Customer Reviews

The Mammoth Book of Jacobean Whodunnits: 24 Murder Mysteries from the Age of Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

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Here's a Reader's Advisory tip you can take to the bank: Whenever you come across a new 'Whodunnits' book edited by Mike Ashley, BUY IT! Ashley has the Midas touch when it comes to assembling crackerjack collections of murder mysteries; He is simply the best at what he does!

Ashley's latest 'Mammoth Book of' features two dozen stories set in England and America in the 17th Century.

This Jacobean era was a rich period of history. Encompassing the reigns of kings James I, James II, Charles I, Charles II, the English Civil War, and settlements in America, these years provide fertile material for many of the stories contained in Ashley's book. The cast of characters includes kings, consorts, lords, ladies and assorted common folk along with the likes of William Shakespeare, Henry Hudson, Walter Raleigh and Francis Bacon involved in murders most foul but also very entertaining!


In stories like 'Satan in the Star Chamber,' 'A Taste for Ducking,' 'The Philadelphia Slaughterman' and 'The Curious Contents of a Coffin,' a stellar group of authors including Susanna Gregory, Peter Tremayne, Ian Morson, Michael Jecks and Deryn Lake offer entertaining tales of murder. Greed, treason, intrigue, revenge and madness drive the action in these page-turners, all of which are cleverly resolved at tale's end.

This A-1 collection will give you many hours of reading enjoyment! Pick up a copy ASAP!

I have found Mike Ashley to be a pretty reliable editor when it comes to collection. When he does an anthology, there are generally no truly bad pieces in it, and the stories range from competent to really good. One caveat I might have in this case is that some of the stories are very heavy on history, and it may cut into the suspense of the mystery plot. This isn't a problem for me, I like history as well as or perhaps better than mystery, and this is after all, a collection of historical mysteries. But I recommend it--I wasn't sure that I was interested in this era, but I've come away with a couple of new series to read.

CONTENTS:
Introduction: Gunpowder, treason and plot by Mike Ashley
The King's First Achievement by Fiona Buckley
The Duke of York by P.F. Chisholm
The Tower's Man by Michael Jecks
A Disobedient Daughter by Jean Davidson
Murder Unauthorized by Amy Myers
Ice Sailor by Laird Long
Satan in the Star Chamber by Peter Tremayne
Green Tarts by Deryn Lake
"O, Poisonous Weed!" by F. Gwynlaine MacIntyre
A Dead Man's Wish by John T. Aquino
Perfect Alibi by Philip Boast
The Restless Dead by Martin Edwards
A Taste for Ducking by Marilyn Todd
Death Knows no Compromise
A House Divided by Judith Cutler
Two Sides by Mike Stotter
The Palatable Truth by Carol Ann Davis
The Comedy that Became a Tragedy by F. Frankfort Moore
The Dumb Bell by Kate Ellis
The Curious Content of a Coffin by Susanna Gregory
The Dutchman and the Madagascar Pirates by Maan Meyers
Tom of Ten Thousand by Edward Marston
The Philadelphia Slaughterman by Ian Morson
To Walk on Thorny Paths by Paul Finch

some of these stories are fantastic to be sure but overall I found a large number rather boring more interested in history then mystery