The Piccadilly Plot

Thomas Chaloner #7

by Susanna Gregory, Gordon Griffin (Reading)

Thomas Chaloner is relieved to be summoned back to London. He will be glad to be home, to be reunited with his new wife, but the trivial reason for his recall exasperates him - the theft of material from the construction site of his master, the Earl of Clarendon's embarrassingly sumptuous new house just north of Piccadilly. Within hours of his return, Chaloner considers these thefts even more paltry as he is thrust into extra investigations involving threats of assassination, a stolen corpse and a scheme to frame the Queen for treason. Yet there are connections from them all which thread through the unfinished Clarendon House...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical Mystery, Historical, Crime, Fiction, 17th Century

Audio Cassette

First published January 11, 2012

About the author

Susanna Gregory is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cruwys, a Cambridge academic who was previously a coroner's officer. She is married to author Beau Riffenburgh who is her co-author on the Simon Beaufort books.

AKA Simon Beaufort

She writes detective fiction, and is noted for her series of mediaeval mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew, a teacher of medicine and investigator of murders in 14th-century Cambridge.
These books may have some aspects in common with the Ellis Peters Cadfael series, the mediaeval adventures of a highly intelligent Benedictine monk and herbalist who came to the Benedictine order late in an eventful life, bringing with him considerable secular experience and wisdom combined with a deal of native wit. This sets him apart from his comparatively innocent and naíve monastic brethren. His activities, both as a monk and a healer, embroil him in a series of mysterious crimes, both secular and monastic, and he enthusiastically assumes the rôle of an amateur sleuth. Sceptical of superstition, he is somewhat ahead of his time, and much accurate historical detail is woven into the adventures. But there any resemblance to the comparatively warm-hearted Cadfael series ends: the tone and subject matter of the Gregory novels is far darker and does not shrink from portraying the harsh realities of life in the Middle Ages. The first in the series, A Plague on Both Your Houses is set against the ravages of the Black Death and subsequent novels take much of their subject matter from the attempts of society to recover from this disaster.
These novels bear the marks of much detailed research into mediaeval conditions - many of the supporting characters have names taken from the documentation of the time, referenced at the end of each book - and bring vividly to life the all-pervading squalor of living conditions in England during the Middle Ages. The deep-rooted and pervasive practice of traditional leechcraft as it contrasts with the dawning science of evidence-based medicine is a common bone of contention between Matthew and the students he teaches at Michaelhouse College (now part of Trinity College, Cambridge), whilst the conflict between the students of Cambridge and the townsfolk continually threatens to escalate into violence.
Another series of books, set just after the Restoration of Charles II and featuring Thomas Chaloner, detective and former spy, began with A Conspiracy of Violence published in January 2006, and continues with The Body in the Thames, published in hardback edition January 2011.

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2012, and its the 7th volume of the wonderful "Thomas Chaloner" series.

This book is set in October in the year AD 1664, and Thomas Chaloner just returned from Tangier finds himself, with his new wife, in a London full in turmoil and concentrating in and around the newly constructed site of Clarendon's sumptuous new house north of Piccadilly.

Not only thefts from the site are having his attentions, but also the threats of assassination, a stolen corpse and a scheme to frame the Queen for treason.

All this cases apart will come together in one common case that will play its most significant part in and around the unfinished Clarendon House.

What is to follow is an intriguing mystery, in which Thomas Chaloner must use his cunning and knowledge about the rivalries at court in London, and what these rivalries will finally do to certain people, and after quite some twists and turns, followed by an exquisitely executed plot he will be able to reveal the real culprit behind this mayhem and murder.

Highly recommended, for this is another excellent addition to this marvellous series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Brilliant Piccadilly Plot"!

[Sophie Narey (Bookreview- aholic) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published: 10/10/2012
Author: Susanna Gregory
Recommended for: fans of historical fiction

This is another great addition to the Thomas Chaloner series. In this book Thomas returns back to London where within hours he is thinking about the thefts that have being going on and soon gets dragged into more investigations that involves many things such as threats and stolen corpses. It is full of twists and turns that compell the reader to keep turning the pages to find out where it is going to go next.
Susanna Gregory writes in such a way that the reader feels like they are actually there going on the investigation with Thomas Chaloner, the way she describes the characters and the setting/surroundings paints a very vivid image into the mind of the reader making it more realistic. This is a perfect book for fans of mysteries set in Restoration London

[Shirley Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a highly complex historical espionage book. As usual Ms. Gregory uses her impeccable historical knowledge to craft a story around actual real historical people. She peoples each book with her own characters and the two mix and mingle, plot and counter-plot seemlessly. This book is a real page-turner. Chaloner is on his most dangerous mission ever and he's forced to face off against some truly evil villains. The setting is London 1860's. The Restoration is in full swing and King Charles is firmly on the throne. Chaloner is working on four separate mysteries, but the more he digs into them, the more they appear to be connected. And as he gets closer to unmasking the villains, his life is put in danger, not once, but several times. Ms. Gregory's main strength is her impressive plotting skills. This story has more twists and turns than a Victorian labyrinth. I invite all to climb aboard the Thomas Chaloner train if you love historical mysteries. This is one of the best series out there. I love it just as much as her Matthew Barholomew series which I also read faithfully.

[Diane-OP · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of hers I've read - from the comments perhaps it wasn't a good place to start. It caught my eye as I was whipping past the new book shelf toward books on hold at the library..... I kept being reminded of The Scarlet Pimpernel as I was reading. I probably won't rush right out to get another one - but I did finish it.

[Sue Hyams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Susanna Gregory's Restoration London books and have them all but I don't think this was one of her best. Although the storyline is good - well plotted and the threads hold together well - I felt it could have done with a big edit. Sadly a bit 'skippy'.

[Diana Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series just gets better and better, in my opinion. Tom Chaloner is really growing on me. What happened to Leybourne? I know some explanation for his absence was given a couple books ago but it's like he's just disappeared now. Also, I quite like Chaloner and Williamson working together.

[Julie Lowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didnt finish it, couldnt get into the story or the characters.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The seventh book in the Chaloner series sees Thomas involved in four separate investigations, however, he soon realised that there are undeniable links to them. Having only been back in England for a matter of hours after his mission to the port of Tangier, Clarendon already has tasks in mind for him. Firstly, he’s told to investigate the theft of building materials from the site of the Earl of Clarendon’s current house build. He is also told to investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding the massacre of Tangier’s governor and several hundred of his men. There is a plot to murder the architect who has designed and is overseeing the build of Clarendon House, called Pratt. Clarendon believes that the plot is the work of his enemies, to delay the completion of his home. Chaloner thinks it may be a protest regarding the building of the hugely expensive structure, funded by the tax payer. Finally, someone has been planting letters in the Queen’s rooms, which incriminate her in treasonous plots. To say chaloner has his hands full is an understatement. His old employer, John Thurloe offers to help him, and we also see the pair join forces with spymaster Williamson, after they all realise how big these plots are, and how much is at stake.
Once again, I was guessing until the end, and never once did I suspect the actual perpetrator. Another good mystery, well written, full of historical detail, real people, and a great plot.

[Janet Hawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to get into this book. I started it three times. I love the setting, the historical background; I learned a fair amount of history. However, I didn’t care about the characters. I didn’t care about their fates. New characters were being added constantly. How many men can there be in one novel? Are all of them significant?
They seemed to be up to no good, including Chaloner, who seemed to be full of himself. I knew he was going to be the good guy eventually.
Gregory is a good writer (hence the two stars and not one).. I was excited to get into another historical mystery series, even if I started on book 7. Are the Bartholomew books similar? I think I’ll check those out. I hope I find the characters to be more interesting.

[Cognatious Thunk · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I've enjoyed reading books from this series, I don't like the novels enough to keep them around or hunt down the ones in the series that I've missed. I think it's mostly due to Chaloner's insistence on never getting close to anyone. As a result of his reticence, all the characters feel like acquaintances. Oftentimes, even Chaloner feels as familiar and distant as a neighbor. Yet, irritatingly, it isn't due to a lack of character development or depth. Both the current and ex-Spy Masters are lovely bundles of contradictions, with virtues and foibles galore. Chaloner simply refuses to get to know anyone deeply enough for me to really care what happens to them and as a result I don't really care to find out how his adventures end.

[Pheneghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series of books and the character of Thomas Chaloner Most of the books have a similar plot where Chaloner is tasked with two or three investigations that come together to have him running around London to stop whatever dastardly evil plan somebody has hatched. This book had a to many strand for me to keep straight.

I also love the same bias and grudges the regular characters very slowly evolve across the series. Some may find it irritating that the grudges and issues faced by Chaloner are repeated across books.

[Kelly Callaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Restoration London, 1664. Thomas Chaloner is a spy for Earl Clarendon sent to Tangier to investigate corruption. However at the start o the book her is returning to England to investigate the theft of building materials, a threat to the Queen and several other plots that appear to be unrelated.

This is the first in this series I have read and have enjoyed it.

[Tiina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up, ready to be swept into the past, but was disappointed. There were a lot of names to keep straight, and many of them ended up dead as the story progressed. And the story could just as well have been told with half the number of pages. It seemed to take me ages to finally crawl this through.

[Linda Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Chaloner is in the thick of it again, trying to save his own life and defeat a plot which could lead to a royal crisis. Who does he trust? Thurloe is by his side to defeat an old enemy, but can they succeed this time? Chaloner finds friends he didn't know he had, which is a nice change.

[PRK Oregon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Chaloner series is even better than the Matthew Bartholomew series.

[Bishwaksen Bandyopadhyay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow buildup but good twists at the end

[Sandra Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read as always.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Kept me guessing the entire story.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of dead bodies, lots of different plots to explore, and very enjoyable.
Plus it made me look up more London history.

