Hunted by a shadowy foe in Bloody Mary’s court, Brendan Prescott
plunges into London’s treacherous underworld to unravel a dark
conspiracy that could make Elizabeth queen—or send her to her death in
C.W. Gortner’s The Tudor Conspiracy. England, 1553: Harsh winter encroaches upon the realm. Mary Tudor
has become queen to popular acclaim and her enemies are imprisoned in
the Tower. But when she’s betrothed to Philip, Catholic prince of
Spain, putting her Protestant subjects in peril, rumors of a plot to
depose her swirl around the one person whom many consider to be
England’s heir and only hope—the queen’s half-sister, Princess
Elizabeth. Haunted by his past, Brendan Prescott lives far from the intrigues
of court. But his time of refuge comes to an end when his foe and
mentor, the spymaster Cecil, brings him disquieting news that sends him
on a dangerous mission. Elizabeth is held captive at court, the target
of the Spanish ambassador, who seeks her demise. Obliged to return to
the palace where he almost lost his life, Brendan finds himself working
as a double-agent for Queen Mary herself, who orders Brendan to secure
proof that will be his cherished Elizabeth’s undoing. Plunged into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a mysterious
opponent who hides a terrifying secret, Brendan races against time to
retrieve a cache of the princess’s private letters, even as he begins
to realize that in this dark world of betrayal and deceit, where power
is supreme and sister can turn against sister, nothing—and no one—is
what it seems.
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I loved so many aspects of this novel that it’s hard to know exactly where to begin. For one thing I loved pacing of this piece. It was so impossible to put down that I literally read all three hundred some pages in a single sitting. Just when I thought I’d figured something out Gortner would throw a curve ball, something unexpected that would turn the story in an entirely new direction. I love that despite my familiarity with the history he was able to craft a fiction that kept me guessing.
On that note, I also appreciate that despite the fact that The Tudor Conspiracy is a follow up to The Tudor Secret, it is also a stand alone piece. Not once did I feel disadvantaged for not having read the first volume nor did I feel the original work to have been spoiled by beginning my reading in the middle of the Brendan Prescott’s adventures.
Speaking of Prescott, I was enchanted with the complexity Gortner was able to create in both fictitious and historic cast members. I think there is a tendency, particularly where Mary and Elizabeth are concerned, to paint in black and white, to vilify one sister while exalting the other. Gortner doesn’t do this. Henry’s daughters are as complicated and enigmatic as their illustrious father, both well aware of the precariousness of their position and fiercely protective of their birthright. Prescott himself has layers, his personal loyalties often playing against the desires of his heart.
The Tudor Conspiracy is an enthralling Elizabethan thriller that is anything but ordinary. A riveting, edge of your seat adventure that will captivate even the most well versed Tudor scholar.
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Battle lines are being drawn even as we speak, with Mary on one side, determined to wrest the realm from heresy and bind us to a foreign power, while Elizabeth is on the other as her heir, the last hope for an independent land beholden to the Protestant faith. Which one shall win?
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Check out all the stops on C.w. Gortner's TheTudor Conspiracy virtual book tour
Wednesday, July 17
Review at The Maiden’s Court
Review at Diary of a Book Addict
Interview at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Review at The Maiden’s Court
Review at Diary of a Book Addict
Interview at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Friday, July 19
Review at The Broke and the Bookish
Review & Giveaway at Enchanted by Josephine
Interview at The Tudor Book Blog
Review at The Broke and the Bookish
Review & Giveaway at Enchanted by Josephine
Interview at The Tudor Book Blog
Monday, July 22
Review at A Bookish Affair
Review at Jenny Loves to Read
Review at A Muse in the Fog Book Reviews
Review at A Bookish Affair
Review at Jenny Loves to Read
Review at A Muse in the Fog Book Reviews
Wednesday, July 24
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Review at A Writer’s Life: Working with the Muse
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Review at A Writer’s Life: Working with the Muse
Thursday, July 25
Guest Post at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Feature & Giveaway at Ramblings From This Chick
Guest Post at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Feature & Giveaway at Ramblings From This Chick
Friday, July 26
Review at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Interview at A Writer’s Life: Working with the Muse
Review at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Interview at A Writer’s Life: Working with the Muse
Monday, July 29
Review at Books in the Burbs
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Review at Writing the Renaissance
Review at Books in the Burbs
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Review at Writing the Renaissance
Thursday, August 1
Review at JulzReads
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Guest Post at A Chick Who Reads
Review at JulzReads
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Guest Post at A Chick Who Reads
Monday, August 5
Review at Historical Tapestry & Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Review at Historical Tapestry & Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, August 6
Review at From L.A. to LA
Review & Giveaway at Luxury Reading
Guest Post at Historical Tapestry
Review at From L.A. to LA
Review & Giveaway at Luxury Reading
Guest Post at Historical Tapestry
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