Published 1st April 2021 by Headline Review.
From the cover of the book:
Gunpowder and treason changed England forever. But the tides are turning and revenge runs deep in this compelling historical thriller for fans of C.J. Sansom, Andrew Taylor's Ashes of London, Kate Mosse and Blood & Sugar.
1606. A year to the day that men were executed for conspiring to blow up Parliament, a towering wave devastates the Bristol Channel. Some proclaim God's vengeance. Others seek to take advantage.
In London, Daniel Pursglove lies in prison waiting to die. But Charles FitzAlan, close adviser to King James I, has a job in mind that will free a man of Daniel's skill from the horrors of Newgate. If he succeeds.
For Bristol is a hotbed of Catholic spies, and where better for the lone conspirator who evaded arrest, one Spero Pettingar, to gather allies than in the chaos of a drowned city? Daniel journeys there to investigate FitzAlan's lead, but soon finds himself at the heart of a dark Jesuit conspiracy - and in pursuit of a killer.
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England has been changed for ever by both the treason of the conspirators and their punishment, but the religious and political turmoil that caused them to act so boldly has not disappeared with their deaths. If anything, current circumstances are worse than ever.
James I is troubled by the unrest in his realm, but his close advisor Charles FitzAlan thinks he has a way to turn the matters to their advantage. FitzAlan's solution is to send a spy into the hotbed of Catholic insurrection in Bristol to discover the truth about a possible Jesuit conspiracy - and the man he has chosen, one Daniel Pursglove, has been dragged from the horrors of Newgate Prison to take on the task.
When Pursglove arrives in Bristol, he is unsure quite how he will complete his mission - or even if there is a conspiracy here to uncover. However, it soon becomes clear that a murderer is at work among the ruins of this once thriving city, although their motives are unclear. Torn between his past and the present task, Pursglove, aided by a rag-tag band of willing and not so willing compatriots, must get to the bottom of the murders before more lives are lost - especially if he is to save himself from being thrown back into the bowels of Newgate Prison for the rest of his earthly days.
It's no secret that I like a bit of historical fiction, and this is just the kind of book of that genre that ticks every box for me. It is rich in historical detail, with wonderful characters who keep their real intentions a closely guarded secret, and is set against an intriguing backdrop of a time of political and religious troubles that offers endless possibilities to work in some beautiful storylines around betrayal and revenge.
Although we often hear much about what led up to the Gunpowder Plot and the punishment meted out to those identified as the culprits, I loved that K.J. Maitland has chosen the period following this event as the setting for her story. We all know about Guy Fawkes, but how much does burning his effigy every year on a bonfire really tell us about the lie of the land in England in the aftermath? - not a lot actually... but here we are treated to well-researched detail about the religious and political unrest, and the mutinous machinations that were still rife after the event, and how this discord fed the notion among the populace that God was not at all happy about what what happening across the country - not to mention, fuelled the belief that witchcraft was to blame for many of their ills.
But this is not simply an exercise in historical recreation, because Maitland has also crafted a first class murder mystery, set in a city which is refreshingly not London for a change: A city which carries a kind of mystique about the strange tidal wave that struck the city in 1606 too, and she uses this to great advantage in ramping up the menacing feeling that there could possibly be something dark and sinister going on behind the scenes. The pacing is glorious perfection, the suspense a delight, and the truth, when it comes, had me looking at everything that had gone before in a completely different light - with an added little jaw dropper before the tale was done too!
As the start of a brand new series, this is a complete winner, and I am intrigued by the way Maitland holds back so much about the background of our complex protagonist Daniel Pursglove, dropping little hints here and there, but leaving a lot still to tell about the man we have only just begun to know - and I cannot wait to find out more.
The Drowned City is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer.
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