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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]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61dA-mSU8WL._SY346_.jpg)
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
Andrew Taylor (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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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…
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarperCollins
- Publication date7 April 2016
- File size3905 KB
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Product description
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.Book Description
The first book in the brilliant historical crime mystery series from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author
--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: 44,618 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 196 in Tudor Historical Romance
- 339 in Historical Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- 379 in Conspiracy Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

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
Top reviews from Australia
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Very glad I’ve discovered Andrew Taylor.
Interesting characters though not very real.
The description of London was of great interest
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!
Top reviews from other countries

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.


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.

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.

although did paint a good vision of how London must have been after the great fire.