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The Ashes of London: The first book in the brilliant historical crime mystery series from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author (James Marwood & Cat Lovett, Book 1) by [Andrew Taylor]

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Andrew Taylor

The Ashes of London: The first book in the brilliant historical crime mystery series from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author (James Marwood & Cat Lovett, Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Andrew Taylor (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

2,113 ratings

Book 1 of 5: James Marwood & Cat Lovett

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The first book in the No. 1 Times bestselling series

‘This is terrific stuff’ Daily Telegraph

‘A breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era’ Financial Times

‘A masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot’ The Times

A CITY IN FLAMES
London, 1666. As the Great Fire consumes everything in its path, the body of a man is found in the ruins of St Paul’s Cathedral – stabbed in the neck, thumbs tied behind his back.

A WOMAN ON THE RUN
The son of a traitor, James Marwood is forced to hunt the killer through the city’s devastated streets. There he encounters a determined young woman, who will stop at nothing to secure her freedom.

A KILLER SEEKING REVENGE
When a second murder victim is discovered in the Fleet Ditch, Marwood is drawn into the political and religious intrigue of Westminster – and across the path of a killer with nothing to lose…

Print length

497 pages
Language

English
Publisher

HarperCollins
Publication date

7 April 2016
File size

3905 KB
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Review

‘Ashes of London is terrific’ Sarah Hilary

‘The Ashes of London presents a breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era … the multiple narrative strands are drawn together in a brilliantly orchestrated finale’ Financial Times

‘In this elegant, engrossing novel set during an extraordinary period, Taylor skilfully presents a London in which so many must still pay the price for the Civil War and the murder of King Charles I’ Sunday Express

‘One of the most reliably enjoyable of historical novelists … Taylor demonstrates his usual command of plot and historical background’ The Sunday Times

'A complex weave of history and mystery and the first of a new series from Andrew Taylor' The i

‘The author conveys the confusion and uncertainty of the times in a pacy story of Charles II’s desire for vengeance, the struggle to rebuild a stricken city and the hunt for a murderer’ Daily Mail

‘This is terrific stuff: intelligent, engrossing and, in its evocation of a long-vanished London, wonderfully plausible.’ Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph

'The Ashes of London weaves a pacy story from the framework of true events. A new Shardlake may rise from the ashes' The Times

‘Andrew Taylor provides a masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot.’ The Times, Books of the Year

‘Thrilling… Gripping, fast-moving and credible… It’s a well-constructed political thriller with moments of horror, admirable and enjoyable. Taylor has done his research so thoroughly as to be unobtrusive’ Spectator

‘Finely wrought and solidly researched… The novel’s plot is fiendishly complex’ Sunday Telegraph

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Andrew Taylor is the author of a number of crime novels, including the ground-breaking Roth Trilogy, which was adapted into the acclaimed TV drama Fallen Angel, and the historical crime novels The Silent Boy, The Scent of Death and The American Boy, a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller and a 2005 Richard & Judy Book Club Choice.

He has won many awards, including the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger, an Edgar Scroll from the Mystery Writers of America, the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award (the only author to win it three times) and the CWA’s prestigious Diamond Dagger, awarded for sustained excellence in crime writing. He also writes for the Spectator.

He lives with his wife Caroline in the Forest of Dean.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B015DLTMXG
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins (7 April 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3905 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 497 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 8,529 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 33 in Tudor Historical Romance
- 48 in Historical Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- 64 in Historical Mysteries (Kindle Store)

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2,113 ratings

About the author

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Andrew Taylor

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Andrew Taylor is a bestselling British crime and historical novelist, winner of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger (for lifelong excellence in the genre), the HWA Gold Crown for best historical novel of the year, and the triple winner of the CWA Historical Dagger. He has published over 45 books.

They include the international bestseller, The American Boy (a Richard and Judy selection); the Roth Trilogy (filmed for TV as Fallen Angel); the Lydmouth detective series set in the 1950s; and The Anatomy of Ghosts, shortlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.

