The Queen’s Devil
(William Constable Spy Thriller, Book #3)
By Paul Walker
1583.
William Constable, recently married astrologer and mathematician, has settled into routine work as a physician when he is requested to attend two prisoners in the Tower of London. Both are accused of separate acts treason, but their backgrounds suggest there may be a connection.
Sir Francis Walsingham and Lord Burghley urge William to discover further intelligence from the prisoners while tending their injuries from torture.
The agent's investigations lead him to the French Embassy, which lies at the heart of a conspiracy which threatens the nation.
Through his enquiries, an unsuspecting William becomes entangled in a perilous web of politicking and religious fervour.
The threat comes from one the most powerful men in the English court – one referred to as the Queen’s Devil.
William faces a race against time to unpick these ties, climaxing in a daring raid on the Embassy.
Praise for Paul Walker:
“Walker skilfully creates a treacherous world of half-truths, plots and duplicity... simmering with impending danger.” Michael Ward, author of Rags of Time.
"A gripping and evocative page-turner that vibrantly brings Elizabeth's London to life." Steven Veerapen, author of A Dangerous Trade.
"Full of convincing characters both historical and imagined." Peter Tonkin
MY THOUGHTS
If you love a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of experience when you read a book, then you are going to adore The Queen’s Devil. I was not too sure what I expected when I picked up this book, as I have not read the other two books in the series, but I was not expecting what I got. What I got was a book that I spent all day reading because I could not put it down.
William Constable, a physician who once worked for Sir Francis Walsingham, is an unlikely hero because he is just so ordinary. He is a doctor who cares for his charges whether they be rich or poor. He is, I guess, extremely likeable. When William is drawn into a world of conspiracy and thwarted plots, I saw a different side to him. He is conflicted, but he knows that he has been given a job to do and if he fails – failure is not an option when Walsingham is breathing down your neck! William is a very pragmatic man, but sometimes he misses the tiniest of detail, and the threat that seems unworthy of his attention becomes the one that could lead to his downfall. There is a lot of foreshadowing in this book, which I think makes it so unputdownable. The reader knows something terrible is going to happen – we just don’t know when! Talk about building tension in the reader.
Although William Constable is not a historical character, he is surrounded by men and women who were alive during this era. I thought the blending of fact with fiction was remarkably well done. I really enjoyed seeing these historical characters through the eyes of William, and I think the author did a fabulous job of demonstrating through these characters the danger that was always rumbled around the Tudor throne.
The antagonist of this story is a man who would be king, but he never was. The Queen declared herself married to England, but he was still one of the most powerful and influential men, and in this story, he is an incredibly dangerous one. I always felt that there was something wildly romantic about Robert Dudley, but I also knew that there were a great deal of whispers in court about him and especially with regards to how his wife died. In this novel, the author gives us a glimpse of the schemer, of the ruthless man that he could be and I guess it was a good thing for England that he never became king.
The historical backdrop of this book has been meticulously researched, while I was reading I really did feel like I had been transported back in time to Elizabethan England.
If you love historical thrillers set in the Tudor era, then this is the book for you.
Paul Walker
Paul is married and lives in a village 30 miles north of London. Having worked in universities and run his own business, he is now a full-time writer of fiction and part-time director of an education trust. His writing in a garden shed is regularly disrupted by children and a growing number of grandchildren and dogs.
Paul writes historical fiction. He inherited his love of British history and historical fiction from his mother, who was an avid member of Richard III Society. The William Constable series of historical thrillers is based around real characters and events in the late sixteenth century. The first two books in the series - State of Treason and A Necessary Killing - were published in 2019. The third book, titled The Queen's Devil, was published in the summer of 2020.
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Publication date: 27 July 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction / Historical Thriller
Publisher: Sharpe’s Books
Print Length: 274 pages
Thank you for your very kind review, Beatrice. Sorry if I spoiled your romantic view of Robert Dudley.
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