The Westminster Poisoner: 4 (Adventures of Thomas Chaloner)

Amazon Review Times have changed since the austere reign of Cromwell, and England is enjoying more freedom, particularly regarding Christmas, which now has a genuinely joyous feel. There are those, of course, who regard this new indulgence as an invitation to frippery and laxity, such as the Treasury Clerk Christopher Vine, who is working late in the Palace of Westminster, cloistered in the striking setting of the Painted Chamber. But Vine’s dedication to his job is to cost him his life -- a ruthless murderer is stalking the same building, and Vine does not have long to live. More deaths take place, taking the gloss off the festive season, and the Lord Chancellor begins to feel that his investigations are under threat, compromised by the machinations of his enemies. He suspects that the killer is a clerk, Greene, and commissions the resourceful Thomas Chaloner to investigate. This is the premise of Susanna Gregory’s The Westminster Poisoner, and if you're at all familiar with her highly reliable brand of historical crime fiction, you will know that you are in for something of a treat. As Chaloner begins to unpeel the layers of deception around the killings -- and finds that there is much interest in his employer’s background -- he is plunged into a morass of corruption and double-dealing in which no one can be trusted. As always with Gregory, the impeccable plotting is matched by the vivid conjuring up of a long past year: 1663 is brought to life for the reader in all its splendid and squalid aspects, with Chaloner the perfect guide through this (at times) surrealistic universe, often very like the present day (the political corruption might suggest a few modern-day parallels), but also massively different from the Britain we know. Even if you feel you have no taste for historical crime fiction, it might be in your interest to overcome your prejudices in this case. --Barry Forshaw Product Description Susanna Gregory, author of the Matthew Bartholomew series of medieval mysteries, has created another compelling fictional detective set in Restoration London. -------------------------------------------- The fourth adventure in the Thomas Chaloner series. Christopher Vine, a Treasury clerk working in solitary piety in the Painted Chamber of the Palace of Westminster, is not alone. A killer waits in the draughty hall to ensure Vine will not live to see in the New Year. And Vine is not the only government official to die that season. The Lord Chancellor fears his enemies will skew any investigation to cause him maximum damage, so he decides to commission his own inquiries into the murders and, with his suspicions centred on Greene, another clerk, he instructs Thomas Chaloner to prove that Greene is the killer. Chaloner can prove otherwise, but unravelling the reasons behind his employer's suspicions is as complex as discovering the motives for the killings. His search for the real murderer plunges him into a stinking seam of corruption that leads towards the Royal apartments and to people determined to make Christmas 1663 Chaloner's last . . . 'Pungent with historical detail' (Irish Times) 'A richly imagined world of colourful medieval society and irresistible monkish sleuthing' (Good Book Guide) 'Corpses a-plenty, exciting action sequences and a satisfying ending' (Mystery People) Review "Excellent." "Publishers Weekly"" "Excellent." --"Publishers Weekly" Book Description The latest Thomas Chaloner adventure from the creator of the Matthew Bartholomew series About the Author Susanna Gregory was a police officer in Leeds before taking up an academic career. She has served as an environmental consultant, worked eighteen field seasons in the polar regions, and has taught comparative anatomy and biological anthropology. She is the creator of the Matthew Bartholomew series of mysteries set in medieval Cambridge and the Thomas Chaloner adventures in Restoration London. She now lives in Wales with her husband, who is als