The Last Protector (James Marwood & Cat Lovett, Book 4)

Andrew Taylor

Apr 2020 · James Marwood & Cat Lovett Book 4 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

From the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Ashes of London comes the next book in the phenomenally successful series following James Marwood and Cat Lovett.Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!

A dangerous secret lies beneath Whitehall Palace...

Brother against brother. Father against son. Friends turned into enemies. No one in England wants a return to the bloody days of the Civil War. But Oliver Cromwell’s son, Richard, has abandoned his exile and slipped back into England. The consequences could be catastrophic.

James Marwood, a traitor’s son turned government agent, is tasked with uncovering Cromwell’s motives. But his assignment is complicated by his friend – the regicide’s daughter, Cat Lovett – who knew the Cromwells as a child, and who now seems to be hiding a secret of her own about the family.

Both Marwood and Cat know they are putting themselves in great danger. And when they find themselves on a top secret mission in the Palace of Whitehall, they realize they are risking their lives...and could even be sent to the block for treason.

Praise for Andrew Taylor

‘One of the best historical crime writers today’ The Times

‘If you like C. J. Sansom, or Hilary Mantel, you’ll love Andrew Taylor’ Peter James

‘Effortlessly authentic...gripping...moving and believable. An excellent work’ C. J. Sansom

‘This is historical crime fiction at its dazzling best’ Guardian

‘One of the best historical novelists around’ Sunday Times

‘A breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era’ Financial Times

‘A masterclass in writing for the genre’ Ann Cleeves

‘Andrew Taylor is one of our finest storytellers' Antonia Hodgson

‘Vivid and compelling’ Observer

‘Taylor brings the 17th century to life so vividly that one can almost smell it’ Guardian

‘A most artful and delightful book, that will both amuse and chill’ Daily Telegraph

Ratings and reviews

A friend of mine recently recommended this series as he knows I enjoy the C.J. Sansom Shardlake series so when I saw this ARC available for request on NetGalley I immediately clicked the button. Despite not having read the first three books I found it quite easy to follow the plot which relates to Charles II, the Duke of Buckingham and Richard Cromwell (son of Oliver and the Last Protector of the title). Our hero/detective James Marwood is occasionally required to act as a spy for the King. His master, Joseph Williamson, the Under Secretary of State to Lord Arlington and Lord Arlington are desperate to find evidence (cough, manufacture) against the Duke of Buckingham and send James to spy on a duel between Buckingham and Lord Shrewsbury, which leaves one man dead and Lord Shrewsbury seriously injured. Our heroine, Cat Hakesby, is married to an elderly architect and seems to be prospering when she runs across an old acquaintance, Elizabeth Cromwell, a meeting which turns out to be anything but coincidental. Drawn against her will into intrigue involving her husband, Buckingham and the Cromwells, Cat's world collides with James' (and not for the first time I understand). Based on certain historical facts Andrew Taylor has woven a gripping tale of plots, favours and the sheer wretchedness of life for women, servants and the underclass. Learn about the Bawdy House riots, the half-life of the last Protector, the mazer-scourers, and how absolutely foul people can be to others. A cracking read, I will get the previous books and read them shortly! I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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 Ashes of London, 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 and The Times.

He lives with his wife Caroline in the Forest of Dean.