Traitor In The Ice (Daniel Pursglove Book Two) by K.J. Maitland

 

Traitor in the Ice (Daniel Pursglove Book Two) by K. J. Maitland.

Published 31st March by Wildfire.

From the cover of the book:

Winter, 1607. A man is struck down in the grounds of Battle Abbey, Sussex. Before dawn breaks, he is dead.

Home to the Montagues, Battle has caught the paranoid eye of King James. The Catholic household is rumoured to shelter those loyal to the Pope, disguising them as servants within the abbey walls. And the last man sent to expose them was silenced before his report could reach London.

Daniel Pursglove is summoned to infiltrate Battle and find proof of treachery. He soon discovers that nearly everyone at the abbey has something to hide - for deeds far more dangerous than religious dissent. But one lone figure he senses only in the shadows, carefully concealed from the world. Could the notorious traitor Spero Pettingar finally be close at hand?

As more bodies are unearthed, Daniel determines to catch the culprit. But how do you unmask a killer when nobody is who they seem?

***********

A year has passed since Pursglove's adventure among the waterlogged ruins of Bristol, and the harsh winter of 1607 finds him sent by the devious Charles FitzAlan into another hotbed of Catholic insurrection in the home of the Montagues of Battle Abbey. This time it is Pursglove's mission to discover what has happened to FitzAlan's previous spy, who is rumoured to have been murdered before he could share his secrets with his master, and to gather all the information he can about the goings on of a household staunchly loyal to the Pope.

Pursglove manages to infiltrate the Montague household in the guise of a fellow recusant, and by taking on the role of servant he soon discovers that the residents of the Abbey are not quite all they seem. Plots are afoot to further the Catholic cause, and it is possible that the answers lie within these walls to the location of the traitor Spero Pettinger, who continues to allude James I's clutches - perhaps even the man himself is hidden somewhere in the cleverly constructed priest holes in this very house.

As more bodies turn up, Daniel is forced to put his many skills to use to solve the mysteries of Battle Abbey, and his task is not helped by the fact that everyone is hiding their true identity and motives...

Welcome to Daniel Pursglove's second adventure as a reluctant spy for the court of James I, following on from the excellent first instalment The Drowned City.

Driven by his desire not to return to the bowels of Newgate Prison, Pursglove has no choice but to take on another mission from James I through FitzAlan, and this mystery allows K.J. Maitland ample opportunity to bring Jacobean England alive... and I love it!

The story splits intriguingly between London, with riotous and bawdy goings on both on the streets and in the court of James I, and Pursglove's progress trying to find out what is going on in Battle Abbey and its environs. Everything links together through delectable themes of politics and power, intrigue and spies, religion and superstition, and as the threads of the story weave together we learn a lot more about the vices of James I and the innate decency of Pursglove. But this is not all, because amongst the beautifully contrived foundations of a darned good murder mystery, Maitland blends fact and fiction in a way that really casts light on what it means to live in these times, whether you be hobnobbing it with the titled folks, or working your fingers to the bone to keep yourself out of the gutter. 

I was particularly struck by how much I learned about the habits and routine of a great Jacobean house both upstairs and downstairs, which shows how much minute detail Maitland incorporates in her research. And I have never before appreciated quite how significant the bad blood must have been between the English and the Scots when James VI of Scotland became James I of England, ostensibly uniting the kingdoms. It's all completely fascinating!

This story had me gripped from start to finish, and there is a delicious hook into the next book in the series too that tells of turbulent times ahead for Pursglove. I cannot wait!

Traitor in the Ice is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Wildfire for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Karen Maitland is an historical novelist, lecturer and teacher of Creative Writing, with over twenty books to her name. She grew up in Malta, which inspired her passion for history, and travelled and worked all over the world before settling in the United Kingdom. She has a doctorate in psycholinguistics, and now lives on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon.