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A Bloody Mary Mystery #7
The Merchant Murderers
August, 1556. Jack Blackjack is on a simple mission: make it back home to his beloved London. It should be simple, right? Wrong. He's made it as far as Exeter, but before he can secure a fresh steed in that hellish city, he's faced with a dead priest, ruthless thieves, and a devious Dean who's determined to see the back of Jack. That suits Jack just fine - he wants to leave!
So when wealthy merchant Wolfe, offers passage to London via sea, Jack jumps at the chance . . . and unwittingly into further danger! With thieves, pirates and potential murderers at every turn who can Jack trust? Will he uncover the truth behind the dead priest and missing merchant ships? But more importantly, will he ever make it home to London with his purse strings and limbs intact?
Set during the brief but exceedingly troubled reign of Queen Mary I, elder half-sister to the future Elizabeth I, (1553-1558) the Bloody Mary series features the amoral former cutpurse turned paid assassin, Jack Blackjack, as its cowardly, lecherous, yet strangely likeable amateur sleuth protagonist. The joke is always on Jack as he lurches from one crisis to the next, never quite sure what's going on, yet always - just about - managing to keep one step ahead of his many enemies and those who, for whatever reason, are trying to kill him.
So when wealthy merchant Wolfe, offers passage to London via sea, Jack jumps at the chance . . . and unwittingly into further danger! With thieves, pirates and potential murderers at every turn who can Jack trust? Will he uncover the truth behind the dead priest and missing merchant ships? But more importantly, will he ever make it home to London with his purse strings and limbs intact?
Set during the brief but exceedingly troubled reign of Queen Mary I, elder half-sister to the future Elizabeth I, (1553-1558) the Bloody Mary series features the amoral former cutpurse turned paid assassin, Jack Blackjack, as its cowardly, lecherous, yet strangely likeable amateur sleuth protagonist. The joke is always on Jack as he lurches from one crisis to the next, never quite sure what's going on, yet always - just about - managing to keep one step ahead of his many enemies and those who, for whatever reason, are trying to kill him.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published October 4, 2022
3 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Michael Jecks
122 books623 followersMichael Jecks is a best-selling writer of historical novels. The son of an Actuary, and the youngest of four brothers, he worked in the computer industry before becoming a novelist full time in 1994
He is the author of the internationally popular Templar series, perhaps the longest crime series written by a living author. Unusually, the series looks again at actual events and murders committed about the early fourteenth century, a fabulous time of treachery, civil war, deceit and corruption. Famine, war and disease led to widespread despair, and yet the people showed themselves to be resilient. The series is available as ebooks and all paper formats from Harper Collins, Headline and Simon and Schuster. More recently he has completed his Vintener Trilogy, three stories in his Bloody Mary series, and a new Crusades story set in 1096, Pilgrim's War, following some of the people in the first Crusade on their long pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He has also written a highly acclaimed modern spy thriller, Act of Vengeance.
His books have won him international acclaim and in 2007 his Death Ship of Dartmouth was shortlisted for the Harrogate prize for the best crime novel of the year.
A member of the Society of Authors and Royal Literary Society, Jecks was the Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association in 2004-2005. In 2005 he became a member of the Detection Club.
From 1998 he organised the CWA Debut Dagger competition for two years, helping unpublished authors to win their first contracts He judged the CWA/Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for three years.
Michael Jecks is a popular speaker at literary festivals and historical meetings. He is a popular after-dinner and motivational speaker and has spoken at events from Colombia to Italy, Portugal to Alaska.
His own highlights are: being the Grand Marshal of the first parade at the New Orleans 2014 Mardi Gras, designing the Michael Jecks fountain pen for Conway Stewart, and being the International Guest of Honour at the Crime Writers of Canada Bloody Words convention.
Michael lives, walks, writes and paints in North Dartmoor.
