The Last Protector

Marwood has been assigned by his boss, Undersecretary Williamson, to spy on a duel between The Earl of Shrewsbury and the Duke of Buckingham.  It is not a task that Marwood is enthusiastic about.  Buckingham wounds Shrewsbury, but will it be fatal?  How will the king deal with Buckingham, whose support he needs in parliament.

Meanwhile Cat Hakesby and her husband have been approached by Richard Cromwell and his daughter Elizabeth, the former in disguise.  They want to see plans that Hakesby has for the Cockpit, which is a part of Whitehall.  Cat wonders why.  The pair explain that Cromwell’s mother had hidden something of value to them in the sewer underneath the Cockpit.  Would it still be there after twenty years?

With the discovery of Cromwell being back in England by Buckingham’s men, the plans of Cromwell and the Hakesbys is put in jeopardy.  Cat turns to Marwood for help.  What help can Marwood be?  The Hakesbys and the Cromwells are in the tight grip of Buckingham, while Marwood fears for his life because of the same man.

Andrew Taylor’s historical thriller is full of treachery and action.  Will Marwood survive the trials and tribulations that are set before him?  What will happen to Cat and her husband while in the grips of the Duke?  Taylor’s novel is a fun read and hard to put down.  I am hoping that there will be a sequel to this.