His most recent books are the Marwood and Lovett Restoration series. The Ashes of London was a Times/Waterstones number one bestseller. The sequels have both all been bestsellers too. The fifth in the series, The Royal Secret, is scheduled for UK publication in April 2021.

For more information: web www.andrew-taylor.co.uk; twitter @andrewjrtaylor

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Customer reviews

5 star		47%
4 star		33%
3 star		14%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Jaja1

A great historical page-turner

Reviewed in Australia on 25 September 2020

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Loved this! The story starts as the fire of London get going yet the fire is not central stage. It is integral to the story and is always there affecting what happens but the characters are the stand out participants here. Two major threads run throughout and the sense of social life and politics is very strong. It does remind me of C S Sansom and the Shardlake series (one of my favourites) and yet it is not similar. It is a page turner and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.

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Redaurella

A mesmerising historical mystery

Reviewed in Australia on 24 October 2020

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This tale of treason, murder and madness is set amidst the labyrinthine politics and architecture of Carolingian London. It follows the fortunes of Cat Lovett and James Marwood as they try to survive in a city half destroyed by fire and ravaged by poverty and politics. It can be read as an enjoyable historical mystery or something more profound which leads you to ponder the damage done by revolutionaries with good intentions, and how those who come after struggle with that legacy.

Reviewed in Australia on 15 April 2016

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The story takes pace during the Great Fire of London in 1660. The fire and the devastation of the city and destruction of many of the buildings are brilliantly described in incredible detail, as if the authors were writing from personal experience. Charles II is on the throne and his pursuit of Regicides and anyone even tangentially involved in the execution of his father underpins the narrative. This has two alternating parts, which eventually come together, There is the narrative of the young clerk, Marwood, told in the third person and that of the girl, Cat told in the first person. Both styles are well done and there is no confusion. Some readers may think that the novel is more history than crime, and perhaps it is, but for me there was nothing wrong with that. I found it continuously interesting, though sometimes a little hard to follow – or take in -, but all makes complete sense in the end. A very sound piece of work. Recommended for lovers of English history.

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Geoffrey M Moss

Historical fiction at it’s very best

Reviewed in Australia on 20 May 2020

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I really enjoyed this book. Incredible insight and detail of the London of the 1600s, Cromwell and the King.

Very glad I’ve discovered Andrew Taylor.

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VAL TUFREY

Very interesting insight into London after the Great Fire

Reviewed in Australia on 4 March 2020

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I loved the description of life and living in the restoration London. An excellent crime story.

Reviewed in Australia on 24 August 2017

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Well written and enjoyable historical story.
Interesting characters though not very real.
The description of London was of great interest

Reviewed in Australia on 20 August 2020

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I did not like the book, I found the characters very weak and I lost interest in the book , nothing like CJ Samson’s books

Reviewed in Australia on 16 March 2020

Just the right balance of mystery, confusion, history, characters real and imagined, murder and reimagined places.
I thoroughly enjoyed this dip into 17thC London - post Restoration, post Great Fire life. Having lived in London it was delightful to “wander” with the characters through the streets, to recognise places. To realise the terrible limits on those trying to fight crime, and the huge freedoms of those with money and power. I liked the non conventional solution to the plot, the twist ( or was it? I now have to do some reading) I also liked the characters, more than two dimensional- a nice change - I cared about them. So much so, I will be reading the next book!

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Kindle Customer

A different historical read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2018

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This isn't necessarily the sort of book that I would choose, but I had seen reviews and browsed it and decided on a change.
It opens when the Great Fire of London was in full flood, but other than that I hadn't really tied together the context of the 1660's as a period of time. We had just been through the abolition of the monarchy, the execution of Charles 1st ,Oliver Cromwell, the Commonwealth, and then the restoration of the Monarchy. But London still had those complicit with the Regicide in its midst.
Add to their the fact that one of its most iconic buildings St Paul's had been reduced to a ruin and we have a background for the story.
There is a strong feminist edge on the story which makes it more interesting, too.
It's not a dull historical read, but filled with local colour, and a story that keeps it going at a pace. Also if you have a knowledge or interest in the capital it is fascinating to learn how the city you know grew and developed. It is beautifully written, and I can recommend it.
It will be interesting to see where his next book takes us.

