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Jun 05, 2014Eosos rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I do like this era and the idea was good, I just don't think Clements managed to pull it off. John Shakespeare is an investigator for Walsingham, charged with keeping Sir Francis Drake from being assassinated and rooting out any Catholic plots against the queen. Fellow investigator and rival Topcliffe always seems to be just ahead of Shakespeare in the investigation, using his brutal methods to get the answers he wants from the victims and perpetrators. There were two things that jumped out at me from the start. First: I felt the characters were a bit one dimensional and typical, as in, the spunky girl willing to state her mind no matter what or the bad guys with no redeeming attributes or the hero just trying to do everything honourably. Second: the writing was so full of clichés it felt like I was reading a newspaper article not a book. I did like the Will Shakespeare parts. I also liked how they all talked about Queen Elizabeth with her moods and avoiding her at times. I actually really enjoyed several of the bit players, Jane and the clubfoot guy (I can't remember his name right now), the two whores and Harry Slide........ The atmosphere was also well done. The legislation to go to church on Sunday and the fear of being Roman Catholic was portrayed great. I found the last half too rushed, going here and there, it felt like it was all over the place, trying to tie up loose ends and characters.