Book
The Ruffler’s Child
First published 2002
Late Elizabethan England. Thomas Finbow is falconer to Sir Robert Vicary and Lady Margaret of Petbury in Berkshire, a skilled servant whose earlier experience in royal service has made him observant and difficult to intimidate. When Lady Margaret's brother Nathaniel Pickering is murdered, Thomas accompanies her to London, where a journey intended to distract her with the search for valuable gyrfalcons becomes part of a larger mystery.
Clues surrounding Pickering's death lead Thomas into the city's criminal world and expose secrets that place both him and his mistress in danger. His knowledge of hunting provides the series' central metaphor: patient observation, reading signs and knowing when to pursue. The novel introduces a detective whose social position gives him access to both gentry households and the rougher edges of Elizabethan life.
Historical Periods
More from this period
5 more top-rated novels about Elizabethan London
Ranked by rating and voting volume; books already shown on this page are omitted.
More by the author
Other books by John Pilkington
Discover more
Authors similar to John Pilkington
Recommended from shared genres and periods.
David Field
46 books
Geoffrey Trease
44 books
Deborah Swift
21 books
Rosemary Sutcliff
38 books