He is the author of the internationally popular Templar series, perhaps the longest crime series written by a living author. Unusually, the series looks again at actual events and murders committed about the early fourteenth century, a fabulous time of treachery, civil war, deceit and corruption. Famine, war and disease led to widespread despair, and yet the people showed themselves to be resilient. The series is available as ebooks and all paper formats from Harper Collins, Headline and Simon and Schuster. More recently he has completed his Vintener Trilogy, three stories in his Bloody Mary series, and a new Crusades story set in 1096, Pilgrim's War, following some of the people in the first Crusade on their long pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He has also written a highly acclaimed modern spy thriller, Act of Vengeance.
His books have won him international acclaim and in 2007 his Death Ship of Dartmouth was shortlisted for the Harrogate prize for the best crime novel of the year.
A member of the Society of Authors and Royal Literary Society, Jecks was the Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association in 2004-2005. In 2005 he became a member of the Detection Club.
From 1998 he organised the CWA Debut Dagger competition for two years, helping unpublished authors to win their first contracts He judged the CWA/Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for three years.
Michael Jecks is a popular speaker at literary festivals and historical meetings. He is a popular after-dinner and motivational speaker and has spoken at events from Colombia to Italy, Portugal to Alaska.
His own highlights are: being the Grand Marshal of the first parade at the New Orleans 2014 Mardi Gras, designing the Michael Jecks fountain pen for Conway Stewart, and being the International Guest of Honour at the Crime Writers of Canada Bloody Words convention.
Michael lives, walks, writes and paints in North Dartmoor.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 3, 2022
Jack’s back!
Ah Jack! The trials and tribulations of this vain, self deceived rascal never fail to amaze me. He attracts trouble like bees to a honeypot. After his recent troubles with the tin miners of Cornwall, Jack’s headed away from London to France on the off chance that he’s bound to be caught up with the wrong side of the political machinations of his masters.
He fled to the Cathedral town of Exeter, where he learns that Queen Mary is still in power, Lady Elizabeth is not in the tower, and he, as he is employed circuitously by the Lady Elizabeth as an assassin, can safely head for home.
Swaggering around town, sure of his own importance as a elegant ”man of London,” disdainful of the plebeians he encounters, well naturally pride comes before a fall. His purse is stolen, he finds the dead body of the ex priest Roger Lane. Powerful merchants and their henchman take an interest in him. He finds some fair weather friends, and he’s pursued by an attractive young thing with marriage on her mind (shudder!). This is not all, (because of our surety that Jack always goes from one torrid situation to another), Jack sets sail for London only to find himself betrayed.
He returns (miraculously by sheer good luck—again!) to Exeter, and after another set of extenuating circumstances finally flees Exeter for London and home! I’m exhausted and Jack even more so!
I swear Jack has more lives than a cat. Somehow by sheer dumb luck he always lands on his feet, His self absorption never ceases to amaze me. His drinking and womanising always trips him up.
Mind you he also can show kindness to the unexpected person, like Edith the child who first tried to rob him.
A somewhat, loveable rogue with an inconsistent conscience is perhaps one way to describe him.
Funny and horrifying. I shake my head continually. You either love him or hate him.
A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Ah Jack! The trials and tribulations of this vain, self deceived rascal never fail to amaze me. He attracts trouble like bees to a honeypot. After his recent troubles with the tin miners of Cornwall, Jack’s headed away from London to France on the off chance that he’s bound to be caught up with the wrong side of the political machinations of his masters.
He fled to the Cathedral town of Exeter, where he learns that Queen Mary is still in power, Lady Elizabeth is not in the tower, and he, as he is employed circuitously by the Lady Elizabeth as an assassin, can safely head for home.
Swaggering around town, sure of his own importance as a elegant ”man of London,” disdainful of the plebeians he encounters, well naturally pride comes before a fall. His purse is stolen, he finds the dead body of the ex priest Roger Lane. Powerful merchants and their henchman take an interest in him. He finds some fair weather friends, and he’s pursued by an attractive young thing with marriage on her mind (shudder!). This is not all, (because of our surety that Jack always goes from one torrid situation to another), Jack sets sail for London only to find himself betrayed.
