A Murder of Crows, by PF Chisholm. Book review
Poisoned
Pen Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59058-737-9. 253 pages.
This
historical mystery is set in London in 1592. Sir Robert Carey, his father Lord
Hunsdon (cousin of Queen Elizabeth I through his mother Mary Boleyn), his
father Lady Hunsdon, Robert Cecil, Vice Chamberlain Heneage, Will Shakespeare
and Christopher Marlowe are all historical figures and major characters. The
central character, Land-Sergeant Henry Dodd of Gilsland on the Anglo-Scottish
border, is fictional.
Tough
Borderer Henry Dodd wants vengeance on Vice Chamberlain Heneage for the
injuries he sustained in an earlier adventure. He has reluctantly been
persuaded that the way such matters are handled in the strange foreign world of
London is by suing Heneage in the law courts, rather than by the traditional
Border method of burning Heneage’s property and stealing his livestock. Dodd
has little faith in this peculiar southern system but is prepared to give it a
try. However, no lawyer in London is willing to accept the commission, even for
the handsome fee offered by Lord Hunsdon – until a young Cornish lawyer offers
to take the case with suspicious eagerness. Meanwhile, Lord Hunsdon wants Carey
and Dodd to solve the mystery of an
unknown corpse with no feet that has washed up on the Palace steps. And
to complicate matters further, Carey’s formidable mother Lady Hunsdon arrives
unexpectedly in London with business of her own that will get Dodd and Carey
into still more trouble.
PF
Chisholm is a pen name of Patricia Finney, who has written several novels set
in Elizabethan England. A Murder of Crows
is the fifth in a series of historical mysteries starring Sir Robert Carey and
Henry Dodd. I didn’t know that when I picked this up, and haven’t read any of
the others. This one seemed to work perfectly well as a stand-alone, although
there were probably references to the previous books that I missed.
The
vigorous, chaotic and ruthless world of Elizabethan London is brilliantly
realised in this entertaining mystery. The glittering snake-pit of the court
sits cheek-by-jowl with the criminal underworld, and which has the more cheats,
liars, thieves and murderers is anyone’s guess.
The
plot is complicated, with several intertwining sub-plots involving political
rivalry, financial scams, secret codes, murder, torture and mistaken identity.
Both playwrights, Shakespeare and Marlowe, are engaged in various degrees of
shady espionage work for patrons unknown, the young Cornish lawyer James Enys
is not what he seems, and both Lord and Lady Hunsdon have something to hide. I soon
gave up trying to work out who was double-crossing whom, and just went along
for the highly enjoyable ride as the dour and very practical Sergeant Dodd
works out the solution and brings matters to a satisfactory conclusion.
Although
it is billed as ‘A Sir Robert Carey Mystery’, Robert Carey himself is rather a
secondary character, and events are almost all seen through the eyes of Henry
Dodd. This adds a wonderfully surreal note of comedy to the mayhem, as Dodd
views London, with its commerce and courtly shenanigans, through the prism of
Border reiver ways – which prove more applicable than one might imagine. Dodd’s
speculations about the practicalities of staging a reiving raid on London form
a running joke throughout the novel. He has a healthy lack of respect for some
of the fripperies of London life, such as the uncomfortable clothes and
self-important courtiers, but is developing a reluctant taste for some of its
luxuries, like tobacco and a ready supply of apples (which are rare on the
Borders, owing to the reivers’ habit of destroying orchards along with
everything else). Dodd’s wry humour and down-to-earth attitude make him a
splendid guide to Elizabethan London. Other than Dodd, the most memorable
character is Lady Hunsdon, here imagined in the entertaining if somewhat
unlikely guise of a lady privateer – a sort of Cornish Grace O’Malley
commanding a tough crew of pirates. I have to say I didn’t find this terribly
convincing, but it was great fun.
A Murder of Crows is full of
historical detail, usually either worked into the plot (e.g. paper is extremely
expensive, which leads Dodd to an important clue) or to develop character, such
as Dodd’s musings on the contrasts between life in London and life on the
Borders. Period terminology and slang adds atmosphere. There is a glossary of
period terms at the back for readers who are unfamiliar with them. I worked
most of them out from context, which is just as well as I didn’t find the glossary
until I finished the book. Regional accents indicate the various characters’
origins and social position, with Cockney, Cumbrian and Cornish alongside
formal court English.
Entertaining
murder mystery set in Elizabethan London against the murky backdrop of court
factions and dubious financial dealings.