Category: 20 Books of Summer

#BookReview Treason by James Jackson 20BooksOfSummer23

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About the Book

‘Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November…’

Behind the famous rhyme lies a murderous conspiracy that goes far beyond Guy Fawkes and his ill-fated Gunpowder Plot . . .

In a desperate race against time, spy Christian Hardy must uncover a web of deceit that runs from the cock-fighting pits of Shoe Lane, to the tunnels beneath a bear-baiting arena in Southwark, and from the bad lands of Clerkenwell to a brutal firefight in The Globe theatre.

But of the forces ranged against Hardy, all pale beside the renegade Spanish agent codenamed Realm.

Format: Paperback (336 pages) Publisher: Zaffre
Publication date: 19th October 2017  Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery

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My Review

I was first introduced to this book when I took part in the blog tour back in November 2017. (The timing was not accidental.) At the time I couldn’t fit in a review, only publish an extract, and unbelievably it’s taken me nearly six years to get round to reading it. Treason is the third book in the author’s series featuring ‘intelligencer’ Christian Hardy. There are references to key events in previous books which would probably spoil your enjoyment of the first two in the series if you haven’t read them so I’d recommend either reading the series from the beginning or treat this, as I did, as a standalone. (There is a subsequent book, Cradle, an excerpt from which appears at the end of Treason.)

Christian Hardy is a bit of a James Bond figure, probably more Daniel Craig than Sean Connery by now because his first adventure (in Blood Rock) was set in 1565, his second (in Realm) was set in 1588 and Treason opens in 1591 although the main action takes place from 1604 onwards. So it seems time has been kind to him because he’s still a formidable swordsman as well as being a bit of a one for the ladies. He’s ruthless when he needs to be which, as it happens, turns out to be a lot of the time and expert in eliciting information whether that’s at the point of knife or in the bedroom. ‘Everyone had vulnerabilities and diverse motives and Hardy was the master of exploiting both. Either through desire or greed or love or fear, humans were instruments demanding to be played.’

In case this might make Hardy seem a one-dimensional action man, his life has not been without personal tragedy, mainly at the hands of a man known as Realm. He has become Hardy’s arch-enemy, if not nemesis. Realm is an utterly ruthless character who appears to get a kick out of killing. Although there are few really graphic descriptions of his actions there’s enough to give you a sense of his sadistic nature. ‘Wherever he roamed and whatever he touched, devastation seemed to result.’

Blending fiction with historical fact, Treason is a race-against-time adventure with Hardy, under the direction of Robert Cecil, seeking to unmask and frustrate the group of Catholics nobles – and the man we know as Guy Fawkes – in their plan to assassinate James I. Ah yes, Cecil. What book set in Tudor or Stuart times would be complete without one of the Cecil family? In Treason, he’s a sort of ‘M’ to Hardy’s James Bond, directing affairs from Westminster and, like a chess player, always seemingly several moves ahead of everyone else. There are also walk-on parts for other historical personages, including William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, who converse in snappy dialogue, exchanging witticisms and pithy retorts.

As we know from history, the Gunpowder plot failed and those involved met a grisly end but the author manages to introduce enough twists and breathtaking escapes from death into the story to maintain the readers interest and make Treason an accomplished historical thriller.

In three words: Action-packed, suspensful, spirited

Try something similar: Rivers of Treason by K. J. Maitland

About the Author

Sunday Times bestselling author James Jackson has written numerous historical and contemporary thrillers, including three previous Christian Hardy novels Blood Rock, Realm and Treason. He is a former political risk consultant and a postgraduate in military studies. He was called to the Bar and is member of the Inner Temple. He lives in London. (Photo: Author website)

Connect with James
Website | Goodreads

#BookReview A Stranger in My Grave by Margaret Millar

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About the Book

A nightmare is haunting Daisy Harker.

Night after night she walks a strange cemetery in her dreams, until she comes to a grave that stops her in her tracks. It’s Daisy’s own, and according to the dates on the gravestone she’s been dead for four years.

What can this nightmare mean, and why is Daisy’s husband so insistent that she forget it? Driven to desperation, she hires a private investigator to reconstruct the day of her dream death. But as she pieces her past together, her present begins to fall apart…

Format: Paperback (320 pages) Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Publication date: 4th July 2019 Genre: Crime

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My Review

I was introduced to the crime novels of Margaret Millar when Pushkin Press kindly sent me copies of three new editions of her books issued by their Pushkin Vertigo imprint. I read the first two of them, The Listening Walls and Vanish in an Instant in 2019 and 2021 respectively (links from each title will take you to me review) but this one has been gathering dust – literally – on my bookshelf until now. A determination to finally read it was the motivation to put it on my list for the 20 Books of Summer 2023 reading challenge.

Like her other novels, A Stranger in my Grave is tightly-plotted and based on an intriguing premise: Daisy’s recurring dream about a gravestone with her name inscribed on it along with the date of her death. But she is very much alive. Dismissed by her husband and mother as nothing more than a strange nightmare, Daisy cannot rest until she has discovered the meaning behind the dream. A chance encounter brings her into contact with bondsman and private investigator Stevens Pinata. Grudgingly he agrees to help Daisy try to piece together the events of her ‘deathday’. It sets off a chain of events that means Daisy has to rethink everything she thought she knew and reveals some long-buried secrets.

There’s a strong theme of parentage that runs through the book. For example, Pinata is a foundling given his name by the religious institution that took him in. Whereas Daisy is unable to have children, a source of disappointment to her and her husband, Jim. Similarly, racial identity plays a part in the plot.

I really liked Pinata as a character perhaps because, alongside the reader, he’s trying to piece together the bits of the puzzle. And the occasional allusions to some things about his life make him a sympathetic figure. Unlike most of the other characters, he comes across as trustworthy although sometimes his instincts let him down and, as the author warns us, he has failed to see he’s being taken in or has missed something important.

Margaret Millar has been described as ‘a genius of plot twists’ and in the other two books I’ve read I could see the evidence for that accolade. Unfortunately, in this case, less so. Although A Stranger in My Grave is a taut, well-crafted mystery and there a number of surprises along the way I was disappointed in the motive when it was eventually divulged and although there is the final page reveal that is the author’s trademark, I had already worked it out.

I received a review copy courtesy of Pushkin Press.

In three words: Clever, assured, intriguing

About the Author

Margaret Millar (1915-1994) was the author of 27 books and a masterful pioneer of psychological mysteries and thrillers. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, she spent most of her life in Santa Barbara, California, with her husband Ken Millar, who is better known by his nom de plume of Ross Macdonald. Her 1956 novel Beast in View won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel. In 1965 Millar was the recipient of the Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year Award and in 1983 the Mystery Writers of America awarded her the Grand Master Award for Lifetime Achievement. Millar’s cutting wit and superb plotting have left her an enduring legacy as one of the most important crime writers of both her own and subsequent generations. (Photo: Goodreads author page)