Holy Spy

John Shakespeare [Publication Order] #7

by Rory Clements

For fans of CJ Sansom and SJ Parris, HOLY SPY is the latest in Rory Clements' acclaimed and bestselling John Shakespeare series of Tudor spy thrillers. Clements, winner of the Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award, 'does for Elizabeth's reign what CJ Sansom does for Henry VIII's' Sunday Times
Rory Clements, winner of the Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award, 'does for Elizabeth's reign what CJ Sansom does for Henry VIII's' Sunday Times


In London's smoky taverns, a conspiracy is brewing: a group of wealthy young Catholic dissidents plot to assassinate Elizabeth, free Mary Queen of Scots - and open England to Spanish invasion. But the conspirators have been infiltrated by Sir Francis Walsingham's top intelligencer, John Shakespeare.

Shakespeare, however, is torn: the woman he loves stands accused of murder. In a desperate race against time he must save her from the noose and the realm from treachery. And then it dawns that both investigations are inextricably linked - by corruption very close to the seat of power . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Crime, Thriller, Historical Mystery

464 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2015

About the author

Rory Clements has had a long and successful newspaper career, including being features editor and associate editor of Today, editor of the Daily Mail's Good Health Pages, and editor of the health section at the Evening Standard. He now writes full-time in an idyllic corner of Norfolk, England.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I concluded years ago I had preferred another series by Chisholm covering this era, I returned again to finish off this series years later. Walsingham certainly had some things to answer for in this telling of the Babington Plot that ended in fourteen executions in September of 1586. Not a time to be Catholic or homosexual. There is some pretty rough treatment of all, including Shakespeare to get through in this book. Apparently I must dip into the Elizabethan period now and then.

[Karl Jorgenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rich, fascinating dive into 16th century London: the simmering war between the Church of England and the barely-tolerated Catholics; a plot to kill the Queen and make Mary the Scot the new queen; and other, often brutal crimes of passion, greed, and desperation. John Shakespeare comes through again, cutting into a Catholic spy ring and uncovering a murderer and a powerful financial scam supported by a vicious criminal gang.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed this in the latest john Shakespeare series centring around the Babington plot and Mary queen of scots and the sub plot of the murder of a rich merchant and the race against time to save the widow from the gallows. as clements again brings Elizabethan London to life again in unsettling times

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fantastic book is the 7th volume of the amazing John Shakespeare series, but in chronological order this book comes after the book "The Queen's Man" but before "Martyr".
Again the author has managed to bring the atmosphere of the Elizabethan reign to the forefront in a most delightful way, resulting that all the characters come really vividly to life within this tale.
Especially I like to mention Queen Elizabeth's Chief Spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham who at the top of his power will do anything to preserve his Queen and Country from all kinds of danger coming from within or without.
The book itself is mainly set in the year AD 1586 and it is the telling of the tale of the Babington plot in which a group of wealthy young Catholics dissidents plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.
Infiltrating between these conspirators is John Shakespeare, Sir Francis Walsingham's top intelligencer, who's job it is to ensnare the traitors in his web of deception while at the same time trying to save the life of a woman he loves, who's accused of murder.
What follows is a fantastic spy thriller where this case of the woman is very much linked with the treachery and conspiracies that are taking place very close to the seat of power of the realm.
Very much recommended, for this book is really "Holy Wonderful"!

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must confess that this is the first that I've read of this series so don't have the benefit of backstory from the previous 6 novels, having said that though I don't think I really needed it as there wasn't anything that relied on this knowledge. Clements has weaved an intriguing and complex tale set in the court of Elizabeth I that has everything you could want from such a story. There is political conspiracy, treason, revenge and the appearance of lost loves just to stir things up a little. I did find the great array of characters a little confusing at times and think that the story as a whole would've benefited from one or two less (although I was reading this on holiday so my mind was a bit less on the ball than normal too). Having said that though, the general flow of the story was good and the descriptions of the times, places and people were vivid and really brought the era and story to life (I could practically smell the streets of London despite being in the Alps!). This is a series I am definitely going to catch up on and follow more.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 7th book in the Shakespeare series, and now I’ve read it I’m gutted, another brilliant series done, I once again feel like I’ve lost a close friend. Roll on the release of the next volume.
Clements takes us on a trip through an extremely dangerous England, to the time of The Babbington Plot, whereby a group of Catholic men, under the command of Anthony Babbington, hatch a plot, with the consent of Mary Queen of Scots, to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, free Mary, and place her upon the throne of England. Running alongside that, is a smaller, fictional subplot, that sees Shakespeare investigating the murder of a wealthy London merchant. The widow stands accused of the murder, and is in fact an old love interest of Shakespeare’s. He believes her innocent, but doesn’t have long to find the evidence to prove it.
The pace of the story is fast, and I was hooked from the first few pages.

