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8.3
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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Tournament in Books
Nov 27, 2019
Reilly's books, under the usual all-out action sequences, always convey a good plot and storyline and have strong characterisation. Here those are to the fore. The main players are a young Princess Elizabeth; daughter of King Henry VIII and soon to be Elizabeth I and her teacher, Roger Ascham. Sultan Sulieman the Magnificent has invited all the best chess players across Europe to play to decide which nation can claim to have the ultimate chess champions. Elizabeth and Roger accompany England's entrant both to avoid the black death but also because Ascham wants to give Elizabeth a wide education just in case she becomes queen.
After a few adventures on the way the party arrives, along with the representatives of the other nations. Court intrigue and politics abound and everyone has their own agenda. When there is a high profile murder, Sulieman requests the aid of Ascham - known for his insight and ability to resolve problems using logic - to find the culprit before there is an international scandal. As the bodies pile up, Ascham and young Elizabeth face dangerous and unknown enemies and uncover plots and dark secrets.
The medieval detective story is not entirely new for Reilly. Previous he has written a couple of short stories that are available for download from his website - www.mattewreilly.com - with this theme. Dead Prince concerns the death of the Dauphin in France and is investigated by the king's architect. Roger Ascham and the King's Missing Girl is a story that precedes The Tournament by a few months and effectively introduces Ascham and his skills as he tracks down a serial kidnapper and murderer in Cambridge.
Reilly acknowledges at the end of the book that he was influenced by works such as The Name of the Rose and indeed this has much of the same flavour. The plot is complex and has the chess match running through it (and indeed sections of the book are named after chess pieces). Everything is very well handled by Reilly and everything unravels nicely in the finale of the book.
This has also been well researched. With many real historical figures included (not only Elizabeth, Ascham and Sulieman but a supporting cast that includes Ivan the Terrible and Michelangelo) and the feel of all the descriptions is very authentic.
One aspect that has to be mentioned is that, since Reilly wanted to explore something that may have influenced Elizabeth in her future life, there are a fair number of events of a sexual nature that occur. Some of these have a direct bearing on the plot, others are so that Elizabeth can form opinions on sex and marriage. Reilly has printed a warning at the start of the book that this is not for younger readers, and I can fully endorse that.
I can imagine that a number of Reilly fans will not enjoy this book - the pace is slow and methodical rather than headlong and there are very few 'action' sequences to speak of. However I would recommend this book to anybody who likes historical detective style stories.
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Wintersong in Books
Oct 6, 2018
The man without a name, Der Erlkönig, the Goblin King, is the star of this show. He's elusive, inviting, mean-spirited and a lost soul. The timelessness of his nature is rather confusing and I suspect my own words in this review are slightly confusing as a result. However, I constantly wanted to know more about him, how he came to be, why he wanted Elizabeth and what his role in the underworld and the world above was.
Elizabeth, Leisl was also a great character. The sensible young woman within her family, understated and brushed-over. Yet, she had caught the eye of Der Erlkönig. I longed for a life of satisfaction and blossoming for Elizabeth.
This book left me a little unsatisfied with a sense of lack of completion even when there is completion and I had many questions about what could have been and what could happen later. The story was a little too elusive in narrative but the characters were so well developed. I enjoyed this book but I wanted more.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated City of Schemes in Books
Jan 6, 2021
If you haven’t read this series yet, I recommend you read it from the beginning. This book includes some call back to earlier adventures as well as a major spoiler for the previous book. All of that is wonderful for fans, however, as it allows the characters to grow in some great ways. I love Elizabeth, Gideon, and the rest of the regulars, so I enjoyed spending time with them again. Since this is more a caper than a traditional mystery, I enjoy watching the plot unfold in different ways, and it kept me engaged the entire time. I did have an issue with one part of the climax; if Elizabeth’s motives for her actions had been built into the story a bit more, I probably would have been okay with it. I also enjoyed the humor early in the book. Once again, author Victoria Thompson has written a book that pulled me in and only let me go when I reached the final page.
Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated Elizabeth is Missing in Books
Jun 21, 2019
Hollywood & Crime
9.5
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Elizabeth Short was a star-struck young woman whose body was found completely severed at the waist...