He returns (miraculously by sheer good luck—again!) to Exeter, and after another set of extenuating circumstances finally flees Exeter for London and home! I’m exhausted and Jack even more so!
I swear Jack has more lives than a cat. Somehow by sheer dumb luck he always lands on his feet, His self absorption never ceases to amaze me. His drinking and womanising always trips him up.
Mind you he also can show kindness to the unexpected person, like Edith the child who first tried to rob him.
A somewhat, loveable rogue with an inconsistent conscience is perhaps one way to describe him.
Funny and horrifying. I shake my head continually. You either love him or hate him.
A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
November 4, 2022
My thanks to Canongate Books Severn House for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Merchant Murderers’ by Michael Jecks.
This is Book 7 in Michael Jecks’ series of historical mysteries set during the reign of Queen Mary Tudor.
All the books are written in a tongue-in-cheek style reflecting the personality of its narrator, roguish antihero Jack Blackjack. He lives by his wits and even when facing mortal danger it all seems a bit of a romp.
August 1556 and following on from events in ‘The Moorland Murderers’, Jack arrives in Exeter desperate to return to London, though finding someone who will hire him a horse is proving difficult.
While there he manages to lurch from one crises to another - including coming across the body of a dead priest, encountering thieves determined to separate Jack from his money pouch, and unwittingly attracting the amorous attention of various ladies, unfortunately who have suitors, fathers, and husbands who take exception.
There’s no doubt that Jack Blackjack is cowardly, outrageously lecherous, with a tendency to bend the truth. Yet as he seeks to keep one step ahead of his many enemies, he is strangely likeable.
While each novel can be read on its own, I found that in reading the earlier books I appreciated that in the cutthroat world of Tudor politics, someone like Jack Blackjack only survived due to quick wits and a strong sense of self-preservation. He is much like a street savvy tom cat.
In addition to a cracking story and memorable characters, I commend Jecks on how vividly he describes his mid-16th Century setting, including odours, that encourages a sense of immersion in the tale.
Overall, another enjoyable adventure in the company of the rascally Jack Blackjack.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
This is Book 7 in Michael Jecks’ series of historical mysteries set during the reign of Queen Mary Tudor.
All the books are written in a tongue-in-cheek style reflecting the personality of its narrator, roguish antihero Jack Blackjack. He lives by his wits and even when facing mortal danger it all seems a bit of a romp.
August 1556 and following on from events in ‘The Moorland Murderers’, Jack arrives in Exeter desperate to return to London, though finding someone who will hire him a horse is proving difficult.
While there he manages to lurch from one crises to another - including coming across the body of a dead priest, encountering thieves determined to separate Jack from his money pouch, and unwittingly attracting the amorous attention of various ladies, unfortunately who have suitors, fathers, and husbands who take exception.
There’s no doubt that Jack Blackjack is cowardly, outrageously lecherous, with a tendency to bend the truth. Yet as he seeks to keep one step ahead of his many enemies, he is strangely likeable.
While each novel can be read on its own, I found that in reading the earlier books I appreciated that in the cutthroat world of Tudor politics, someone like Jack Blackjack only survived due to quick wits and a strong sense of self-preservation. He is much like a street savvy tom cat.
In addition to a cracking story and memorable characters, I commend Jecks on how vividly he describes his mid-16th Century setting, including odours, that encourages a sense of immersion in the tale.
Overall, another enjoyable adventure in the company of the rascally Jack Blackjack.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
November 5, 2022
Our friend Jack Blackjack (the Tudorian Harry Flashman) is back and what a comeback!
Still running from the deadly clutches of the evil Queen, Mary Tudor, still looking for a mount to make it back to his beloved London, still losing his purse and getting into troubles for losing it and last but not least, still managing to land right in the middle of a hornet's nest of hilarious troubles.
After his rather pityful experience with the miners in the Moorland murderers our adorable "good for nothing" hero finds his way into the most unforgettable urban mayhem ever witnessed in the city of Exeter where as you can imagine his troubles start with the search for a horse, the loss of his purse and his propensity to find himself in hot water....
