Also today, I’ll be reviewing and discussing a very
different kind of crime thriller, Andrew Taylor’s compelling historical murder
mystery, THE ASHES OF LONDON.
As usual, you’ll find that review towards the lower end
of today’s blogpost. Before we get there, as I threatened, here are
some dates and venues that might be of interest if you ever feel like saying ‘hello’
face-to-face.
Be aware that this is probably an incomplete list at this
stage. There may well be one or two cancellations, and there will certainly be
one or two additions. In that regard, the only advice I can give is stay tuned,
watch this space, etc etc.
On March 24, I’m honoured to be a guest at The Quad in
Derby, where the Horror Writers Association will present PARTNERS IN CRIME.
There will also be the usual opportunities to purchase books and get them signed, and to socialise with authors and publishers.
At this stage, I’ll be involved in the following panel
chats: I, Monster: Has the Serial Killer replaced the monster in modern dark
literature? And: Taboo! How dark is too dark?
But of course, Partners in Crime isn’t just about me. Other
guests include some fairly hefty names in the industry. Check these out: Stuart
MacBride, Fiona Cummins, AK Benedict, Steph Broadribb, Barry Forshaw, SJ
Holliday, Joe Jakeman, David Mark and Roz Watkins.
May 17-20, I’ll be at CRIMEFEST in Bristol. For the
first time in what seems like ages, I’m neither guesting on a panel nor
chairing one during this festival, so I guess that means I’ll have more bar-time if anyone wants to
chat.
For anyone who’s not been to CrimeFest (where the pen is
bloodier than the sword), it’s a great event if you’re interested in crime
fiction, either as a reader or a prospective writer – and it’s for occasional fans
too, not just the die-hard fanatics. It’s certainly now become one of the
biggest crime fiction events in Europe, and it’s no surprise that every year it draws
top crime novelists, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world,
giving all delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in a friendly,
informal and inclusive atmosphere.
The two guests-of-honour this year will likely have
copies of their books on almost every crime enthusiast’s shelves: Lee Child and
Jeffery Deaver.
On June 14, I’ll be at the CROSSING THE TEES Book
Festival. This is a large-scale literary event organised by the library services
of Stockton, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Redcar & Cleveland, and Darlington.
It’s early days on this one so far, so I’ve not got any detail about my own
role in this grand event yet, or a comprehensive list of the other guests, but can guarantee that it will be worth attending at some point if you enjoy
books. It runs from June 9-24, and includes all kinds of author events, workshops,
lectures, readings, competitions and the like.
July 19-22, I’ll be making my annual trip to
Harrogate for the THEAKSTON OLD PECULIAR CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL.
Again, there’ll be panels, discussions, author interviews,
interactive events and all kinds of activities in the bar areas. Perhaps the most attractive feature of the Harrogate event is the accessibility it provides to some of the biggest names in the business. For example, the first headliner announced for this year is powerhouse US author, Don Winslow (right).That alone should be reason for many crime fans to flock there. But the main thing is, you can doorstop these guys and girls and simply chat to them. If they weren’t prepared for that, they wouldn’t be there. And of course, this can be even more useful if you’re a new writer looking for an agent or a publisher – because they are there to, and, whereas in real life, it’s often difficult to get any kind of meeting with these folks, at Harrogate all you need to do is say hello.
Two crime fiction events coming up in the latter half of the year, which I’m hopeful of attending – but not absolutely certain of this stage – are BLOODY SCOTLAND, the annual Caledonian Crime-Writing Festival, which is held in Stirling from September 21-23, and MORECAMBE & VICE, at the incredibly atmospheric venue of the Morecambe Winter Gardens on September 29-30.
Last on the diary (so far), but not by any means least,
we have a slight change of pace, with FANTASYCON at Chester, October 19-21,
when I’ll be wearing my horror hat.
For those not aware, Fantasycon is another of the great
annual literary events, attended by writers both great and small, agents,
editors, publishers and the like, though this one concentrates on fantasy
fiction (which also includes horror and sci-fi). Given that this is late October,
it’s a little early in the day for me to provide any details – either concerning
guests of honour, specific events, book launches and the like, or what I myself
will be doing there (most likely I’ll just be an everyday delegate, happy to
hold up the bar and chat). Again, for more info, watch this space.
THRILLERS, CHILLERS, SHOCKERS AND KILLERS …
An ongoing series of reviews of dark fiction (crime,
thriller and horror novels) – both old and new – that I have recently read and
enjoyed. I’ll endeavour to keep the SPOILERS to a minimum; there will certainly
be no given-away denouements or exposed twists-in-the-tail, but by the
definition of the word ‘review’, I’m going to be talking about these books in
more than just thumbnail detail, extolling the aspects that I particularly
enjoyed … so I guess if you’d rather not know anything at all about these
pieces of work in advance of reading them yourself, then these particular posts
will not be your thing.
