The Protector
Book
People think they have Camille Logan nailed: daddy's girl; beautiful, spoiled young woman with her...
Alexander McQueen: Redefining Beauty
Book
Magnificently illustrated with some of McQueen s most riveting designs, this book illuminates the...
The Blind
Book
With the intensity and rawness of Girl, Interrupted and Luckiest Girl Alive comes this razor-sharp...
The Damned
Book
1914. The outbreak of war. In the French city of Arras, a priest is brutally murdered. The Catholic...
The Witches' Brew: Erotic Dreams & Psychedelic Nightmares
Book
An Erotic Blockbuster of Stunning Originality and Gutsy Narrative Power. Welcome to The Witches'...
Ours are the Streets
Book
When Imtiaz Raina leaves England for the first time, to bury his father on his family's land near...
Devil Said Bang
Book
The fourth eagerly awaited Sandman Slim novel from Richard Kadrey While ruling the denizens of...
Elf Queens and Holy Friars: Fairy Beliefs and the Medieval Church
Book
In Elf Queens and Holy Friars Richard Firth Green investigates an important aspect of medieval...
ClareR (5686 KP) rated The Drowned City in Books
Apr 15, 2021
Jacobean England, where a year to the day after the failed Gunpowder Plot, a huge wave destroys much of Bristol, killing hundreds of people and destroying homes and businesses. This is a superstitious time, where the blame is put on witches and demons. And Catholics.
Daniel Pursglove is freed from Newgate jail where he has been imprisoned, suspected of witchcraft, by one of King James’ closest advisors, Charles FitzAlan. He is given the task of tracking down Spero Pettingar - the man who got away during the arrests of the Gunpowder Plot. He is suspected of going to Bristol to recruit supporters - namely Jesuits.
The descriptions of Newgate Prison are horrific - as are those of a destroyed Bristol. This is a really atmospheric book with some great descriptions. Not that you’d really want to be, but you can imagine yourself there, amidst the mud, filth and decay.
I really liked how the chapters flashed between Daniel and London, where we would see the King or Robert Cecil (a man who fascinates me!).
Daniel doesn’t seem to me to be the most accomplished investigator. Most of what he discovers he does by accident, but he does get results. Just not the ones he was necessarily asked to get.
I’m really looking forward to reading the next in this series, it really has piqued my interest!