[Tim Hodkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing tale based around two plots - one by English Catholics to kill Queen Elizabeth and put her cousin Mary on the throne and the counter plot by the early English intelligence agencies to stop (or is provoke?) it. Woven into it all are historical personages, Elizabethan gangsters and a murder mystery where the main suspect is a former love of the hero. There is much to enjoy - Fans of spy novels will enjoy the complexity of the plots/counter plots and double dealing. There is corruption in high places, murder, torture and the fast paced action takes place against the backdrop of late 16th Century London in all its filth and glory.
This is the first John Shakespeare book I've read and I'm delighted to find that its part of a series so I'll look for more.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect from this - Holy Spy is the first novel I've read in a well-established series. What I got was a thoroughly entertaining, disturbing and involving mystery (part of which revolves around the infamous Babington Plot) that I found next to impossible to put down. A substantial book that I read over 24 hours. Loved it. I must catch up with this series.

[Roy Elmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with writers of historical fiction is that I compare them with two masters of the craft. On the one hand, there's Bernard Cornwell, who creates vibrant, real worlds, with a penchant for the likeable bastard (Sharpe, I'm looking at you), on the other there's Robert Harris, who is the maestro when it comes to political histories. Rory Clements is neither of these. Instead his is a sort of middle ground; politics without the intrigue, and a historical world without the spark of life.

All of this sounds like major criticism, but it's not really. Rory Clements tells a decent yarn. Holy Spy is a good book, it kept me interested, I loved the period, John Shakespeare was a decent protagonist, and some of the supporting cast were interesting in their own right. I would like to explore the rest of this series, and I do have it on order. I do feel like some of the more villainous elements were under utilised; Cutting Ball, for example was a bit of a sideshow, where I would have loved to have seen a bit more of an exploration of his activities, his links to the broader Elizabethan underworld, and the realities of politics and power.

Boltfoot, as a supporting actor was a little on the two dimensional side. Some of this may be due to the fact that I've started this series at book seven. I misunderstood the order and picked this one up first. It stands up well as a standalone, but I wonder if I'm missing some of they key back story elements that would have rounded out this world, and Boltfoot in particular. I just don't know, but I'm going to find out.

The way the suspense was built was excellent. The last few pages were real race against time, pulse quickening page turners, and Clements needs to be lauded for that. I seldom feel that way about books, as for me they're usually more about the detail; I like to be immersed, and I guess that's not what Clements was aiming for if I take all of the above statements as a whole.

I've given it a three. It's good, I would definitely be interested in exploring more of the series, but it's not one of my absolute favourites. Give it a go, though, it's worth it.

[Janeane Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Perhaps I no longer like the genre as much as I used to. Came close to being a DNF on more than one occasion but I managed to soldier on. Generic plot, boring characters, set against the backdrop of an interesting time in history but hey, it could have been set in ANY interesting time in history and the disjointed story lines would still exist. Thankfully I borrowed this from the library and didn't waste any money on buying it. Wasn't the worst book I've ever read...but it is very far from the best.

[Kerry Bridges · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot to kill the Queen is afoot. In Elizabethan England, Frances Walsingham is gathering information from his spies. John Shakespeare has been tasked with infiltrating the "Pope's White Sons" in order to collect information and save his Queen; he must not become side-tracked with the private matter of his ex-girlfriend being charged with murdering her new husband. Suddenly, Shakespeare's private life is not so private and uncovering the true murderer may put him directly into the line of fire. He must find the truth and protect his Queen at all costs.

I really enjoy a Historical Thriller and I do like them even more if they stick as closely as possible to the real Historical facts. In this case, I was not disappointed as the plotters are all there as part of the story and the plot to replace Elizabeth with Mary, Queen of Scots, clearly examined. I enjoyed this part of the story as a stand-alone as it brought to life the part played by the Queen's spymasters in catching Mary and her supporters very effectively; I did not feel sympathetic towards them but I did feel, as often in these things, that they were being inexorably drawn to a conclusion over which they had no control.

I did also enjoy the private story of Kat and the murder of Nicholas Giltspur. I liked the way that John Shakespeare looked into that story with the help of his various friends and acquaintances and, again, I was interested to see how these things would be done at that time.

