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Master of Defense #4
The Silent Murder
London, 1595.
The Master of Defence Tom Musgrave rushes to the aid of a young messenger, the victim of a sudden, apparently unprovoked attack in the street outside his house.
In the dead boy’s possession Tom finds a bloodied letter intended for his eyes only.
And he manages to piece together a worrying message.
The missive contains a desperate cry for help from the beautiful Countess Cotehel, who is mute as a result of a terrible trauma.
Then a second body is found – belonging to another of the Countess’s servants.
When a horribly mutilated portrait of the Countess also turns up, Tom realises that she is in grave danger.
Tom and his apprentice rush to her aid, following her to the gloomy Castle of Cotehel in Cornwall, only to find that discovering who is threatening her, and why, is far more difficult than they’d supposed…
‘The Silent Murder’ is the thrilling fourth instalment of Peter Tonkin’s ‘Master of Defence’ series, featuring the Elizabethan sleuth and sword-master Tom Musgrave.
The Master of Defence Tom Musgrave rushes to the aid of a young messenger, the victim of a sudden, apparently unprovoked attack in the street outside his house.
In the dead boy’s possession Tom finds a bloodied letter intended for his eyes only.
And he manages to piece together a worrying message.
The missive contains a desperate cry for help from the beautiful Countess Cotehel, who is mute as a result of a terrible trauma.
Then a second body is found – belonging to another of the Countess’s servants.
When a horribly mutilated portrait of the Countess also turns up, Tom realises that she is in grave danger.
Tom and his apprentice rush to her aid, following her to the gloomy Castle of Cotehel in Cornwall, only to find that discovering who is threatening her, and why, is far more difficult than they’d supposed…
‘The Silent Murder’ is the thrilling fourth instalment of Peter Tonkin’s ‘Master of Defence’ series, featuring the Elizabethan sleuth and sword-master Tom Musgrave.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
42 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Peter Tonkin
91 books61 followersPeter Tonkin's first novel, KILLER, was published in 1978. His work has included the acclaimed "Mariner" series that have been critically compared with the best of Alistair MacLean, Desmond Bagley and Hammond Innes.
More recently he has been working on a series of detective thrillers with an Elizabethan background. This series, "The Master of Defense", has been characterised as 'James Bond meets Sherlock Holmes meets William Shakespeare'. Each story is a classic 'whodunit' with all the clues presented to the reader exactly as they are presented to the hero, Tom Musgrave. The Kirkus Review described them as having 'Elizabethan detail, rousing action sequences, sound detection...everything a fan of historical mysteries could hope for."
More recently he has been working on a series of detective thrillers with an Elizabethan background. This series, "The Master of Defense", has been characterised as 'James Bond meets Sherlock Holmes meets William Shakespeare'. Each story is a classic 'whodunit' with all the clues presented to the reader exactly as they are presented to the hero, Tom Musgrave. The Kirkus Review described them as having 'Elizabethan detail, rousing action sequences, sound detection...everything a fan of historical mysteries could hope for."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 8, 2017
My only problem with this book is that there are no more in the series - at least as yet...
Tom has an apprentice - and what an apprentice! And we revisit the characters and story of the first book in the series.
I cannot say for sure that the description of Cornwall is as good as that of the borders - but knowing how good the 'feel' of the borders was in the third book of the series I would think it is - it certainty feels right to me. And the story fits well into the history of the period, especially with regards to the Earl of Essex.
I would dearly like to know if the note in the last pages is ever delivered - and what the recipient thought of it.
Tom has an apprentice - and what an apprentice! And we revisit the characters and story of the first book in the series.
I cannot say for sure that the description of Cornwall is as good as that of the borders - but knowing how good the 'feel' of the borders was in the third book of the series I would think it is - it certainty feels right to me. And the story fits well into the history of the period, especially with regards to the Earl of Essex.
I would dearly like to know if the note in the last pages is ever delivered - and what the recipient thought of it.
July 23, 2021
1595 On the body of a dead messenger Tom Musgrave finds a letter addressed to him asking for help from Lady Margaret, Countess Cotehel. On the discovery of another body, Musgrave and his apprentice Ben Jonson follow her trail to the Castle of Cotehel in Cornwall. But is the situation as simple as they first thought.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its likeable main characters. Another good addition to the series.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its likeable main characters. Another good addition to the series.
June 6, 2023
Excellent.
As with previous adventures the storyline and characters never fails to keep the reader involved. The introduction of the wordplay and other articles of defence are fascinating.
As with previous adventures the storyline and characters never fails to keep the reader involved. The introduction of the wordplay and other articles of defence are fascinating.
February 10, 2023
Slow reading
Had to read paragraphs over because of the pros, old fashioned language not my cup of tea. Will not read more.
Had to read paragraphs over because of the pros, old fashioned language not my cup of tea. Will not read more.
January 4, 2024
Good read n I,ve got another
July 29, 2016
I found this so difficult to get into. I couldn't get past the first five chapters or so. The language, although I presuming trying to be evocative of the time is clunky and forced. Every other paragraph is littered with a shoehorned classical reference that just sounds odd rather than clever... I wasn't even intrigued enough by the mystery to carry. This could have been good, a Elizabethan Sherlock Holmes, but fails - dramatically.
February 5, 2016
Good story
I found this quite thrilling but did get a little caught up in all the descriptive narrative and struggled to visualise the action.
I found this quite thrilling but did get a little caught up in all the descriptive narrative and struggled to visualise the action.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews