Another Review at MyShelf.Com


Birthright
David Hingley

Allison and Busby
21 July 2016/ ISBN 9780749020323
Fiction / Historical / Mystery

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

Life is not going well for Mercia Blakewood. A widow with a young son, she lost her husband in the Civil War and now her father, condemned as a regicide, is about to lose his head. Her greedy in-laws want her son and her uncle is trying to get his hands on her estate. But after her father leaves her a cryptic message just before his execution, she has a slim chance to appeal to the King and gain his favor. Her task is to restore to him his father’s missing paintings, but this is going to be anything but simple.

I do like a book that hits the ground running and this one does, with Mercia in jail and about to embark on her adventures. She certainly has plenty of these, with both her late husband’s best friend Nathan and her new and rather roguish acquaintance Nicholas Wildmoor in tow. From London to the burgeoning settlement of New Amsterdam and during a sea crossing, there is always something going on and all the time Mercia has no idea who she can trust. It makes for exciting reading and it is easy to root for the protagonist as a woman trying to survive in a man’s world, and one where even the men are not safe. There are far fewer books set during the eventful 17th century that deal with Tudors, Georgians or Victorians, which surprises me as there is so much to write about, and this one helps to redress the balance. Set in 1664, it not only shows London on the cusp of a new age under Charles II, but New Amsterdam under the Dutch and about to become New York. Fictitious events and characters are woven seamlessly into some well researched history, and the end result is the first of a two book set that is well worth reading. I will be looking out for this author in future – one not to miss.

Reviews of previous titles in this series

Birthright #1
Puritan #2
Traitor #3

Reviewed 2016
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