What I did feel was that this could well have been two novels and would have worked just as well. There were so many characters and so much going on that it did get confusing, particularly as some of the characters were masquerading under different names and these were often used interchangeably. There was a very small, but unimportant overlap between the two stories and really the only reason for both to be there seemed to be that they both involved Shakespeare. This made the novel rather longer and perhaps more confusing than it needed to be. As I say, I did enjoy both stories but I am not sure they needed to be there at the same time!

All in all, I think I would read an earlier book in the series, but I would hope that it was a little less involved than this one.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read historical detective fiction before and I've certainly not previously encountered the John Shakespeare series, so I had no idea what to expect from this.

So I'm pleased to say that I rather enjoyed it. Rory Clements does a sterling job of bringing to life Tudor London with a cast of characters that seem gritty and authentic. I also liked the parallel running of two plotlines - the political thriller of Protestant and Catholic double agents trying to outwit each other, and the detective story about a murder that is not what it first seems.

I did find that the pace of the story slowed at times and Clements lost some of the tension. I think a balance of slightly more action and drama and slightly less polite conversation would have been good. But overall it did keep me turning the pages.

The story builds to a fantastic climax which (not to give the plot away) draws the threads of the plot together nicely and had me absolutely on the edge of my seat as Shakespeare gets pulled into a thrilling race against time. It was a spectacular ending to a decent book.

I won't be rushing to read the rest of the Shakespeare series but I will probably try another one at some point. 7/10.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is the second part of the prequel to the series and, to date, is the one I've liked the least.

I wasn't too enamoured with the first part - 'The Queen's Man' - either to begin with because of the whole reversal of time thing but even that gathered speed and I found myself enjoying it. This, however, just sort of plodded along without much depth to any of the plot lines or characters.

I didn't like how our beloved Boltfoot was absent for much of it, nor the vaguely menacing figure of Cutting Ball who failed to make an impression on me, and the Babington plotters themselves all seemed to lack a little conviction. I know, in truth, that is probably the point but I'm afraid it didn't make thrilling reading like the rest of the series.

Hoping it picks up again in his much anticipated next instalment!

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read at a time when I needed something light, entertaining and gripping. It is, of course, about the Babbington Plot and John Shakespeare plays his part in bringing the evil Catholic fanatics to justice - we have to get into the mindset and not allow ourselves to be distracted by all sorts of complications. The truth is that Rory Clements does a good job of trying to be fair but also, because he has to write a believable story, some of the characters have to be unlikeable (and there are some really evil ones on both sides; arrogant fops and murderous, ambiguous, agents of the Crown. Whether we like it or not, we are rooting for the dismemberment of the evil Babbington but also have sympathy with some of the characters.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always entertaining and aptly historic this book is set at the time of thBabington plot against Elizbeth I and once again the plot moves along in an entertaining way. Worth the read

[Mark Stangroome · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am unashamedly a fan of C.J.Sansom and his Shardlake series and the blurb on the cover about it being for fans of the aforementioned author did draw me in. What I was not prepared for was how alike the setting for each series would be and felt that Mr.Clements would have benefited from having his principal character and location/time more distinct from that of Shardlake to alleviate direct comparisons.

Take place in the mid-to-late Tudor period. Check.
Location London. Check.
Main character male. Check.
Main character unmarried. Check.
Main character has a job giving him some access to the upper echelons of political life. Check.
Main character incarcerated in the Tower of London. Check.

This is not necessarily a criticism but had the main character been a married man with a family in Plantagenet Warwick (a place and time of much intrigue) then I think I could have enjoyed it more.

The story itself revolving around the Babington Plot to free Mary Queen of Scots and another linked plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth was well written although some of the minor characters could have done with a bit more detail such as Cutting Ball and his sister Em. These two were central to the story but were peripheral figures who should have been given more depth. This is also true of those Justices who arrested and imprisoned Shakespeare, the reasoning was never fully clear other than they wanted to.

However, I read this book stand-alone and it is possible that the previous stories may have given insight into these characters. Overall a good story with some interesting plot-lines but somewhat lacking in character depth other than Shakespeare and Walsingham.

