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Memoirs of a Bow Street Runner #2
The Emperor's Assassin
For twenty years, England and France have been at war. Now the war has come home…
On a sunny July day in 1815, Plymouth Sound is crowded with boats vying for a view of England’s great battleship HMS Bellerophon. For aboard the vessel is the stout little Frenchman who threw the world into chaos. In London, some people clamor for Napoleon’s execution, others for his exile, and still others for a civil trial on English soil. For one humble London detective, the debate has turned deadly. Bow Street Runner Henry Morton has a murder to solve--and Napoleon himself is at the heart of the matter.
The victim is a Frenchwoman, the mistress of a count. Soon Morton is racing through a demimonde of French expatriates, Bonapartists, fanatical Royalists, and one very dangerous, drunken petty crook. From an exotic London brothel to a scene of carnage on a Dartmoor farm, the detective enters a covert war over Napoleon’s fate. And amid the betrayal, deception, and murder, Morton will face a waterloo of his own.
On a sunny July day in 1815, Plymouth Sound is crowded with boats vying for a view of England’s great battleship HMS Bellerophon. For aboard the vessel is the stout little Frenchman who threw the world into chaos. In London, some people clamor for Napoleon’s execution, others for his exile, and still others for a civil trial on English soil. For one humble London detective, the debate has turned deadly. Bow Street Runner Henry Morton has a murder to solve--and Napoleon himself is at the heart of the matter.
The victim is a Frenchwoman, the mistress of a count. Soon Morton is racing through a demimonde of French expatriates, Bonapartists, fanatical Royalists, and one very dangerous, drunken petty crook. From an exotic London brothel to a scene of carnage on a Dartmoor farm, the detective enters a covert war over Napoleon’s fate. And amid the betrayal, deception, and murder, Morton will face a waterloo of his own.
321 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 3, 2003
4 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
T.F. Banks
2 books17 followersT. F. Banks is the pseudonym of the writing team of Sean Russell and Ian Dennis.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 25, 2024
A muddy, confused plot!
In July 1815, having returned home from war with France, HMS Bellerophon, one of England's finest battleships, rests at anchor in Plymouth Sound transporting a very special prisoner. The water is crowded with everything from dories to schooners with passengers clamoring for a look at Napoleon who is being held on board pending the English government's decision as to whether he should be executed, exiled or held over for civil trial.
In the resulting chaos, a woman apparently drowns and washes up on shore. But when her body is examined more closely, she is revealed to be Angelique Desmarches, the mistress of a high level French aristocrat, and it is clear that she has been tortured. Henry Morton, one of Bow Street's best known Runners, smells a murder and his initial thought is that she has been interrogated for her possible knowledge of the Royalist's plans for the captured Little Emperor!
Skulduggery, corruption, intrigue and secret diplomacy all hide under the rocks that Morton turns over as he conducts his investigation from London to the shores of the English Channel. Unfortunately, despite the high hopes I had for this novel after my immense enjoyment of Banks' debut novel in the series, THE THIEF TAKER, this second entry in THE BOW STREET RUNNER series just didn't seem to click.
Whereas THE THIEF TAKER was deeply atmospheric filled with a rich cornucopia of period detail and a puzzling, well-plotted mystery peopled by well-developed characters whose lives would mean something to a reader, THE EMPEROR'S ASSASSIN was a rather muddy, meandering mystery that seemed to plod along rather interminably and lurch from one crisis to the next without really developing into anything exciting. The lack-luster plot that left me, frankly, confused as to who was royalist, who was loyalist and who was on whose side. Nor was this weakness mitigated by colourful character development or a strong descriptive portrayal of the rich, teeming ambience of the Regency period.
Only moderately enjoyable and not really recommended as a particularly good example of a Regency mystery.
Paul Weiss
In July 1815, having returned home from war with France, HMS Bellerophon, one of England's finest battleships, rests at anchor in Plymouth Sound transporting a very special prisoner. The water is crowded with everything from dories to schooners with passengers clamoring for a look at Napoleon who is being held on board pending the English government's decision as to whether he should be executed, exiled or held over for civil trial.
In the resulting chaos, a woman apparently drowns and washes up on shore. But when her body is examined more closely, she is revealed to be Angelique Desmarches, the mistress of a high level French aristocrat, and it is clear that she has been tortured. Henry Morton, one of Bow Street's best known Runners, smells a murder and his initial thought is that she has been interrogated for her possible knowledge of the Royalist's plans for the captured Little Emperor!
