James Marwood & Cat Lovett - The Ashes of London (James Marwood & Cat Lovett, Book 1)
The first book in the No. 1 Times bestselling series
‘This is terrific stuff’ Daily Telegraph
‘A breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era’ Financial Times
‘A masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot’ The Times
Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!
A CITY IN FLAMES
London, 1666. As the Great Fire consumes everything in its path, the body of a man is found in the ruins of St Paul’s Cathedral – stabbed in the neck, thumbs tied behind his back.
A WOMAN ON THE RUN
The son of a traitor, James Marwood is forced to hunt the killer through the city’s devastated streets. There he encounters a determined young woman, who will stop at nothing to secure her freedom.
A KILLER SEEKING REVENGE
When a second murder victim is discovered in the Fleet Ditch, Marwood is drawn into the political and religious intrigue of Westminster – and across the path of a killer with nothing to lose…
‘Ashes of London is terrific’ Sarah Hilary -
‘The Ashes of London presents a breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era … the multiple narrative strands are drawn together in a brilliantly orchestrated finale’ Financial Times -
‘In this elegant, engrossing novel set during an extraordinary period, Taylor skilfully presents a London in which so many must still pay the price for the Civil War and the murder of King Charles I’ Sunday Express -
‘One of the most reliably enjoyable of historical novelists … Taylor demonstrates his usual command of plot and historical background’ The Sunday Times -
'A complex weave of history and mystery and the first of a new series from Andrew Taylor' The i -
‘The author conveys the confusion and uncertainty of the times in a pacy story of Charles II’s desire for vengeance, the struggle to rebuild a stricken city and the hunt for a murderer’ Daily Mail -
‘This is terrific stuff: intelligent, engrossing and, in its evocation of a long-vanished London, wonderfully plausible.’ Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph -
'The Ashes of London weaves a pacy story from the framework of true events. A new Shardlake may rise from the ashes' The Times -
‘Andrew Taylor provides a masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot.’ The Times, Books of the Year -
‘Thrilling… Gripping, fast-moving and credible… It’s a well-constructed political thriller with moments of horror, admirable and enjoyable. Taylor has done his research so thoroughly as to be unobtrusive’ Spectator -
‘Finely wrought and solidly researched… The novel’s plot is fiendishly complex’ Sunday Telegraph -