Outline
It is 1666 and London is burning. Apparently, it ignited
by accident, but it’s burning nonetheless … from the Tower to the Temple Bar,
the wailing populace struggling to escape as their homes and workshops succumb
to the flames.
But even without the fire, these are turbulent times in
England. After an exhausting civil war and then years of Cromwellian rule, the
Stuarts are back on the throne in the form of the affable Charles II, but
enemies of the crown are never far away. Puritan forces linger in the shadows,
some more dangerous than others, such as the Fifth Monarchists, a fanatical
clique who were not just involved in the execution of Charles I – ‘the Man of
Blood’, as they called him – but who are also keen to see his son dead, thus
clearing the way for the accession of ‘King Jesus’ and ushering in a reign of
Heaven on Earth.
Against this difficult and dangerous background, what is
one more death? But even in the midst of the fire, attention is captured by the
discovery in the ruins of St Paul’s of a man who has been ritually
assassinated, his thumbs tied together behind his back before he was stabbed.
The authorities have a bit too much on their plate to be
overly interested in this, but it isn’t simply ignored, the investigation put
into the hands of one James Marwood, a young man who on the outside doesn’t
seem like much of a sleuth. Ostensibly, he’s an ordinary chap who is simply
trying to make his way in the world, with zero interest in the affairs of
state, but his is a more complicated path than most. The son of a republican
activist who was ruined financially by the restoration of the monarchy, not to
mention in terms of his reputation and health, James Marwood now works as a
clerk for Joseph Williamson, chief propagandist for the Royal Court, in the
pamphleteer office at Scotland Yard, where he is trusted but treated brusquely.
The authorities are well aware of James’s past, of
course, and perhaps have employed him on the basis that it’s advisable to keep
your friends close and your enemies closer still. But he now becomes even more
useful for them. Detecting the hand of republican extremism in the recent
murder, they assign James to the case because it’s deemed possible that his
family may still have contacts in that secretive world.
At the same time, in what is initially a parallel
storyline, we meet Catherine Lovett, or ‘Cat’ for short, the daughter to and
heiress of Tom Lovett, a one-time Cromwellian soldier and ‘regicide’ – in other
words he was directly involved in the execution of Charles I, and therefore can
never be pardoned – who is currently in hiding. Almost oblivious to this
background chicanery, Cat, who commences the book as an adventurous but on the
whole fairly innocent girl, wants only to design buildings and study
architecture, though alas, even these simple dreams are far from being
realised. In the absence of her father, she is the unhappy ward of her wealthy
aunt and uncle, Olivia and Henry Alderley, the latter of whom wants only to
marry her off and be done with her. As if that isn’t distressing enough, Cat’s
odious cousin Edward is increasingly interested in her, and when he finally
rapes her, and she retaliates by half-blinding him, she flees into what remains
of the smouldering city and seeks out a new (inevitably much harsher) life for
herself.
We know these personal journeys are going to entwine at
some point, but The Ashes of London is such a plot-driven novel that to give
any more detail at this stage would be the ultimate spoiler. Suffice to say
that all kinds of skulduggery follows, James and Cat pursuing their own
meandering and perilous paths through a world of intrigue as they are drawn
steadily together.
In addition, endless fascinating and outrageous
characters take the stage. Cat comes under the paternalistic spell of a kindly
but ailing draughtsman, Hakesby, who, alongside the legendary Christopher Wren
(who also makes an appearance), is charged with re-designing the burned-out
cathedral. James, meanwhile, is introduced to the devious William Chiffinch,
another real-life personality and one of Charles II’s most accomplished
fixers. When the king himself arrives, it is in dramatic and amusing fashion,
which is the way it should be, because though his is little more than a
glorified guest-appearance, Charles II, as the embodiment of the Stuart royal
line, remains essential to the narrative.
While all this is going on, of course, the murder plot
thickens, the bodies piling up, Marwood’s suspicions spreading in
all directions, particularly where high-end political machinations may be found
(yes, this is a conspiracy thriller as much as a murder mystery). And all the
way through there is a growing sense of jeopardy. Neither Cat nor James have
such status that they command power, and even though James represents power, it
is not always around to assist him when he needs it. So, it isn’t just the
villains of the piece – an increasingly dangerous and deranged threat, we sense
– who provide the menace. Bad things can befall almost anyone, for
near enough any reason, if they poke their noses deep enough into the ashes of
London …
Review
The Great Fire of London is a disaster that is branded
into the psyche of most Britons, even those who are not overly familiar with
the historical period. It was a monumental event for all kinds of reasons, and
a milestone in the emergence of the Modern Age, not least because it cleared
away what remained of the old medieval city and allowed visionaries like
Christopher Wren to build something vastly more advanced. But it’s
important to remember that just because the city that burned was centuries old
at the time, it was not some miniature wattle-and-thatch market-town, some
tangle of narrow streets and muddy courts on the banks of the Thames. It was
already colossal in size, a megalopolis that was home to 80,000 people, 70,000
of whom were rendered homeless by the 1666 disaster.