Skulduggery, corruption, intrigue and secret diplomacy all hide under the rocks that Morton turns over as he conducts his investigation from London to the shores of the English Channel. Unfortunately, despite the high hopes I had for this novel after my immense enjoyment of Banks' debut novel in the series, THE THIEF TAKER, this second entry in THE BOW STREET RUNNER series just didn't seem to click.
Whereas THE THIEF TAKER was deeply atmospheric filled with a rich cornucopia of period detail and a puzzling, well-plotted mystery peopled by well-developed characters whose lives would mean something to a reader, THE EMPEROR'S ASSASSIN was a rather muddy, meandering mystery that seemed to plod along rather interminably and lurch from one crisis to the next without really developing into anything exciting. The lack-luster plot that left me, frankly, confused as to who was royalist, who was loyalist and who was on whose side. Nor was this weakness mitigated by colourful character development or a strong descriptive portrayal of the rich, teeming ambience of the Regency period.
Only moderately enjoyable and not really recommended as a particularly good example of a Regency mystery.
Paul Weiss
March 19, 2017
Another fine historical mystery from the author tandem writing as T.F. Banks. See my review of The Thief Taker, which is the first book in this series. It's too bad there aren't more in this series.
April 21, 2019
When you read a book and you're sad to see the series end. It's unfortunate that these two authors only made two of these fantastic regency adventures.
June 13, 2022
The Emperor's Assassin
In the wake of Napoleon's defeat there should have been peace and tranquility throughout England.
Instead Henry Morton finds himself thrust into a murder, a plot, another murder, intrigue and betrayal all while waiting to see if the Corsican can manage to set foot in English soil and thus gain the benefits of English justice.
A delight from start to finish this second tale of the Bow Street Runners has enough twists, turns and nasty surprises to fill several books but it all work its way to a final conclusion with nary a plot path unfinished.
The only complaint is that this is the final tale of Henry Morton. How sad that such a joy to read had such a short career.
For the serious history buff there is enough meat to make this a full course meal and for the mystery fan there is plenty to be mystified by.
As with all conspiracies, those not in the thick of the plotting and planning may feel, left out, but stick it out and the story finds a way to make all of this confusion reasonable.
Having grown up in a southern state where education was considered wasted on anyone with a strong back, I had to learn about the Napoleonic wars later. The conflict between republican forces and the royalists must have been vicious. After the bloodbath of The Terror and then the wars of conquest the restoration would have been heaven for some and hell for others. In many countries this would have generated a civil war but poor France exhausted from the years of constant warfare moved on without a terrible upheaval.
In this atmosphere conspiracies would have been thick, both Bonapartists wanting to restore the fallen leader and royalists wanting him dead. Great fodder for a mystery and it is handled with neat and clever telling.
Draw a jar of stout or a dram of the demon and sit back with a good pipe and follow Henry as he unwinds the complex take of death and deception.
In the wake of Napoleon's defeat there should have been peace and tranquility throughout England.
Instead Henry Morton finds himself thrust into a murder, a plot, another murder, intrigue and betrayal all while waiting to see if the Corsican can manage to set foot in English soil and thus gain the benefits of English justice.
A delight from start to finish this second tale of the Bow Street Runners has enough twists, turns and nasty surprises to fill several books but it all work its way to a final conclusion with nary a plot path unfinished.
The only complaint is that this is the final tale of Henry Morton. How sad that such a joy to read had such a short career.
For the serious history buff there is enough meat to make this a full course meal and for the mystery fan there is plenty to be mystified by.
As with all conspiracies, those not in the thick of the plotting and planning may feel, left out, but stick it out and the story finds a way to make all of this confusion reasonable.
Having grown up in a southern state where education was considered wasted on anyone with a strong back, I had to learn about the Napoleonic wars later. The conflict between republican forces and the royalists must have been vicious. After the bloodbath of The Terror and then the wars of conquest the restoration would have been heaven for some and hell for others. In many countries this would have generated a civil war but poor France exhausted from the years of constant warfare moved on without a terrible upheaval.
In this atmosphere conspiracies would have been thick, both Bonapartists wanting to restore the fallen leader and royalists wanting him dead. Great fodder for a mystery and it is handled with neat and clever telling.
Draw a jar of stout or a dram of the demon and sit back with a good pipe and follow Henry as he unwinds the complex take of death and deception.
October 18, 2018
I loved the first book - Thief Taker. That and this book feature Henry Morton - A Bow Street Runner. This book is set in the summer of 1815 in London. I was disappointed that this writing duo haven't written another book since this one was released in 2003. I think they have portrayed this little-known era in British crime fighting history very well. This book is full of intrigue and mystery. Napoleon has been replaced by the monarchy in France, and many French ex-pats in England still want to be involved in the political turmoil that is in France. Morton and his runners are pulled into more political intrigue than they want to be involved in and there's a slew of bodies found along the way. This is an exciting time in British history, and I would like to see more of it. It would be great to see a tv series set around the Bow Street Runners. But more importantly, I would like to see more of Henry Morton. Don't let this be the end.
January 20, 2018
I've been reading a lot on Napoleon recently, and thought this murder mystery would be interesting because it's set *after* Waterloo. While I liked the lead character (an early Bow Street Runner), the motivations of the bad guys were just too confusing, perhaps because their characters weren't developed well enough. Even with the final wrap-up, I wasn't satisfied about who did what when where why. I can't recommend this particular book, although I might try others by this author.
February 17, 2021
An excellent derivative of the precursor ‘Memoirs Of A Bow Street Runner: The Thief Taker’, by Author T.F.Banks [pseudonym for Sean Russell and Ian Dennis]. I only wish that there will be further ‘episodes’ in this (so far) 2 book ‘series’, however, since this 2nd book was published 18 years ago (in 2003, 2 years after ‘The Thief Taker’) the prospect of this is, I think, sadly, extremely unlikely. A marvellous read!
February 19, 2022
This novel lacks the many interesting side characters (such as the precocious Lucy), of the first in the series. It also has less of the very likable major side characters, Arabella, Darley and Presley, as well. The plot is very circular and the author keeps re-stating it over and over. I did enjoy this but, I thought it was less successful overall than the first book.
September 2, 2018
A really good read. Just remember that in mystery stories villain are some time hero’s and hero’s are sometimes villains. Then again sometimes they’re both. If you like this you’ll like “The Thief Taker”.
December 4, 2018
This is not my favorite Bow Runner series. I enjoyed the Sir John Fielding series and the Matthew Hawkwood series much more. I also enjoyed the first book in this series more than this one. I wish that Goodreads allowed "half stars" - if it did, I would give this book two and a half stars.
May 26, 2019
Well researched and well written.
A solid sequel that takes us to England after the war with the French has been resolved but the matter of all the playwrs 8n that war, not so much.
A solid sequel that takes us to England after the war with the French has been resolved but the matter of all the playwrs 8n that war, not so much.
September 26, 2019
This is a very good historical mystery. Ignore the other reviews that state it is boring or not as good as the first. I almost put off reading this because of those reviews but the negative comments I found to be unwarranted. I enjoyed this.
October 16, 2025
Fabulous series. I was sad to see that only two books were written. It would have been fantastic to have had many more. The characters introduced were excellent and the possibilities were many for expanding some of the outlying story lines. This series could have gone on for quite awhile.
January 11, 2018
Nicely paced. Authentic feel to the time and period.
January 9, 2019
An excellent continuation of the series of novels. Well-written, with a grasping plot and finely sketched period details.
October 26, 2022
Was even better than the first novel. Wish they had continued.
September 10, 2007
For twenty years, England and France have been at war. Now the war has come home…
On a sunny July day in 1815, Plymouth Sound is crowded with boats vying for a view of England’s great battleship HMS Bellerophon. For aboard the vessel is the stout little Frenchman who threw the world into chaos. In London, some people clamor for Napoleon’s execution, others for his exile, and still others for a civil trial on English soil. For one humble London detective, the debate has turned deadly. Bow Street Runner Henry Morton has a murder to solve--and Napoleon himself is at the heart of the matter.
The victim is a Frenchwoman, the mistress of a count. Soon Morton is racing through a demimonde of French expatriates, Bonapartists, fanatical Royalists, and one very dangerous, drunken petty crook. From an exotic London brothel to a scene of carnage on a Dartmoor farm, the detective enters a covert war over Napoleon’s fate. And amid the betrayal, deception, and murder, Morton will face a waterloo of his own.
Released only in paperback. Set in 1815 with Napoleon being held aboard the HMS Bellerophon while his fate is being decided, Bow Street Runner Henry Morton investigates the death of a Frenchwoman. These are wonderfully written with interesting characters and an excellent sense of setting and history.
On a sunny July day in 1815, Plymouth Sound is crowded with boats vying for a view of England’s great battleship HMS Bellerophon. For aboard the vessel is the stout little Frenchman who threw the world into chaos. In London, some people clamor for Napoleon’s execution, others for his exile, and still others for a civil trial on English soil. For one humble London detective, the debate has turned deadly. Bow Street Runner Henry Morton has a murder to solve--and Napoleon himself is at the heart of the matter.
