The Road to Murder: A Tudor espionage thriller packed full of intrigue

Tom Walsingham Mysteries #1

by C.P. Giuliani

Will Tom Walsingham’s first mission be his last…?

England, 1581

Nineteen-year-old Thomas Walsingham is thrilled to be working as a confidential courier, carrying messages between London and Paris for his illustrious cousin, Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham … until everything goes wrong.

Tasked with escorting an English glove-maker to the French Court, Tom is also playing messenger for the Duke of Anjou, Queen Elizabeth’s French suitor, as well as carrying confidential instructions to the English Ambassador in Paris.

When French soldiers assault his convoy en route, Tom loses a letter he had sewn into his clothes. And the next morning, the glove-maker is found stabbed to death.

Determined to prove himself, despite failing so disastrously in his mission, Tom pushes on to Paris, but when he gets there, he discovers the glove-maker may not have been who he said he was.

Certain the queen may now be at risk, Tom is determined to report back to Sir Francis, but he cannot afford to wait for official orders.

Who was the glove-maker working for? Why was he killed?

Isolated and without a passport, Tom must travel incognito and return to the English court before anyone else ends up dead…

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, British Literature, Historical, 16th Century, Tudor Period

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2022

About the author

C. P. has been called an Anglomaniac, an editor, a playwright, a translator, a blogger, and several kinds of writer – and never denied any of it. She lives in the whereabouts of Mantua, Italy (incidentally the place where Shakespeare’s Romeo gets the poison) in the company of her very patient mother, two unhinged cats and a large garden.

She began by studying the Classics and International Relations – and then swerved to the timber trade first, and later the pen and the stage. A passion for history and stories has led her to write historical fiction both in Italian and English.

A serious theatre-geek, she also writes, directs, teaches playwriting, does backstage work, and very occasionally understudies with Mantua’s historic Compagnia Campogalliani.

C.P. writes The Tom Walsingham Mysteries, murder mysteries with a dash of espionage, set in Elizabethan times, between England and France.

Reviews

[Kathy]

I had to give up trying to follow the storyline due to writing style that prevented me from taking in the events, characters, action -- though the premise and period both appealed to me.
Doggone it, this was to be my final Kindle Unlimited book as my subscription will be expiring.
Abandoned.

Kindle Unlimited

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to C. P. Giuliani and to Sapere Publishing for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

This book was one of the more challenging reads to get into for me. Although the time era of the novel is one that interests me, it moved too slowly for me. The multiple characters in the beginning, though I did like the characters of the Walsingham's.

The main character is Tom Walsingham, a cousin to Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster. Tim is a courier who travels to England and France with diplomatic messages, though I would have liked more tension throughout the story.

[Ann-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young Tom Walsingham, cousin of Sir Francis Walsingham and also one of his couriers, is entrusted with escorting a glove maker to the French Court. The glove maker proves troublesome to escort, especially when he is found dead. Despite losing his passport and a confidential letter Tom is determined to succeed in his mission to discover what happened – his problem is that he doesn’t know who he can trust, not even the people who should be on his side.

I enjoyed a number of aspects of this book: the storyline, finding out about travel to and in France in those times, learning new things (such as the Merchant Strangers Post) and particularly following Tom’s thought processes as he gradually pieced events together after taking quite a number of wrong turns. However, what I didn’t like was the style of writing – for me it didn’t flow well, it was jerky making the storyline hard to follow at times.

Thanks to Sapere Books for a copy to review.

[Greg Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a note at the beginning of the book indicating the copy I just read is a pre-release version that may be different in the final version.

I found the first half of the book slow moving; not that there was action and tension, but it felt like the story was stuck in ‘French mud’. It probably didn’t help that I had just finished Victor Hugo’s “Notre Dame de Paris” and was reading Tolkien’s “The Two Towers” when I received the request to do a review.

I settled in and focused on this book solely about the time Thomas arrived back in England and the mystery started to be unraveled. At times it felt like a Tom Clancy novel with more and more characters added in each chapter … an not one was really endearing. It’s key to remember that this story is seen through the eyes of a 19 year old, so he tends to bungle his way (successfully) through this adventure.

