Review of AUDIOBOOK The Fire Court – Book 2 of the Marwood and Lovett series by Andew Taylor #Brainfluffbookblog #TheFireCourtbookreview

I have read the first book, The Ashes of London and then, when I got hold of the Netgalley arc, The Last Protector, I was shaken to see that it was the fourth book in the series – when did THAT happen? So I resolved to get hold of the intervening books, as this historical series starting with the Great Fire of London covers a fascinating period in English history.

BLURB: The Great Fire has ravaged London, wreaking destruction and devastation wherever its flames spread. Now, guided by the incorruptible Fire Court, the city is slowly rebuilding, but times are volatile and danger is only ever a heartbeat away. James Marwood, son of a traitor, is thrust into this treacherous environment when his ailing father claims to have stumbled upon a murdered woman in the very place where the Fire Court sits. Then his father is run down and killed. Accident? Or another murder …? Determined to uncover the truth, Marwood turns to the one person he can trust – Cat Lovett, the daughter of a despised regicide. Marwood has helped her in the past. Now it’s her turn to help him. But then comes a third death … and Marwood and Cat are forced to confront a vicious and increasingly desperate killer whose actions threaten the future of the city itself.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Taylor’s handling of the initial murder and the cris-crossing of the circumstances around it was masterful. James Marwood, a rising young clerk whose employer’s patron is Lord Arlington, returns home to find his father babbling about a rook and a fallen woman after he disappeared. Poor Marwood senior has lost his wits during his imprisonment and lives in a world of his own. Lady Jemima is unhappy at having to host a dinner party on behalf of her husband, Philip, whose good friend Lucius Gromwell will be there, along with one of the Fire Court judges. And Cat Lovett, now posing as Jane Hakesby, is found shelter and some work as an assistant to reputable architect Mr Hakesby. All these characters have a major impact on this well executed murder mystery, ably narrated by Leighton Pugh.

Though I would mention that if your taste runs to foot-to-the-floor, non-stop action, then this one isn’t for you. While the forward momentum never lets up, it is one of those slow-burn stories, where a series of apparently unconnected circumstances finally all converge with the gripping denouement on London Bridge.

I really appreciated the clever characterisation and the way 17th century London is depicted in stunning detail, without unduly holding up the story. It is during an unprecedented time – only some eight months after the great Fire of London, so that swathes of the city are still ashy ruins and many people are living in makeshift shelters.

The Fire Court is a special sitting of judges whose task is to sort out competing claims from people who lost their homes and want to rebuild. Often it is boundary disputes and at other times, they have to sort out claims between freeholders and leaseholders – and such a case seems to lie at the heart of the murder of the woman found near Fetter Lane. I was shaken at times by what our two main protagonists, James Marwood and Cat Lovett, went through during this adventure and I am very much looking forward to reading the next slice of the adventure. Highly recommended for fans of well written historical whodunits.
9/10