The victim is a Frenchwoman, the mistress of a count. Soon Morton is racing through a demimonde of French expatriates, Bonapartists, fanatical Royalists, and one very dangerous, drunken petty crook. From an exotic London brothel to a scene of carnage on a Dartmoor farm, the detective enters a covert war over Napoleon’s fate. And amid the betrayal, deception, and murder, Morton will face a waterloo of his own.
Released only in paperback. Set in 1815 with Napoleon being held aboard the HMS Bellerophon while his fate is being decided, Bow Street Runner Henry Morton investigates the death of a Frenchwoman. These are wonderfully written with interesting characters and an excellent sense of setting and history.
June 3, 2008
I enjoyed the second installment of 'Memoirs of a Bow Street Runner' The Emperor's Assassin, featuring our heroic and charismatic Henry Morton but this story left me feeling like I barely saw Morton...
He was so busy with the tangled web of plots and spies and deceit and murder we hardly heard about his love life and his upbringing.
This time the 'Runner' is investigating the murder of a beautiful Frenchwoman who also happens to be the mistress of a count.
In Plymouth Sound the English Navy has Napoleon in their custody. Some are calling for him to be exiled others for his execution, all sides are fanatical in their quest, some leaving a bloody trail in their wake.
Once again, I really enjoyed the characters that "T.F. Banks" created, especially Morton and Mrs. Arabella Malibrant. But I finished the book feeling that I didn't get enough of them alone or together.
I will read another 'Memoir' if the author will write another...
I hope we will get to see more of Morton in the next story.
He was so busy with the tangled web of plots and spies and deceit and murder we hardly heard about his love life and his upbringing.
This time the 'Runner' is investigating the murder of a beautiful Frenchwoman who also happens to be the mistress of a count.
In Plymouth Sound the English Navy has Napoleon in their custody. Some are calling for him to be exiled others for his execution, all sides are fanatical in their quest, some leaving a bloody trail in their wake.
Once again, I really enjoyed the characters that "T.F. Banks" created, especially Morton and Mrs. Arabella Malibrant. But I finished the book feeling that I didn't get enough of them alone or together.
I will read another 'Memoir' if the author will write another...
I hope we will get to see more of Morton in the next story.
August 27, 2016
2nd book in an enjoyable new Bow Street Runners/ Regency time period series
Found 2nd book, then pulled up 1st to read in sequence. Interesting characters & developing connections between the classes. Lead characters include a Runner & new colleague, an older Runner, amagistrate, celebrated actress & a British lord. More hopefully regular characters to be added from those introduced in the 2nd book.
Found 2nd book, then pulled up 1st to read in sequence. Interesting characters & developing connections between the classes. Lead characters include a Runner & new colleague, an older Runner, amagistrate, celebrated actress & a British lord. More hopefully regular characters to be added from those introduced in the 2nd book.
December 7, 2015
T.F. Banks = Sean Russell, one of my old time favorite writers. I am sorry to say I found this story unable to hold my attention or create any sense of excitement. It is a marvelous period piece and I that alone was enough to get me interested. That and the fact I enjoyed the first Bow Street Runner novel, The Thief-Taker.
June 26, 2018
I loved this book up until page 200 and then it became a series of coach chases - I skipped a lot of pages and did read the end - which does contain a good twist - it was simply too long. I felt the author was writing for a movie rather than for readers. I did enjoy the book, but it wasn't as good as the first in this series.
September 10, 2007
I was really disappointed in this book, especially since the premise (assassination of Napoleon on a ship off the coast of England) was so good, but YAWN, I was bored silly. Too bad, since I really loved 'The Thief Taker', the first book in the "series".
May 12, 2015
This series appears to have ended with only two installments. My disappointment is mitigated by finding that the author has more books of a sea-faring nature under the name Sean Russell from the same time period (Napoleonic Wars).
October 1, 2013
I had a harder time getting into this one than the first book. Although, once I was interested at the end, I was surprised that there were no more books in the series. It seems that it was set up to continue several character lines -- but I guess not.
August 3, 2010
A wonderful story. Wish he wrote more.
December 5, 2011
Not really a mystery that grabbed me, although the setting and characters are well done. I think the first in the series was better written.
December 4, 2012
I liked the first book better but it was powerful. I am sorry there won't be more of these though.
November 19, 2014
Well-paced, interesting characters and period details; well-told but not literary. This is a good "relief" read if you need to break up something heavier.
November 29, 2015
Thoroughly good book. Really enjoyed it, but where is the next story?
September 18, 2016
Unfortunately, this is only the second of a series and apparently, there are no more. Too bad, because this is a well-constructed 1800's mystery. I love the historical element.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews