Of Judgement Fallen (The Anthony Blanke Mysteries)
This is the second of the Tudor Mysteries featuring Anthony Blanke, a young trumpeter and groom employed by Cardinal Wolsey, King Henry VIII’s chief minister. London, spring 1523. As the King readies for war with France and Wolsey prepares to open Parliament, a series of assassinations threatens to destabilize their plans. Blanke is commissioned to solve the murders, but he can’t trust anyone. He spends the novel trying to avoid being caught in the machinations of the great men of the era until he finds himself accused. Can he prove his innocence and discover the real killer? From the very beginning, we are immersed in a richly detailed world. This kind of disorientation can make for a pleasurable reading experience, but I was glad to refer to the ‘dramatis personae’ helpfully provided by the author. We are thrown into the action through Anthony’s first-person account.
The opening chapter is a bravura set piece as we journey with him through Richmond Palace, whilst he spies on Lord Henry Percy for Wolsey. This convincingly introduces us to a bleakly dark Tudor London, and we know we are in safe hands. It’s reminiscent of the long single take opening of Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. The world building continues to be richly detailed and mainly serves the dictates of the plot. The first half is a little too slow in getting to the main jeopardy for our hero, but the story is worth sticking with, as the bodies pile up, the mystery deepens, and we speed to the surprising denouement. If you enjoy an historical mystery that demonstrates a deep understanding of its period, then this is for you.
