A Plague of Angels: A Sir Robert Carey Mystery

This series by Patricia Finney features Robert Carey, the youngest son of Lord Hundson who in turn is the bastard son of Henry VII and Mary Boleyn, Ann's sister. Carey has landed a position as the Queen's representative at one of the border forts between England and Scotland, at a particularly crucial time, when Elizabeth's heir, James, is king of Scotland, and his succession to the English throne will unify the two countries. Carey's main motive in accepting the position was to get away from creditors in England. And in the first of the series, Carey, began to establish himself as a kind of monarch in his own right in that most politically crucial of geographies. Now less than a year and three books' worth of adventures later, Carey must return home to London at the summons of his father, who is now the Queen's Lord Chamberlain. Carey has to deal with creditors who are stalking him, his father's girlfriend (and once his,) Mistress Bassano, her devoted swain and family servant, the rather unimpressive Will Shakespeare, and the fact that his gullible elder brother Edmund has disappeared in what turns out to be plague infested London, and Hundson's chief enemy, Thomas Heneage, probably has something to do with it. Meanwhile a bunch of counterfeit coins are turning up, and the penalty for counterfeiting is death. And Carey's Scottish man, Seargent Dodd is amusing everyone with his bumpkin ways and accent, while being extremely frustrated by their decadent city ways and lack of recognition for his family rank. It's fun stuff with great characterization and just about the best period resurrection I've ever experienced. But then that's true of all of Finney's work, and here, slick London kind of made me miss the crass and vulgar North.

This is the kind of book that makes life worth living.Written in a spare yet vivid style, with outstanding dialogue, Plague of Angels features well-known characters from the first three books of Chisholm's series. But, due to a letter from Carey's father, they've had to ride south to London. Readers be encouraged: this is no Renaissance Faire.Characterization is particularly strong in this volume because it's from the point of view of Sergeant Dodd, the tough, morose, thoroughly engaging Borderer. His viewpoints on London, the aristocracy, and Carey are not only humorous but have a certain ring of truth. I'd always liked Dodd, but in the course of this book he became one of my favorite historical fiction characters of all time. Carey, seen through Dodd's eyes, retains his notable charm and savoir-faire. And Chisholm does something nearly impossible: writes about real historical characters and does it well. Yes, Shakespeare is in this book, and yes, it works.The plot is an exciting one, of course. Some of the twists aren't quite as well developed as they could be, but between the plague, the Fleet Prison, and our hero facing torture by the bad guys, it's hard to care.I was particularly impressed here with Chisholm's presentation of Renaissance mentalities. The pure terror evoked by the plague, in an age when diseases were unstoppable and more or less uncurable, is very well described. It's also worth mentioning that, although her protagonists are male, Chisholm does well with female characters, making them realistic products of their time but still strong, interesting individuals.

This book shows evidence of an amazing amount of research into the daily life of Elizabethan London. Perhaps this is, as one reviewer suggests, how Patricia Finney has fun in between her longer Elizabeth I mysteries, but all I can say is she does a lot of hard work too!Sir Robert Carey was widely though of as the Queen's nephew (the illegitimate grandson of Henry VIII) and Chisholm makes the most of this fact in her mystery, using her hero's physical resemblance to the Queen and his father, Lord Hundson's, temperamental resemblance to Henry VIII to build a complicated tale of revenge, ambition, and murder. A score of minor--but also real!--characters thread through the story: Mistress Bassano (a member of a real family of Jewish musicians at the court), Robert Greene, Christopher Marlowe, and even the balding Will Shakespeare appear.So many historical mysteries are more about evoking a powerful setting than telling a complicated tale of skulduggery, but with this book you get to have both. The setting and characterization are nearly perfect, and the central mystery pivoting around the consequences surrounding an alchemical experiment gone wrong is not only perfect for the period but darned confusing as well! I highly recommend this book, and the other books in the series. But, read A Famine of Horses (the first in the series) first or you will find yourself a bit lost for the first half.

The impression I get is that the Carey books are "fun" projects for Patricia Finney to take on between more serious books like Firedrake's Eye and Unicorn's Blood -- whatever the case, they are so worthwhile that I bought the UK editions before they were available in the States. All I can say about Finney's research is that I have made a study of swords and swordsmanship of the period, and her descriptions suggest that she has gone the extra mile in getting the details right, when many historical authors would settle for the Hollywood version. I recommend the whole series as a fine example of entertaining, well-written adventures that make the most of their Elizabethan setting.

Short of the monarch, the only person who Sir Robert Carey would heed an order from to come to London is his father Lord Hunsdon the Queen's Lord Chamberlain. Robert knows that the big city has many individuals irate with him, as he owes them a lot of money. However, his father needs his help and thus, accompanied by his Land Sergeant Henry Dodd, Robert travels south to London.Hunsdon informs his son that he needs his peculiar skills as a detective. Robert's older brother is missing and a scandal is brewing that could cost Hunsdon more than just his job of security for her highness if the Queen becomes upset with the family. Robert is to find his sibling, a gambler, and bring him safely home. Unbeknownst to the detective and his companion Henry, the Vice Chancellor has set in motion a plan to use Robert and his brother to discredit their father in the eyes of Queen Elizabeth.A PLAGUE OF ANGELS, The fourth Carey Elizabethan mystery, is a fabulous investigative tale that employs real persona from the history books including the lead character. Appearances by literary figures such as Shakespeare and Marlowe add a feel of authenticity to the plot, but the story line belongs to Robert and his sleuthing, and the stunned, naive Henry, seeing the big city for the first time. Sub-genre fans will enjoy this novel and P.F. Chisholm's three other Carey books (A FAMINE OF HORSES, A SEASON OF KNIVES, and A SURFEIT OF GUNS).Harriet Klausner