To Murder A King

Struggle for a Crown #2

by Griff Hosker

Will Strongstaff has achieved far more than he ever thought. He is a gentleman. He has land, a wife and children. Yet he is still a warrior. He still has an oath to honour. King Richard is now under the sway of the evil Earl of Oxford Robert de Vere. When the King’s cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, sends for Will to fight in Galicia for his father, John of Gaunt, then Will has to return to the world in which he grew up, the world of the hired sword. This time he not only has enemies on the battlefield but enemies closer to hand as murderers try to end the life of his new lord, Henry Bolingbroke.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, War, Medieval

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2018

About the author

I was born in 1950 in Lancashire and attended a boy’s grammar school. After qualifying as an English and Drama teacher in 1972, I worked in the North East of England for the next 35 years. During that time I did write, mainly plays, pantos and musicals for the students at the three schools in which I worked.

When I stopped teaching I set up my own consultancy firm and worked as an adviser in schools and colleges in the North East of England. The new Conservative Government ended that avenue of work and in 2010 I found that I had time on my hands; having started work at the age of 15 I found the lack of work not to my liking and used the time to research the Roman invasion of Britain and begin to create a novel. The result was The Sword of Cartimandua.

My decision to begin writing was one of the best I have ever taken.

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Reviews

[Mercedes Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

As my first Griff Hosker novel, I decided to choose a period I was very familiar with so I could judge what kind of historical fiction this was. I will say, as for the fiction, it is quite good. The action rarely stopped, and the narrator went to great lengths to explain the details about the period, the fighting, the armor, etc. I really liked that. I had no trouble identifying with William, the first person narrator, even if he was a little too skilled as a swordsman, too squeaky clean, honest, and reliable, and his men were a little too perfect. But that’s all right. Everyone else had their foibles. Unfortunately, for the history, the story was wide of the mark. Henry of Lancaster, called the Earl of Northampton, was not the heir apparent; he would NEVER have run around boasting that he was going to be the next king. Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford and the villain of this book, was not of royal blood; he would never have had aspirations to the throne. There was never an assassination attempt against King Richard. If a reader tries to take this historical fiction as accurate, s/he is going to be very confused.

OK, now that I got that off my chest, as long as I put aside my historical sensibilities, the story was very enjoyable. William was kept quite busy jumping from Earl Henry to King Richard and back again, putting out fires, so to speak, fighting lots of battles, and saving lives. Oh, and killing the bad guys—there were a lot of them. All the while he was building up a loyal following of skilled fighters and archers who were well taken care of. King Richard, in thrall to Robert de Vere, had dismissed William in the first book and now lived to regret it, since William kept saving him even though he was now serving Henry. Robert de Vere was our hero’s sworn enemy and was cast as an evil influence on King Richard. So in fighting de Vere, William thought he was serving the king. The book takes us through the Battle of Radcot Bridge, which destroys de Vere’s army (and Richard’s only defense against his overbearing barons, though this is not clear). Loyalties are pretty mixed up, though William does his best to stay honest. It seems he is serving two masters, and I can only assume he’ll have to make a choice in future books.

This review is for the audio version; I really liked William’s voice, which is what we hear mostly since the story is in first person. However, Henry’s voice put my teeth on edge; he sounded like a spoiled rich kid, not the warrior he really was. By the end, though, I wanted more. That’s a good thing!

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this book, the second in The Struggle for the Crown series. The story is accurate historically; the character of William Longstaff is so compelling - especially the descriptions of how he outwits his foes and opponents - and the narrator is simply outstanding. This book takes over from Book I when Will has returned home to marry and farm his estate. He takes over training a the grandson of a local noble but is soon called back to duty by Henry Bolingbrook, his new liege lord. We follow him to Spain as Henry’s father, John of Gaunt, seeks to establish himself on the throne of Castile, his second wife’s inheritance. Meanwhile Richard Ii has fallen under the spell of the vile Duke of Oxford and the kingdom is coming apart. Lots of action gainfully described - I don’t think I’d have enjoyed it if I had read the book. At any rate, this is a first rate series.

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just Ok. Not great, not bad. Very fictionalized fluff, but entertaining for what it is.

[Steve Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never fails to please

Once again Mr Hosker has started a new thrilling series with fiction mingled with historical fact and produced a highly enjoyable read. Another book that was hard to put down yet when finished leaves the reader hungry for more. What makes his books so darn enjoyable is the simplicity of the story. It isn't heavy reading but stimulating enjoyable reading. As I grow older It is what captures my attention leaving me hungry for more!!!!

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

As expected, droll, overly-detailed, repetitive, & long-winded, completely predictable. Had hoped for more unique experience, somehow, but this author and series just can't take it there. Took me months to get through, while I flew through many other paper and audiobooks, because I somewhat dreaded retuning to the utter tedium.

[John Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and edited

This is excellent, historical fiction. It has a good story line and a rich background of historical facts and details of daily life. I suggest reading the whole series in order to better understand and appreciate the characters and history.

[Mr Roy Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the series and the intention of Will with both Richard and Henry is great. And there’s the historical part of the book that obviously has some truth. Looking forward to the next book. Great series.

[09/01 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

Well researched novel,concerning a little covered era of history.Well written a good mixture of action and storytelling. Waiting now for the next novel.

[Harminder Rhami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story

Been reading the books since the first Aelfraed books and I must say they are easy to read yet gripping, exciting and wonderful

[M F JEFFERY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating a real page Turner

A quite brillant read Griff Hosker has found a new fan I can't wait for the next in kindle unlimited!

[LJP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action, intrege and what it was like to live in that time.

A well researched story of the period. Action sections well done and believable. Can't wait to read the next book!

[a.stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Griff Hosker does it again with Will, great read again, the fight to keep the throne is a great series

[Kristian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked it

Good strong main character. The author writes well and has decent battle scenes but better fight scenes. Will keep reading.

[Freya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is an interesting take on the reign of Richard 2. However, there are so many exclamation points!!!!

[Victor Vilchiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a good one... at times it was like reading a Bernard Cromwell book.