22 people found this helpful

Cafelattedoris

Disappointed...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 March 2018

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I was rather disappointed in this novel, especially since the author has real crime writing credentials - Andrew Taylor has won several notable awards for crime fiction (a CWA Diamond Dagger and the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award three times). Hard to define, I think that my disappointment comes not with the plot but because there wasn't as much rich, interesting historical details as I had expecte, and I also thought the characters could be more rounded. Set in the reign of Charles II, I learnt about the social condition of London after the Great Fire and the pursuit of individuals who had been involved in the eventual beheading of Charles I. All very interesting but it just lacked something to engross me in the period and main characters. I have previously read, and am a fan of, CJ Ransom's Shardlake historical crime series. I'm sorry to say that I felt this novel was not of the same standard. Perhaps I'll try the author's Roth trilogy which was adapted for TV as "Fallen Angel"...

27 people found this helpful

JaquiP

And the plot thickens .... Continually .... Terrific ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 March 2019

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I say I like historical thrillers, and in truth, I do, but I haven't read that many recently. And certainly not one as terrific as this. Very good indeed, the pace continually ups ... And it's beautifully written. The Great Fire of London and St. Paul's are as vividly drawn as any characters in the book. September 2nd 1666 the Great Fire began to burn and is the backdrop to this story. .... "It was the howling of the fire. It roared its rage. It was the voice of the Beast."

Now, the other thing is, Andrew Taylor is a prolific writer, a British crime and historical novelist - so much research must have gone into the book - He s a winner of the CWA Cartier Dagger (for lifelong excellence in the genre) He has published over 45 books. This book was a Times /Waterstones No. 1 best seller. The impressive facts go on, and yet, I had never heard of him. Not once heard his name or read any of his books. Until this one. How on earth could this be?! Better late than never though. A new writer to me, and I'll be buying more. For sure. You bet. Strange though I hadn't come across him before. Glad I have done now. What A Great writer I would have missed out on. Should be 5 stars not 4 as it was brilliant, but, for me, the end ... The very end ... Not the book ending ... Fell a little flat. I wanted to know what happened next. Setting us up for a sequel, I guess. I hope.

I liked the fact real people, of the time, like King Charles the second and Dr. Christopher Wren were peppered through the book, adding to its authenticity. All in all, a splendid, if rather long, read, that didn't flag.

16 people found this helpful

Lizanne Lloyd

A thrilling adventure in Restoration London

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 January 2020

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Six years after Charles II regained the throne for the Stuart family, London went up in flames. No-one feels safe in an environment where former Protestants, government agents and hidden Catholics live cheek by jowl. We arrive in the city as old St Paul’s burns down, surrounded by onlookers; and there we meet our two protagonists, James Marwood, son of an extremist Puritan and Cat Lovett, the daughter of a renegade Protestant. Marwood narrates the majority of the story, but we also follow Cat’s perils, in the third person, as she is manipulated by her untrustworthy uncle.
In a realistic adventure through the narrow streets and ruins of London we follow Marwood’s attempt to please more than one master, looking for a murderer, seeking Cat and trying to protect his elderly father. Meanwhile Cat, doomed to suffer the fate of many women in the past, decides to escape her uncle’s home and hides out as a maidservant. The tortuous plot completely involved me in the Royal court, the rebuilding of St Paul’s and the underbelly of 17th century society. A thrilling, convincing tale.

9 people found this helpful

Tone the Cone

Found the story rather laboured

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2019

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Shame, I love this genre of writing, but unfortunately after an interesting start the story for me became rather drawn out and laboured. I then began to not really care about the characters and lost any enthusiasm for the novel.
although did paint a good vision of how London must have been after the great fire.

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The Ashes of London: The first book in the brilliant historical crime mystery series from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author (James Marwood & Cat Lovett, Book 1) Kindle Edition

The first book in the No. 1 Times bestselling series

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