One key note that would have helped at the start of the book: Thomas Walsingham was a real person.

[Anne Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Road to Murder: A Tudor Espionage Thriller (Tom Walsingham Mysteries)
by C.P Giuliani

A chance comment in a report about Tom Walshingham being in an incident whilst in service to the queen. His uncle is Walshingham working for Elizabeth 1.

All true and most of the incident is true, and a story has been woven around the report. I usually get on with these stories as i love to read about this era, I have read SJ Parris books telling the stories of Giordano Bruno which i loved.

My issue with this book to be honest is not the story but the language, it leans toward the historic in areas and the modern in others, there is a good book in here somewhere maybe if the narrative was extended more discriptions etc

I may try the second book just to see if the first one is a fluke and the second one gets better.

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Walsingham is an impoverished cousin of Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster. His job is a courier, travelling between France and England with diplomatic messages. Charged with escorting a glovemaker to Paris, Walsingham and his companions are beset by a difficult journey in which the glover is murdered. Desperate to get back to London to tall Walsingham of a plot he feels he has uncovered, Tom is thwarted at every turn.
This is a promising start to a series, the character of Tom Walsingham is a real life one but his adventures are complete fiction. The events are straightforward but the plot is a little confusing and complex, however it is believable in the context. The sense of time and place is nicely imagined and the whole is an undemanding but enjoyable read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1581. Nineteen year old Thomas Walsingham, cousin to Sir Francis, is a courier between London and France. His latest assignment is as a messenger, and escorting glove-maker Simon Litcott to the French Court, but a murder occurs. With so many suspects and time running out, can Thomas solve the murders and find the guilty person.
An enjoyable, well-plotted and well-written Tudor mystery. With its varied and interesting characters, mostly likeable, it makes a good start to this new series.

[Di Paterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book. It took me a while to get used to the writing style, but the story was gripping enough to encourage me to do so. The characters are delightful, and not at all one-dimensional, and the fact that the majority of them are based on real people adds to the interest. I'll definitely be looking out for more in this series. My thanks to Sapere Books for the opportunity to read it.

[stephen j. billett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book hard to put down

I grew up in a household where The Tudors were never far away.... This is the first Tudor era fiction book I have read since "Here comes the King" over 30 years ago.... This delightful tale has reignited my interest in the doings of the Tudor Era... Waiting excitedly for the sequel.... Do yourself a favor and give it a read

[Adela Cernat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

A good story . The only reason for it not being a 5 star for me is it took me awhile to get used to the writing style, a-bit like reading Shakespeare . I had to re-read a few passages to understand what was going on. Once used to the archaic style I enjoyed the book a lot. Will read the next one in the series.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining mystery novel I could well imagine as a film! A good plot with many suspects in a well written Tudor setting.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Fiona Forsyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

twisty Tudor spy mystery

The combination of a twisty spy plot and a very likeable hero make this a very good read. I particularly enjoyed the author’s skill with dialogue and setting.

[Vicky Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read almost anything Tudor and The Road to Murder was right up my alley. I love that the story is based on mostly real historical characters. They were written well and kept me engaged throughout. The mysteries in the story kept me, as well as Tom Walsingham guessing.

[David Stimpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Start.

The adventures of Young Master Walsingham.. Well thought out and No Super Heroes. Just ordinary people living in 1581 working to keep Elizabeth 1 safe

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a slow moving book that I really had a hard time getting into. I’m sure there will be others who love this book but it was just kinda boring to me
Thanks to the publisher for gifted copy

[Louann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just couldn't get into it. It was hard for me to read.

[Nick Sanders · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book so much not to my liking that I stopped reading not even having finished the first chapter. Sometimes a mystery doesn't grip you: this one didn't.

[Dave Hammett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

Some what confusing at time but we are no more confused than Tom. I'm undecided as to whether I'll read more.

[Micaylah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to stop...

Unfortunately I did not finish the book. I couldn't warm up to the characters at all. Maybe I'll come back to it another time.

[Peter Barrass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one took a few paragraphs to get into

[Jane Gibbens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Characters not as well developed as Ann Swinfen's and some unlikely events and outcomes, but I may read more in the series as the period interests me