LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
An enthralling and wonderful historical thriller, where the story absolutely thrives in the midst of one of the most famous times in British history. The first chapter not only blasts you immediately into the roaring flames of the Great Fire of London in 1666, it also firmly knocks at the door of intrigue. James Marwood is set the task of hunting down a killer, while Cat is set on a deadly game of revenge. I rubbed my hands with glee and settled in for a thunderingly good read. Andrew Taylor paints a vivid and terrifying scene, I stood in the crowd and witnessed St Paul’s writhing in the flames, he also handles the suspense with a masterly hand. James and Cat’s tales run arm in arm, the storylines tease each other, linked and yet each standing vibrantly strong. I savoured every moment of this readable and fascinating story, ‘Ashes of London’ is a simply fabulous read.
Books in The James Marwood & Cat Lovett Series:
1. The Ashes of London
2. The Fire Court
3. The King's Evil
4. The Last Protector
Serial Reader? Check out our 'Fall in Love With a Book Series' collection to find amazing book series to dive in to.
Liz Robinson
Find This Book In
About
The Ashes of London Synopsis
A CITY IN FLAMES
London, 1666. As the Great Fire consumes everything in its path, the body of a man is found in the ruins of St Paul's Cathedral - stabbed in the neck, thumbs tied behind his back.
A WOMAN ON THE RUN
The son of a traitor, James Marwood is forced to hunt the killer through the city's devastated streets. There he encounters a determined young woman who will stop at nothing to secure her freedom.
A KILLER SEEKING REVENGE
When a second murder victim is discovered in the Fleet Ditch, Marwood is drawn into the political and religious intrigue of Westminster - and across the path of a killer with nothing to lose...
About This Edition
Press Reviews
Andrew Taylor Press Reviews
'The Ashes of London presents a breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era ... the multiple narrative strands are drawn together in a brilliantly orchestrated finale'
Financial Times
'In this elegant, engrossing novel set during an extraordinary period, Taylor skilfully presents a London in which so many must still pay the price for the Civil War and the murder of King Charles I'
Sunday Express
'One of the most reliably enjoyable of historical novelists ... Taylor demonstrates his usual command of plot and historical background'
The Sunday Times
'A complex weave of history and mystery and the first of a new series from Andrew Taylor'
The i
'The author conveys the confusion and uncertainty of the times in a pacy story of Charles II's desire for vengeance, the struggle to rebuild a stricken city and the hunt for a murderer'
Daily Mail
'This is terrific stuff: intelligent, engrossing and, in its evocation of a long-vanished London, wonderfully plausible'
Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph
'The Ashes of London weaves a pacy story from the framework of true events. A new Shardlake may rise from the ashes'
The Times
'Andrew Taylor provides a masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot'
The Times, Books of the Year
'Thrilling... Gripping, fast-moving and credible... It's a well-constructed political thriller with moments of horror, admirable and enjoyable. Taylor has done his research so thoroughly as to be unobtrusive'
Spectator
'Finely wrought and solidly researched... The novel's plot is fiendishly complex'
Sunday Telegraph
Author
About Andrew Taylor
Andrew Taylor has been a full-time writer since 1981, and has written over twenty books. He has been described by The Times as 'One of Britain's best writers of psychological suspense.'
Having decided to become a writer at the age of ten, he claims that it was his newly recognised facility for writing stories, teamed with the idea that a writer's life consisted of not wearing a tie to work, that first attracted him to the career. More recently however he has suggested that 'one of the attractions of writing fiction is that it allows you to create your own little universe and play God to your heart's content.' It was the discovery of Sherlock Holmes at the tender of age of eight and earlier yet with Enid Blyton's Hurrah for Little Noddy, that his love for crime novels was incited. 'Another thing I like about crime fiction' he asserts, 'is its lack of pretension. It sets out to entertain - it's fiction with its sleeves rolled up.'
In the years preceding Andrew Taylor's breakthrough in the literary world, he worked as a boat-builder, wages clerk, teacher, librarian, labourer and freelance publisher's editor. Since then, Public Lending Right estimates place his British public library readership in the top one per cent.
His novels include the Dougal and Lydmouth crime series, the psychological thriller The Barred Window and his ground-breaking Roth Trilogy, now published in one volume as Requiem for an Angel. He also reviews and writes about crime fiction, particularly in the Independent Awards received for his books include the John Creasey Memorial award from the Crime Writer's Association and an Edgar Scroll from the Mystery Writers of America, both for Caroline Minuscule, and the CWA's Ellis Peters Historical Dagger. The Roth Trilogy was adapted into the acclaimed ITV drama 'Fallen Angel'. 'The American Boy' was a 2005 Richard & Judy Book Club choice.
He lives in the Forest of Dean with his wife, a photographer, and their two children.
Author photo © Caroline Silverwood
Andrew Taylor was our Putting Authors in the Picture Feature for September 2019. Click here to read more about his author journey on our blog.
More About Andrew Taylor