[Sarah Hearn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a bit suspicious of this book. I’m not a one for mysteries with kitschy characters as detectives; I once tried a book with Ben Franklin as the detective, and I got so cross with the concept, I couldn’t finish the book (in fact, as I recall, I didn’t get very far at all). So, all that to say I was a bit leery of a main character called John Shakespeare; however, the book was excellent! No mention of the “other” Shakespeare (who I kept expecting to put in an appearance), so snaps to the author for avoiding that trap. Anyhoo. This plot revolves around the Babington plot to release, Mary, Queen of Scots, to assassinate Elizabeth I, and to replace her with the Catholic - let’s be honest here - EX-Queen of Scots (she had after all abdicated in favour of her son). Thrown into this mix, Clements added another mystery: the murder-for-hire of one of London’s wealthiest merchants in which Shakespeare’s ex-lover, Kat, has been fingered. It’s a race against time and the hangman’s noose for him to discover who actually paid Will Cane to whack the merchant and finger Kat. While it’s pretty much accepted now that Walsingham set up Babington and his fellow plotter, who died truly horrific, barbaric deaths, and framed MQofS so he could legally off her, Clements didn’t try to whitewash all that; he told it like it was (and kindly offered bios of the plotters in his end notes). For that, he gets full marks. Anyway, I think I’ll look up some more of these and see how they hold up.

[Carol Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm beginning to enjoy these books. My first I was rather sniffy about, I'll admit, but this one I enjoyed much more. It was written earlier, I believe, than 'The Queen's Man', but the characters seem more solid and settled somehow. Or maybe that's me. It's about the Babington plot to free Mary Queen of Scots, and the fanaticism that surrounded the recusants, as the Catholics were called. I have to say my image of Anthony Babington is coloured by my reading of 'A Traveller in Time' by Alison Uttley, which has to be one of my favourite books of all time. I read it many times, always wanting the outcome to be different. Never was. So this Anthony, probably closer to real life, was a bit of a shock. But definitely a good read.

[Joss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another of the preview volumes, in which John Shakespeare is instrumental in foiling the Babbington Plot (you have to feel sorry for Babbington, the fall guy) and attempts to extricate his former lover from an accusation of murder. Meanwhile trusty sidekick Boltfoot is removed from the scene and finds himself on a fishing vessel bound for the Atlantic. The ever decent Shakespeare is given a lecture on realpolitik by his employer, Francis Walsingham: "There will be times when you will have to put a peg on your nose and sup with the devil". Another atmospheric and well researched peek into Elizabethan history and politics.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1585 the year of the Babington Plot and the Catholic plotting of the death of Elizabeth is being discussed in London. John Shakespeare has been instructed by Sir Francis Walsingham to infiltrate their organisation. Meanwhile an old lover of his has been accused of murder.
Thankfully I have come to this series with these prequels already written so that I can read them in the chronological order of Shakespeare's life.
Very enjoyable mystery, good characters, well-written keeping my interest to the end. I look forward to reading the next.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I read too many of these in a row. I'm ready for a break from religious intrigue which isn't quite fair to the time period because most of the intrigue was probably related to religion. Any way, I was tired of the Catholics and the Protestants being so awful to each other. I felt bad for all the people just trying to live but being caught up in their lords' policies, the religious hysteria and the shifting winds of politics. And I was annoyed by the woman in danger who seems like someone who rolls through life leaving chaos at best in her wake.

[Paul Gormley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping yarn. Shakespeare is involved in thwarting the Babington plot whilst trying to investigate a murder which has left his ex-lover Kat in danger of the gallows.

Initially disturbed by the plot similarities with the latest Giordano Bruno outing Execution (although Holy Spy was published 5 years earlier), this story soon spun off in its own direction.

Well plotted and written and a delight to read.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last of the John Shakespeare franchise. Well-paced and exciting to the last, it is set against the Babington Plot, and features many of those involved, plus a few colourful fictional characters, including JS's sidekick Boltfoot, who has perilous adventures in parallel to his master's. A surefire blend of the personal and the political, too. An excellent evocation of those turbulent times.

[Kieran Malcolmson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great novel in the series.

I really enjoyed the Holy Spy novel. A well worked plot with good twists and turns as I would expect. The author has great skill in bringing the 16th century to life and the Shakespeare character has been developed really well across the series. Really appreciate the historic notes at the end. I hope there are more to come in the series!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story I was unfamiliar with, about a group of Catholic dissidents plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and free Mary Queen of Scots.

Whilst I enjoyed the time setting, I found the number of characters impossible to follow, despite writing them all across several post-its during chapter 1.

[Elizabeth Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Rory Clements I've read and loved it. Gripping and largely accurate (though I question a little bit the portrayal of Babington), perhaps too gruesome in places but overall a great story and representation of the period.

[Alasdair Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up to the usual high standard

Very good, Sherlock Holmes meets John Lewis Carrie, set in Elizabethan tines. A good man in an imperfect world. The series is well written, the main characters believable, all good fun, well worth a read.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unputdownable but that's just as well so you don't worry too much about the plot being stretched in places.

[Claire Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be read as the second book in the series

[Emily Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really good. A different type of detective story.