Still reeling from the aftermath of the Wyatt Rebellion, Exeter is a hotbed of religious dissenters, violent political shenanigans and venomous fighting within the city's mercantile community. So don't be too surprised if the situation starts going downhill as soon as Jack finds himself within the city's walls...
Uproariously funny from the get-go, I simply didn't want this novel to end.
Fiendishly plotted and blessed with cast of exquisitely drawn characters, this delicious madcap is my favorite in the series even if our hero is still unreliable, boastful, lecherous and a coward. I simply love him and his encounter with the pirates as he is trying to flee the city by boat will remain to me one of the most comical pages written this year!
A magnificent novel that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this terrific ARC
Still running from the deadly clutches of the evil Queen, Mary Tudor, still looking for a mount to make it back to his beloved London, still losing his purse and getting into troubles for losing it and last but not least, still managing to land right in the middle of a hornet's nest of hilarious troubles.
After his rather pityful experience with the miners in the Moorland murderers our adorable "good for nothing" hero finds his way into the most unforgettable urban mayhem ever witnessed in the city of Exeter where as you can imagine his troubles start with the search for a horse, the loss of his purse and his propensity to find himself in hot water....
Still reeling from the aftermath of the Wyatt Rebellion, Exeter is a hotbed of religious dissenters, violent political shenanigans and venomous fighting within the city's mercantile community. So don't be too surprised if the situation starts going downhill as soon as Jack finds himself within the city's walls...
Uproariously funny from the get-go, I simply didn't want this novel to end.
Fiendishly plotted and blessed with cast of exquisitely drawn characters, this delicious madcap is my favorite in the series even if our hero is still unreliable, boastful, lecherous and a coward. I simply love him and his encounter with the pirates as he is trying to flee the city by boat will remain to me one of the most comical pages written this year!
A magnificent novel that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this terrific ARC
October 19, 2022
As The Merchant Murders, (Severn, $29.99, 240 pages, ISBN 978-0-7278-5092-8), by Michael Jecks opens, it’s the middle of the 16th century in not-so-jolly old England, where we continue following the adventures of a daring, raffish and rascally young rogue named Jack Blackjack . . . who’s an assassin in the employ of Lady Elizabeth—Queen Mary’s sister—at a time when the battle between Catholicism and the recently established Protestant Church of England was raging. It was an epoch in which one’s survival could be determined at an instant’s notice by religious affiliation . . . and so we find Jack in Devon, England, where he’s looking for a ship, sailing for France. He’s flown London, fearing arrest and torture because of his affiliation with Elizabeth, who some suspect might be plotting to seize the throne by force. But no sooner than arriving in Devon, Jack stumbles over the dead body of a man named Roger Lane, found in an alley with his head crushed by a cudgel. Lane, a roving Romeo, was a man with many enemies . . . from betrayed husbands to angry Anglicans . . . but Jack suspects his murder may be related to the dispute between two local merchants who both recently lost ships at sea to piracy. Jack thinks that Lane was caught in the deadly feud between the two angry importers, who blame each other for their loss.
November 6, 2022
Jack Blackjack, a young scoundrel who deems himself a gentleman, is stranded in Exeter in the mid-1600s and runs into lots of trouble while solving the mystery of a murder as he tries to get back to London. There's a lot to like about this story: Well developed scenes and characters, a mystery, humor, the seamy side of mid-1600s England.
But there's a glaring problem with it, too: An unlikeable main character. Jack Blackjack is a weasel, a scoundrel, a braggart who claims bravery and culture while having neither. I don't remember ever before reading a book where I hoped the narrator would lose. It was cute and funny the first time he talked about the valor and wisdom in running instead of fighting, but after the 3rd or 4th time it became tedious. His continual stupid behavior that led to troubles also became tiresome.
