The Wrecking Storm by Michael Ward Book Review

Synopsis

1641.

London.

The poisonous dispute pushing King Charles and Parliament towards Civil War is reaching the point of no return.

Law and order in the city are collapsing as Puritan radicals demand more concessions from the King. Bishops and lords are attacked in the streets as the Apprentice Boys run amok. Criminal gangs use the disorder to mask their activities while the people of London lock their doors and pray for deliverance.

No one is immune from the contagion. Two Jesuit priests are discovered in hiding and brutally executed - and soon the family of spice merchant Thomas Tallant is drawn into the spiral of violence. Tallant's home is ransacked, his warehouse raided and his sister seized by kidnappers.

Thomas struggles to discover who is responsible, aided by the enigmatic Elizabeth Seymour, a devotee of science, maths and tobacco in equal measure. Together they enter a murky world of court politics, street violence, secret codes and poisoned letters, and confront a vicious gang leader who will stop at nothing to satisfy his greed.

Can Elizabeth use her skills to unpick the mass of contradictory evidence before the Tallants are ruined – both as a business and a family?

And as the fight for London between King and Parliament hurtles to its dramatic conclusion, can the Tallants survive the personal and political maelstrom?

My Thoughts

The political and religious unrest leading up to the English Civil War forms the ideal backdrop to another exciting historical mystery featuring Thomas Tallant, a spice merchant's son and member of Parliament, first introduced in Rags of Time.

When two Jesuit priests are murdered, execution-style, Thomas is asked for help by his Catholic friends, Sir Bartholomew Hopkins, a fellow member of Parliament, and Robert Petty, an investigator with the Merchant Adventurers, a London guild. Despite the danger to himself and his family, Thomas agrees but is prevented from pursuing the matter further by a robbery at his family home. The house is ransacked, the servants attacked, but very little is taken. When the Tallant's warehouse is also targeted, it is obvious that the thieves are looking for something, but what?

Ralph Tallant, Thomas's father, is quick to blame John Pym, the reformer. With so much unrest in the city and other suspects, Thomas is not so sure. There are many that wish the Tallants ill, but would they resort to violence, or could the current trouble be related to the person seen near the Tallant warehouse recognised as one of the Jesuit priests?

Keen-eyed and astute Elizabeth, the tobacco-addicted scientist, mathematician and Thomas's lover, believes there is more behind Ralph's accusations. While making enquiries, Elizabeth is summoned by Lucy, the Countess of Carlisle, an expert in political intrigue. She wishes to utilise Elizabeth's mathematical expertise, the result of which inadvertently draws attention to Thomas through an incident involving Pym.

When eventually caught out in a lie, Ralph reveals what he has kept hidden for years: an item that would seriously disadvantage the family's business if lost. But none of them are prepared for the cost to defend it - a violent confrontation that ends in tragedy.

The Wrecking Storm is so packed with action that it is hard to put down and keeps you guessing until the very end. Not until the importance of the item Ralph Tallant has in his possession is explained does it all begin to fall into place. Even then, there are a couple more twists before all the threads so skilfully introduced throughout the plot come together. The link to the deaths of the Jesuits is clever, but the biggest surprise is who is behind it all.

Once again, I've been thoroughly entertained by a Thomas Tallant mystery. Although shorter than the prequel, The Wrecking Storm shares with it all the elements I look for in a historical mystery - excellent historical detail, engaging and unusual characters, lots of false leads, and a riveting storyline.

If you enjoy action-packed stories of family secrets, greed, loyalty and betrayal set during a turbulent time in English history, then give this series a try.

My thanks to Michael Ward for a complimentary copy of this book.