Friday 11 July 2014

HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: The Queen's Man IV: Prince of Darkness - Sharon Penman

Release Date: 15/05/14
Publisher:  

SYNOPSIS:

AD 1193. England lies uneasy, a land without a king. Richard the Lionheart languishes in an Austrian dungeon, his brother John hungers for the crown. In the Lionheart's stead, Eleanor of Aquitaine rules. Mother to both Richard and John, Eleanor is no stranger to the game of thrones. She is determined to prevent the outbreak of civil war, but at court treachery is endemic and there are few men she can trust. Justin de Quincy is one of the few. Sharp-witted and bastard-born he is the Queen's most trusted agent, a foil to John's machinations. But now John himself has asked for de Quincy's aid. De Quincy mistrusts John's sly charms, but with the welfare of Queen and Country at stake he will have to prove his mettle - or find an early grave - as he searches for the dark heart of a conspiracy that threatens the course of history.


REVIEW:

OK, this is the fourth book in the Queen's Man series (originally released in 2005) and whilst I haven’t read the others, I did quickly become engrossed in the storyline. It takes off at an extraordinary pace and to be honest its one that really doesn’t let up from start to finish. Just thank the many deities out there that I decided to read this late at night when I was on my own as I think any disturbance would have been met with irritation.

The principle character is likeable, I loved spending time in his footsteps, seeing the emotional aspects intertwined with the intellect and when backed with a delicious plotline that has great prose and of course dialogue all round gave me a thoroughly enjoyable story.

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