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Thomas Chaloner, an investigator employed by the Earl of Clarendon, is recalled from Tangier to investigate the continual loss of building materials from the earl's new house in London which is nearing completion. In the process he stumbles across a suspicious meeting involving men whom he knew to have been involved in a major crime in Tangier. Then letters are found professing to come from the queen. As if this isn't enough, Thomas has a wife, Hannah, lady-in-waiting to the queen, who insists on employing unsuitable servants. Thomas Chaloner is portrayed as a wily but sensible investigator who goes about his business carefully and thoroughly in late 17th century London. His main strategies are observing, eavesdropping and talking, which lay bare his actions, thoughts and theories. There are no pauses, and no spare words so the story has tremendous pace. Problem-solving underpins all the writing. There are useful summaries of Chaloner's thinking to date in places, but even with these it is sometimes hard to keep up. The large number of characters, some of whom have similar names, add to the complexity. More time spent on their introductions might have helped them to get better established. There is no such problem with Chaloner himself however – he might even be said to partly resemble a latter day Morse in character. There is a useful map at the start of the book and historical notes at the end, although no references for these. However the story is set comfortably in the reign of Charles II. The reader is transported effortlessly to that time through the use of only very subtle references. Interesting light is shed on the greed and debauchery of the rich, rather than focussing on poverty and day-to-day street life. This makes a welcome change for a historical novel, although some attempts to set the context could be said to be rather too subtle. The use of the word "dag" for example stands out as the only attempt to make the language reflect the times, and the phrase "no pressure then" sounds far too modern. It might have been better to avoid drawing attention to the language at all. That aside, the book is a very good and easy read and requires little effort. § Sylvia Maughan is a retired university lecturer, based in Bristol.
Reviewed by Sylvia Maughan, April 2012
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