Little wonder this event was viewed at the time as a
national catastrophe, especially because it came on the coat-tails of the Black
Death, and so was viewed by religious extremists as part of a double-punishment
imposed by God for the lax morality of the Restoration era.
Britain in the mid/late 17th century was certainly a
cradle of fundamentalism, a land divided between various religious groups,
(most of them Protestant, while Catholics were regarded as traitors who deserved
to be lynched simply for being Catholic!). Oliver Cromwell’s dictatorial rule
was over and the Royalists were back in power, but the Puritans had not gone
away. Though most had officially been forgiven for their roles in the Civil
War, countless gentleman still held positions of authority even though their
loyalty was suspect, while remnants of the brutal Roundhead army lurked among
the general populace, in some cases functioning like miniature crime
syndicates. In a time and place when it was an offence just to hold an opinion,
the king’s spies were everywhere. London was a city of informers, and no-one
trusted anyone else.
And then the fire came, a conflagration quite literally –
or so it seemed – from Hell.
And it is this epic sprawl of religious and political
intrigue, not to mention the incendiary atmosphere of a truly pivotal moment in
British history, that Andrew Taylor captures so perfectly in The Ashes of
London. But don’t for one minute assume that this means it’s a history lesson.
From the very beginning, this is a fast-moving mystery, with living and
breathing characters striking sparks off each other as they wend their
labyrinthine ways through a capital city (what’s left of it!) filled with
danger and deception.
And yet the richness of historical detail is all here,
blended seamlessly into plot and dialogue. For example, we come to understand
the destructive power of the fire because when it’s over, we trudge the desert
of cinders for ourselves. We see what a Machiavellian hive the Palace of
Whitehall was because we view it, if not simply through the eyes of hero, James
Marwood, who only ever receives information on a ‘need to know’ basis, but via
the manners and methods of crafty functionaries like Williamson and Chiffinch.
We understand what a focal point of English religious life the original
Cathedral of St. Paul’s was because we feel the horror of the awe-stricken
crowd as it goes up in flames.
This novel is an out-and-out feast for historical fiction
fans, awakening that brief window of time more effectively than any number of
textbooks I could name. But for those who are simply here for the thrill of an
intense, clue-driven investigation, it won’t disappoint on that level either,
telling us a fascinating detective story and setting it against a
richly-coloured and yet easily accessible tableau of the past.
As alluded to earlier, it would be erroneous of me to
give too much away about the plot as that would spoil the reading experience.
It’s complex for sure, but deeply engrossing – you literally never know where
the next twist is going to come from. And it helps, of course, that the lead
characters are so engaging.
James and Cat, are far from being stock historical
heroes, both completely aware of their standing in this unforgiving world, and
yet each with their own quirks. The former commences the narrative in a lowly
position, but he’s inquisitive by nature and inordinately perceptive, and he
grows rapidly into his role of unofficial but opinionated Scotland Yard
investigator. The latter is ripped from pillar to post by forces beyond her
control, and suffers lasting damage as a result –a realistic appraisal,
perhaps, of what it would actually mean to be ‘bodice-ripper’ heroine – and yet
she remains feisty and spirited throughout, and at times maybe a little more
than that; by the end of this novel, one wouldn’t want to cross Cat Lovett
unnecessarily.
The rest of the cast are equally striking, both the real
and fictional mingling believably together, all drawn clearly and, perhaps in
the way of true life, none of them especially more likeable than the next as
they all ultimately look out for themselves. Most interesting of all, maybe,
are James and Cat’s two fathers, men who very vividly represent the moral
complexities of their age; both are driven by a sincere devotion to an
idealised vision of Jesus, but they are heavily politicised too, and so
battered by war and oppression that Christian sentiment rarely manifests itself
in their actions. Though perhaps the deepest irony where Tom Lovett and old
Marwood are concerned is that, given they are both Bible men, neither seems
remotely aware of that most prescient warning of the good book: that the sins
of the fathers will be visited on their children.
The Ashes of London is an enthralling and informative
read. Elegantly written, deeply atmospheric of its period, and yet rapid-fire
in terms of its unfolding action and events. I found it utterly compelling, and
have no hesitation in giving it my highest recommendation.
As usual, I’m now going to attempt to cast it. This is
just for fun, of course (as if any casting director would take note of my
views). I have no idea if The Ashes of London is being lined up for film or TV
adaptation, but it really ought to be. Here are the actors I would call:
James Marwood – James Norton
Cat Lovett – Daisy Ridley
Hakesby – Geoffrey Rush
Williamson – Jim Carter
Chiffinch – Charles Dance
Henry Alderley – Jonathon Pryce
Olivia Alderley – Maria Bello
Old Marwood – Patrick Stewart
Tom Lovett – Bernard Hill
Charles II – Julian Sands
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