It’s nice to have a chance to catch up with John Dee again…
Having read and really liked the first book in Oliver Clements’ Agents of the Crown series, The Eyes of the Queen, I was happy to receive a review copy of the latest book in the series, The Queen’s Lies, which just recently came out. And I enjoyed it a lot as well. The extensive cast of historical characters is still much the same, including folks like Francis Walsingham, John Hawkins, Robert Beale, Queen Mary of Scotland, and of course, Queen Elizabeth herself. And although it’s now a few years later, not much has changed: there are still lots of plots to replace Elizabeth with Mary on the English throne; and Philip of Spain still wants to conquer England.
And of course, our protagonist, John Dee, is still smart, still broke, and still serving Queen Elizabeth – this time primarily as the promoter of a new type of extraordinarily powerful cannon. But although things seem to be looking up for Dee when he gets an order from Hawkins, the Treasurer of Her Majesty’s Navy, for 50 of the new weapons, they quickly head south again when the money he was advanced for the job is stolen on his way home. Even worse, his business partner and friend is killed during the robbery. And, to top it all off, while he has been gone, his wife has been made an offer she can’t refuse, since it was made by Elizabeth herself: Jane is to spend an uncomfortable winter with the imprisoned, but still troublesome, Queen Mary – ostensibly to offer her cheer and energy. All of which starts a tumultuous series of events – and some speculation – that end with a totally unexpected twist.
I particularly enjoyed Clements’ writing, with its occasional very apt observations, as when Robert Beale has an audience with Elizabeth, and is described as exhibiting “the particular stillness of a man trying to divine what is really being said by someone who is saying something else”. Or, as I might put it, much less elegantly, a man trying to see the sandbag he is sure is heading for his head. And the plot kept me reading late into the night.
As with The Eyes of the Queen, though, there were a few scenes that bounced me out of my traditional historical mystery mind-set, and whose graphic nature (to me, at least) didn’t really seem to be necessary to advance the plot. I do understand that mores were different and things were more brutal then. But I’m usually reading genre fiction primarily for pleasure, so personally, I would have appreciated fewer details. However, as I often do when romances have a bit too much steam, I mostly skimmed over those parts rather fast, reading just enough to be able to follow the story.
All-in-all, though, if you like historical mysteries, The Queen’s Lies is well worth a read. And I would like to thank Atria/Leopoldo & Co and NetGalley for the review copy!
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