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Piccadilly Plot’ by Susanna Gregory
Published by Sphere, 19 January 2012. ISBN: 978-1-84744-432-3

Thomas Chaloner is pleased when he is summoned back to London, having been away investigating corruption on behalf of his master the Earl of Clarendon. However, he is less pleased when he discovers that his new assignment is to find the culprits who are stealing bricks from the site of his master’s unfinished sumptuous new residence, Clarence House, north of Piccadilly.

Whilst Chaloner is no stranger to intrigue at court, he is perturbed by evidence produced by Hyde, the Earl’s son of an assassination threat which puts Queen Katherine firmly in the frame. Chaloner protests that the Queen has barely mastered the language let alone find or converse with those capable of carrying out such a plan. But his protestations fall on deaf ears with the exception of Frances, the Earls wife who Chaloner finds to be a woman of excellent sense.

Not only is Chaloner sorely beset with work issues, but all is not well at home with his new wife Hannah who has engaged a number of servants, Chaloner neither wants, or having met them, trusts. Luckily he’s got a bolt hole – sensible chap.

As Chaloner sets to uncover the perpetrator of the threatened assassination, he finds links to other misdeeds, and coupled with the terrific sense of period that Susanna Gregory portrays, this is an intriguing and fascinating book.
------
Lizzie Hayes

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still really enjoying the series, but the formula is getting a little too old now.

Also: know how in Chamber of Secrets, JK Rowling goes through explaining the first book again, as in: "Harry Potter was no ordinary boy; he was a wizard" as if we didn't just read the entire previous book? That's a kids' book, but this series? There's no need to do it, and to do it so bloody tediously and repetitively. That's one of my biggest grievances with this series. Refer back, but please stop chucking in paragraphs every couple of pages to explain in detail a character that we already know very well. Pleease.

I'd also like it if we didn't have pretty much every character, bar a few, in every book having such dripping antipathy for Chaloner. I get it, his occupation probably does make him far from likeable to a lot of folk, but come on, for a reader it just gets very tired. Especially as the villain 9/10 of the time turns out to be one of the few (and it is very few) nice people in the book. To the point where you can start predicting pretty accurately (though to be fair I was slightly off the mark this time). Hoping the next four books, and the continuation of the series, injects a little more variety into the plot.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the historical mystery, Anne Perry got me started, I happened upon Susanna Gregory at the library and have read them all to date. Thomas Chaloner is a spy in the 1600's who, being out of work with no current war, is working for an Earl he is not all that fond of. He recently married his long time girl friend, Hannah, a lady in waiting to the Queen, and that marriage is not working so well as he expected. He finds himself in dire straits often and calls on his old spy master friend, Thurloe to help him out. All the character come alive in her writing, the bad and the good and the read literally takes you back in time. She also gives a blurb on the actual "facts" of the time at the end of each novel. Thomas not only manages to complete three assignments for the Earl, each at much peril, but has some unknown help by a servant he helps out at the end. Great read.

[Stevie Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chaloner really isn't good at domesticity; having married in haste and then been sent abroad, he returns to find his new wife is determinedly upwardly mobile: moving them into a bigger house, hiring more (and more fashionable) servants than he thinks they should need, and dragging him to parties full of her friends rather than his. At least he has another mystery to take his mind off things. Another great romp through Restoration England, this time with the added advantage of inspiring me to visit a couple of local attractions with connections to the story settings.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas Chaloner is a detective and private investigator in 1664. He has just returned to England from Tangier. His employer directs him to investigate a petty theft of materials at the building site for his new mansion. However,there are more serious crimes which seem to be linked and Thomas finds himself deeply involved. Several of the events and characters are taken from history. Although I enjoyed the historical portion of the story, I sometimes found it challenging to keep track of the many characters. However, I did enjoy the mystery plot.

[Stacielynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a stack of these that I bought at a used book store because the premise and reviews were appealing. This is my second Thomas Chaloner title and I am still trying to get excited about him. It should be a page turner, but it's not. He isn't likable and sometimes he is just downright stupid. I prefer my sleuths to have a human side rather than an omniscient know-all, but his mistakes just make him look foolish instead of endearingly human.
I own the books and will undoubtably read more, but they won't be my first choice. Which I find sad.

[Jayw]

The murder of 800 soldiers, a couple of smaller scale assassination and an attempt to take down the queen by framing he for treason distract Thomas Chaloner from his main job, catching the thief stealing materials from the building site of the Earl's new mansion. Chaloner risks his job to save the realm in 1664 London.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chaloner investigates 4 interwoven mysteries during the English Restoration period. Many of the characters and plot elements actually existed/happened. The plot advances steadily rather than breathlessly.

[Roshni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read a Chaloner, but now I remember why I liked them. The plot is delightfully complex and Chaloner is an admirable main character. The book is filled with twists and turns and it was a very entertaining read.

[Laura-nassidesa Eschbaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again Susanna Gregory has given me an excellent mystery, steeped in history, that kept me reading to the last page. Well done

[Clare]

AM to review @ www.GoodReadingGuide.com