Review: The Tudor Vendetta by C. W. Gortner
The Tudor Vendetta
by C. W. Gortner
Third book in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
The Queen is dead; long live the Queen. When Brendan Prescott hears that Queen Mary has died and Elizabeth has taken the throne, he is excited to return to England after years of exile. He is barely off the boat when he is thrown back into the thick of court intrigue, as old friends and enemies reacquaint themselves. Before he can get too comfortable, Brendan is given a new mission by Queen Elizabeth, a task that will draw on all his cunning and skill: locate the missing Lady Parry, who disappeared during a visit to Yorkshire and her family’s ancestral manor. Brendan immediately departs for the north and begins to investigate, but it soon becomes clear that there’s more at stake than one missing noblewoman. The life of Elizabeth and the throne itself are in jeopardy if Brendan can’t solve the mystery quickly.
I read the first book in this series, The Tudor Secret, but I somehow missed the second one. In spite of this, I had no trouble following the action of The Tudor Vendetta. When referring to characters and events from previous books, Gortner usually sketched in just enough of the story that I could understand how it impacted current events, but I was still left curious about the details so I know I'll be going back and picking up the middle story from this trilogy. I do think that even if you haven't read either of the earlier books, you can still read this one and understand nearly everything that happens.
The strongest chapters always seemed to be when Brendan was away from the court of Elizabeth. I really enjoyed the scenes set in his father's tavern, where the warmth of the family really shone and brought humor into a book that was often quite dark and moody. I also enjoyed the later scenes, set in the gothic towers of the family manor where Lady Parry disappeared. The air crackles with suspense and tension, making it hard to put the book down because you know that Brendan is so, so close to uncovering the truth and like him, you want to know what's going on.
Unfortunately, Brendan makes a lot of rookie mistakes as he investigates the disappearance of Lady Parry. I found that a little disappointing, even though it was something I commented upon back in The Tudor Secret and therefore shouldn’t have been surprised to see. But Brendan has been training with Wolsingham and Cecil for many years and should be past these kinds of basic errors. But even with this flaw, which made me wonder why Brendan was still called upon by Elizabeth I when he appears to be a rather poor student of spycraft, this was still a fun novel that I enjoyed reading.
3.5 out of 5 stars
To read more about The Tudor Vendetta, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2014: The Mad Sculptor by Harold Schechter
2013: The Italian Woman (Catherine de' Medici Trilogy #2) by Jean Plaidy
2012: The Little Book by Seldon Edwards
2011: Mermaid: A Twist on a Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon
2010: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith
2009: When the Morning Comes by Cindy Woodsmall
by C. W. Gortner
Third book in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
The Queen is dead; long live the Queen. When Brendan Prescott hears that Queen Mary has died and Elizabeth has taken the throne, he is excited to return to England after years of exile. He is barely off the boat when he is thrown back into the thick of court intrigue, as old friends and enemies reacquaint themselves. Before he can get too comfortable, Brendan is given a new mission by Queen Elizabeth, a task that will draw on all his cunning and skill: locate the missing Lady Parry, who disappeared during a visit to Yorkshire and her family’s ancestral manor. Brendan immediately departs for the north and begins to investigate, but it soon becomes clear that there’s more at stake than one missing noblewoman. The life of Elizabeth and the throne itself are in jeopardy if Brendan can’t solve the mystery quickly.
I read the first book in this series, The Tudor Secret, but I somehow missed the second one. In spite of this, I had no trouble following the action of The Tudor Vendetta. When referring to characters and events from previous books, Gortner usually sketched in just enough of the story that I could understand how it impacted current events, but I was still left curious about the details so I know I'll be going back and picking up the middle story from this trilogy. I do think that even if you haven't read either of the earlier books, you can still read this one and understand nearly everything that happens.
The strongest chapters always seemed to be when Brendan was away from the court of Elizabeth. I really enjoyed the scenes set in his father's tavern, where the warmth of the family really shone and brought humor into a book that was often quite dark and moody. I also enjoyed the later scenes, set in the gothic towers of the family manor where Lady Parry disappeared. The air crackles with suspense and tension, making it hard to put the book down because you know that Brendan is so, so close to uncovering the truth and like him, you want to know what's going on.
Unfortunately, Brendan makes a lot of rookie mistakes as he investigates the disappearance of Lady Parry. I found that a little disappointing, even though it was something I commented upon back in The Tudor Secret and therefore shouldn’t have been surprised to see. But Brendan has been training with Wolsingham and Cecil for many years and should be past these kinds of basic errors. But even with this flaw, which made me wonder why Brendan was still called upon by Elizabeth I when he appears to be a rather poor student of spycraft, this was still a fun novel that I enjoyed reading.
3.5 out of 5 stars
To read more about The Tudor Vendetta, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2014: The Mad Sculptor by Harold Schechter
2013: The Italian Woman (Catherine de' Medici Trilogy #2) by Jean Plaidy
2012: The Little Book by Seldon Edwards
2011: Mermaid: A Twist on a Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon
2010: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith
2009: When the Morning Comes by Cindy Woodsmall