship and obsession, desire and betrayal, and the lies we tell in order to belong.

MunichMunich by Robert Harris (hardcover)

September 1938. Hitler is determined to start a war. Chamberlain is desperate to preserve the peace. The issue is to be decided in a city that will forever afterwards be notorious for what takes place there. Munich.

As Chamberlain’s plane judders over the Channel and the Fürher’s train steams relentlessly south from Berlin, two young men travel with secrets of their own. Hugh Legat is one of Chamberlain’s private secretaries; Paul Hartmann a German diplomat and member of the anti-Hitler resistance. Great friends at Oxford before Hitler came to power, they haven’t seen one another since they were last in Munich six years earlier. Now, as the future of Europe hangs in the balance, their paths are destined to cross again .

When the stakes are this high, who are you willing to betray? Your friends, your family, your country or your conscience?

Recently finished

Links from the title will take you to my review or the book’s entry on Goodreads

WaltScott_The HorsemanThe Horseman (West Country Trilogy #1) by Tim Pears (ebook)

Somerset, 1911. The forces of war are building across Europe, but this pocket of England, where the rhythms of lives are dictated by the seasons and the land, remains untouched.

Albert Sercombe is a farmer on Lord Prideaux’s estate and his eldest son, Sid, is underkeeper to the head gamekeeper. His son, Leo, a talented rider, grows up alongside the master’s spirited daughter, Charlotte–a girl who shoots and rides, much to the surprise of the locals.

In beautiful, pastoral writing, The Horseman tells the story of a family, a community, and the landscape they come from.

Rags of Time Final CoverRags of Time by Michael Ward (ebook, courtesy of the author and Random Things Tours)

London, 1639. Spice merchant Thomas Tallant returns from India to find his city in turmoil – overcrowded, ravaged by crime and seething with sedition. A bitter struggle is brewing between King Charles I and Parliament as England slides into civil war.

A wealthy merchant is savagely killed; then his partner plunges to his death in the Tallant household. Suspicion falls on Tom, who soon finds himself being sucked into London’s turbulence. As he struggles to clear his name, he becomes entranced by the enigmatic Elizabeth Seymour, whose passion for astronomy and mathematics is matched only by her addiction to the gaming tables. Can her brilliance untangle the web of deceit that threatens to drag Tom under? (Review to follow 16th July for blog tour)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

9780715653555The Young Survivors by Debra Barnes (ARC, courtesy of Duckworth)

What if everyone you loved was suddenly taken away?

When Germany invades France in the Second World War, the five Laskowski children lose everything: their home, their Jewish community and, most devastatingly, their parents who are abducted in the night. There is no safe place left for them to evade the Nazis, but they cling together – never certain when the authorities will come for what is left of them.

Inspired by the poignant, true story of the author’s mother, this moving historical novel conveys the hardship, the uncertainty and the impossible choices the Laskowski children were forced to make to survive the horrors of the Holocaust.