Also, I picked this book up at the library on a whim. I really hate it when I find myself reading a book several books into a series because there's so much background the reader doesn't know. I suspect books sell better when they have a catchy title and don't advertise that if you've missed the first 5 books you'll be a little lost in this one, but still, it's annoying.
But there's a glaring problem with it, too: An unlikeable main character. Jack Blackjack is a weasel, a scoundrel, a braggart who claims bravery and culture while having neither. I don't remember ever before reading a book where I hoped the narrator would lose. It was cute and funny the first time he talked about the valor and wisdom in running instead of fighting, but after the 3rd or 4th time it became tedious. His continual stupid behavior that led to troubles also became tiresome.
Also, I picked this book up at the library on a whim. I really hate it when I find myself reading a book several books into a series because there's so much background the reader doesn't know. I suspect books sell better when they have a catchy title and don't advertise that if you've missed the first 5 books you'll be a little lost in this one, but still, it's annoying.
April 27, 2023
Jack Blackjack is back. He is on his way back to London, he's in Exeter. Being Jack he feels superior to the citizens, he feels every woman can't resist him. Jack has definite ideas he is something special, Exeter has other ideas. As usual Jack gets knocked on the head. Almost immediately he finds a dead priest. He runs into two merchants who are at war with each other, spends a bit in gaol, drinks to much. Jack finds out what happened to the two merchants' ships. His purse is stolen, found, lost. The dean speaks to him a few times and tells him to leave, he threatens Jack. It all comes to a head. Does Jack escape Exeter? Is he repaid for a kind deed to a child? The Merchant Murderers is Michael Jecks seventh Jack Blackjack tale. It started off slowly for me but towards the end it had me up late reading. Jack is always tongue in cheek. The plot is full of twists and turns.
November 6, 2022
Black Jack is back ........... he is still managing to find trouble whichever way he turns , still losing his money and finding himself in the middle of mayhem - all he wants is get home to his beloved London .
Now he finds himself in Exeter right in the middle of religious dissenters , political shenanigans and a dead body- what could go wrong ?? Everything !!
When his offered a way to get back to London by way of a sea voyage he jumps at the chance BUT once again it is case of the frying pan and the fire .........now its pirates , murders and missing ships he is facing - can he solve the murders , find the missing ships -will he ever get home . ???
This is yet another hilarious book featuring Jack Blackjack ........ stumbling from one crisis to the next Jack still manages to survive - a thoroughly entertaining series . I look forward to reading more of his "adventure" in the future
Now he finds himself in Exeter right in the middle of religious dissenters , political shenanigans and a dead body- what could go wrong ?? Everything !!
When his offered a way to get back to London by way of a sea voyage he jumps at the chance BUT once again it is case of the frying pan and the fire .........now its pirates , murders and missing ships he is facing - can he solve the murders , find the missing ships -will he ever get home . ???
This is yet another hilarious book featuring Jack Blackjack ........ stumbling from one crisis to the next Jack still manages to survive - a thoroughly entertaining series . I look forward to reading more of his "adventure" in the future
September 25, 2022
This is a great series that keeps getting better. Jack Blackjack is in Exeter - the London man about town is very much out of his depth, and is keen to get home. However, he gets embroiled in a murder and some religious and political machinations and has a really adventurous time. His description of life on board the ship was really amusing.
A really fun read, set in the time of Mary Tudor when it was not wise to hold any opinion contrary to the accepted norm. Pirates and murderers, unholy clerics and love sick swains, this book has them all!
Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A really fun read, set in the time of Mary Tudor when it was not wise to hold any opinion contrary to the accepted norm. Pirates and murderers, unholy clerics and love sick swains, this book has them all!
Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 4, 2023
DNF. The vanity and self-delusion of the main character was extremely off-putting. I got to p. 111 and he still hasn't clarified what the mystery is. He still hasn't been offered a free sail on a ship yet. I don't have the patience to deal with this. Halfway through and no clue to the mystery? That this is considered a mystery is a mystery in itself.
January 10, 2023
Clever premise, but plot doesn't hold. Too much lurching from crisis to crisis.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews