Book
A Ruinous Wind
First published 2003
Thomas Finbow accompanies Sir Robert Vicary to the Barrowhill Pleasures, an elaborate gathering arranged by the Earl of Reigate. The festivities are meant to culminate in a dramatic re-enactment of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, with Queen Elizabeth expected to attend, but the celebration is disrupted when guests begin to die.
The Earl is determined to prevent scandal and keep his spectacle on schedule, leaving Thomas to judge a closed circle of visitors in which several people have reasons to conceal their identities or intentions. As the deaths mount, the patriotic recreation of 1588 becomes the backdrop to a very private set of crimes. The second Thomas the Falconer mystery contrasts courtly display and Armada mythology with the violence hidden inside a noble household.
David Field
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